Connor Stephens denies Jackson Wiley in the endzone during a wild, come-from-behind,1st round win over Olentangy. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Levi Davis drove the Pioneers 80 yards in the final 94 seconds to give Orange a dramatic win over its intra-district rival, and set up a regional quarterfinal rematch against OCC Central rival Upper Arlington.
By Aaron Blankenship for For Press Pros
Lewis Center, OH – Cohen Weaver has been dreaming about scoring a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of a big game since he was a toddler running around his backyard with a small football in his hands.
The Olentangy Orange senior running back finally made that fantasy into a reality on Friday, when he received a pitch from quarterback Levi Davis and sprinted into the end zone from three yards out with just nine seconds remaining, to help the fourth-seeded Pioneers earn a dramatic 21-17 victory over 13th-seeded Olentangy in front of a deliriously joyful, near-capacity home crowd.
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With the win, Orange improved to 9-2 overall and earned the right to host fifth-seeded Upper Arlington (9-2) in a Division I, Region 3 quarterfinal on Nov. 8.
This was just the third playoff victory for the Pioneers, who defeated UA 28-20 in a hard-fought contest at home on Oct. 11. Orange also won a playoff game in 2009 and 2019.
“I’ve been playing football since I was born, basically, and this is a moment that I’ve always dreamed about for so many years,” said Weaver, who rushed for 61 yards on 13 carries. “I was nervous as hell when we lined up for that play, because Levi and I have been working on that option run a lot the last few weeks in practice for this exact situation.
“He had the option to run it in himself, but the defense went after him, and so I ran to the edge; and when he pitched it to me and I scored, I’ve never felt anything like it before. I’m just so happy for our entire team.”
After two early miscues (INT, Fumble,) Levi Davis dialed it in during the 4th quarter to nip Olentangy 21-17.
Davis turned in a masterful performance on Orange’s final drive, which started on the Pioneers’ 20-yard line with only 1 minute, 34 seconds remaining.
As the clock wound down, the junior quarterback completed four passes for a total of 57 yards, and scrambled for nine yards, including a six-yard run to Olentangy’s 3, that set up Weaver’s game-winning score.
“Levi’s a special kid, and we always feel good about our chances when he has the ball in his hands,” said Orange coach Wes Schroeder, whose squad is 6-10 in the all-time series against Olentangy. “He made a number of great plays with his arm and his legs, and his leadership was awesome on that final drive.
“He’s a dude. When the game’s on the line, he makes clutch plays.”
Davis deflected praise to his teammates and coaches for the game-winning drive.
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“Coach Wes put us in the best formations, and my teammates put me in the position to make plays,” Davis said. “We worked on that final play all week in practice. I just ran to my right to draw them to me, and when they got close, I pitched it to (Weaver) and I knew he was going to score.
Andrew Wilber extends and scores during a turbulent 4th quarter against Olentangy Orange. The Pioneers prevailed 21-17 to advance.
“These are the type of moments that you play sports for.”
Davis shook off a subpar first half during which he committed two turnovers, to complete 17 of 25 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns, and rush for 48 yards on 11 carries.
At times, Davis resembled a ballet dancer, gracefully weaving past and leaping over defenders in the backfield, while always keeping his eyes downfield, looking to make another play with his arm or legs.
“I thought we played good defense overall, but Levi’s a dynamic player,” said Olentangy coach Wade Bartholomew, whose squad finished 8-3 overall. “Just when it appeared we had him bottled up, he often found ways to extend plays, and he had some clutch runs and passes for them in the second half.”
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Davis finally put his team on the scoreboard when he connected with a wide-open receiver, senior Will Musgrove, for a 39-yard yard touchdown pass that gave Orange a 7-3 lead with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Cohen Weaver carries the ball around the edge during a first week playoff against rival Olentangy.
“I saw their safeties shift over, and Will came open deep down the field, so I just threw him the ball,” Davis said.
Davis also hooked up with senior receiver Terryn Thomas for a 66-yard touchdown pass on a screen play, in which Thomas caught the ball near the line of scrimmage and sprinted untouched to the end zone to put Orange ahead 14-10 with 3:41 left.
“Terryn’s been making plays for us all year, and he made that touchdown happen when we really needed him the most,” Davis said.
Orange’s defense, which was led by junior linebacker Aden Scott (two sacks), held the Braves to just 59 yards in the first half.
But Olentangy took a 3-0 lead into halftime, after a recovery of a Davis fumble at Orange’s 30, eventually set up a 33-yard field goal by Enrique James with 7:13 remaining in the second quarter.
Andrew Wilber was the Braves’ workhorse, making five receptions for 77 yards and rushing 13 times for 56 yards and a score. And the junior running back scored on a 13-yard run up the middle to give Olentangy a 10-7 advantage with 5:06 remaining in the game.
Will Musgrove sports a smile as he saunters into the endzone after Levi Davis found him wide open behind the Olentangy secondary.
Olentangy junior quarterback Luke Chilicki also was very efficient, completing 18 of 21 passes for 200 yards, including a 4-yard shovel pass to senior receiver Jackson Wiley that put the Braves ahead 17-14 with just 1:34 on the clock.
“We missed some opportunities, offensively,” Bartholomew said. “But when the field was short for us, we finally moved the ball and scored, and you couldn’t ask for much more from our offense, while it was under pressure like that in the fourth quarter.”
Wiley finished with a game-high seven catches for 46 yards, while receiver Sam Uhlenhake had six receptions for 77 yards for Olentangy; and Musgrove finished with six catches for 112 yards and Thomas had four receptions for 87 yards to lead Orange.
“Olentangy’s a great team and it was a shame that one of us had to lose with how hard we both played,” Schroeder said. “This was a great high school football playoff game between two rivals. We both played with a lot of passion and desire, and we just made one more play at the very end to win it.”
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