Will Musgrove gets over the top of UA’s Trent Wolpert for a big interception during a crucial second half drive. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Levi Davis showed again why is a heavily recruited dual-threat junior quarterback, rushing for 179 yards and a TD and passing for 123 yards and another score in Orange’s 28-20 win over Upper Arlington.
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio – With much of his team’s offense centered around the decisions he makes and the yards he produces, Olentangy Orange quarterback Levi Davis has gained a healthy understanding of the impact when he commits a turnover or misjudges a play.
While not downplaying the potentially disastrous outcome of such a miscue, the junior dual-threat standout, who owns nine scholarship offers, has learned that moving on to the next play is even more important.
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During the Pioneers’ consequential Ohio Capital Conference Central Division showdown against visiting Upper Arlington on Friday, Davis threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and lost a fumble at the goal line while coming up just short of a touchdown.
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He also produced the game’s biggest play, however, a 63-yard touchdown run with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to go to give Orange a two-score lead on its way to a 28-20 victory.
“You have to know mistakes are going to happen, and it’s how you’re going to respond to those mistakes,” Davis said. “You’ve just got to be resilient and find any way to get the win. You have to go back and figure out what’s going wrong and make them go right. We had to go out and get the win any way possible.”
Orange improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the league, moving them one win away from earning at least a share of its first league title since it won the OCC-Buckeye title in 2019. UA dropped to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.
Wally Swiney finds some open space in the secondary in front of Xavier Baker.
On the game’s fourth play, Davis hooked up with senior wide receiver Terryn Thomas just short of the goal line for a 46-yard reception. Thomas had the ball knocked from his hands out of bounds, but it was ruled that he had held on long enough for it to be considered a catch. Orange senior running back Cohen Weaver scored on the next play, but UA responded with an 80-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Kyle Cox to tie it at 7.
Weaver gave the Pioneers a 14-7 lead with 41 seconds left in the opening quarter when he ran in from 4 yards after breaking for a 24-yard gain the play before.
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UA cut it to 14-10 on a 23-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Edward Oakley with 2 minutes left before halftime and then made it 17-14 two plays into Orange’s ensuing drive when junior defensive back Jake Braun returned an interception 26 yards for a score.
Connor Stephens puts a big stop on Alek Dillar.
“We talked about it at halftime, that we pride ourselves on next-play mentality,” Orange coach Wes Schroeder said. “That (pick-6) just lit a fire under us. We do a good job of not pointing fingers. It’s never a one-person thing. It happens, and it’s a learning moment. It’s good to learn in a win.”
Orange held the Bears to 8 yards passing and to less than 4 yards per carry during the opening two quarters, and that defensive effort continued in the second half.
The Pioneers took a 21-17 lead when Davis hooked up with senior tight end Beckett Miller for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 4:20 to go in the third quarter, and the Bears punted on each of their first three possessions after halftime.
In addition to getting a first-half interception from senior Will Musgrove, the Pioneers’ secondary also featuring junior Treyton Schroeder kept the Bears from steadily moving the ball downfield all night.
“We’ve got a really good secondary,” said junior linebacker Jaxen Miller, who had a sack and a tackle for loss. “We all came together, and we’re playing such a great team defense and trusting each other more and more each week. If we’re throwing a deep ball, most of the time they’ll pick it. In the run game, we’ve learned every day in practice where we’re fitting. It’s very encouraging because this was a very good matchup between two really good teams.”
After giving up a rare interception late in the first half, Levi Davis played like a man possessed when 3rd quarter play resumed.
UA coach Justin Buttermore stressed to his team the importance of “not letting their player beat us” – referring to Davis – but that plan was derailed on third-and-6 from the Orange 37 during the game’s most crucial moment when Davis found a hole and sprinted down the left sideline to give his team a 28-17 lead.
Davis finished with 179 yards rushing on 20 carries and threw for 123 yards, and Weaver added 107 yards on 17 carries to lead the Orange offense.
Cox was limited to 10-of-23 passing for 110 yards, 49 of them coming on the Bears’ final drive which ended with a 36-yard field goal by Oakley with 5 seconds remaining.
UA failed to fall on the onside kick attempt, and the Pioneers’ ran out the clock on the next play.
Alek Diller rushed for 90 yards on 24 carries to pace the Golden Bears.
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“They obviously stopped us from running the ball very successfully, and they made a lot of big plays when it mattered,” Buttermore said. “(Davis) is a really good player, but I thought we didn’t do a good job of containing, and when you let the best player do that, it’s going to be a tough night for you.
Kyle Cox scrambles out of his own endzone late in the 4th quarter at Olentangy Orange.
“It was a disappointing finish, but it happens. That’s how our whole league is. Everybody in our league is probably going to play each other again.”
Orange, which is first in Division I, Region 3, travels next Friday to Hilliard Bradley while the Bears will attempt to bounce back at home against Dublin Coffman.
In addition to Orange and UA, Olentangy Liberty also is among the top teams in Region 3 while fellow OCC-Central foe Hilliard Davidson is among the best in Division I, Region 2.
“You’ve got those four teams, and Bradley and Coffman aren’t bad,” Schroeder said. “Our league is pretty deep.”
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