Week 9 of the central Ohio high school football season, played Friday, Oct. 16, was about far more than individual numbers. League titles, playoff seedings and first-round byes were on the line, and the top performers delivered — from back-to-back pick-sixes to a six-touchdown first half and a game-saving interception in the final minute.
Topping The Columbus Dispatch’s list was Berne Union junior Dillan Cornell, who returned interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive plays in the third quarter, scoring from 56 and 80 yards as the Rockets (6-3, 5-0 MSL-Cardinal) shut out Fairfield Christian 32-0. Second was Independence freshman Darnell Young, who ran for 248 yards and five touchdowns on 27 carries and added a 32-yard interception return for a sixth score in a 50-26 win over Eastmoor Academy, snapping the 76ers’ six-game losing streak.
Big Walnut senior Nolan Buirley, third, scored six first-half touchdowns, five on the ground, caught an 83-yard touchdown pass from Eli Stumpf and ran for 215 yards on just eight carries as the Golden Eagles (9-0, 5-0 OCC-Capital) scored all their points before halftime in a 54-0 win at Dublin Scioto. Big Walnut closes the regular season Oct. 23 against Westland.
Heath senior Camden Stephens, fourth, accounted for two touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ (6-3, 3-1 Licking County League-Cardinal) 49-0 rout of Newark Catholic, throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Joe Ward and returning an interception 50 yards for a score in the second quarter. Fifth was West junior Bradley Binion, whose 75-yard punt return provided the eventual game-winning touchdown in a 14-0 win at previously unbeaten South, leaving West 9-0, 6-0 in the City League-South.
Olentangy senior Tommy Hartings, sixth, threw touchdown passes of 2, 8, 25 and 47 yards as the Braves (5-4, 4-0 OCC-Cardinal) beat Dublin Jerome 27-21, their fourth straight win after an 0-3 start. Reynoldsburg senior Justin Heckman, seventh, completed 12 of 20 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 103 yards and another score on 14 carries as the Raiders (6-3, 4-0 OCC-Buckeye) won their fourth in a row, 33-6 over Newark.
Licking Valley sophomore Levi Lewis, eighth, returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown in the final minute as the Panthers (9-0, 4-0 LCL-Buckeye) held off Granville 42-28 and clinched at least a share of the league title. Worthington Kilbourne junior Jackson Szabo, ninth, amassed 414 yards of offense — 227 rushing and three touchdowns on 28 carries plus 187 passing — in a 22-12 win over Westerville North. Olentangy Berlin sophomore Cooper Ailes, 10th, returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown and a kickoff 90 yards for another in a 28-6 win over Marysville, Berlin’s fifth straight victory.
Week 10 on Oct. 23 decides the races Week 9 set up: Berlin (7-2, 4-0) hosts Olentangy for the league title, Licking Valley plays at Zanesville, Reynoldsburg visits Pickerington Central, Berne Union travels to Zanesville Rosecrans, West hosts Briggs and Kilbourne plays at Westerville South.
Photo: JonRidinger, CC BY