Dayne Schmidt celebrates with teammate Kaden Windham after QB Josh DiBlasio and the ‘Cats threw down 21 unanswered points to defeat Darby 35-14. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen.)
While running back Dayne Schmidt, quarterback Josh DiBlasio and receiver Kaden Windham did the heavy lifting on offense, Davidson’s defense played a big hand with several key stops and forced turnovers.
Hilliard, OH – The adjectives used to describe Hilliard Davidson senior running back Dayne Schmidt probably would make his mother cringe.
“Dayne … he’s an animal,” senior receiver Kaden Windham said.
Senior quarterback Josh DiBlasio was even more specific.
“He’s just a dog, plain and simple,” he said.
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In football vernacular, of course, those are the ultimate compliments and Schmidt was worthy of them Friday night in an intense rivalry game against neighboring Hilliard Darby.
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Possessing several different gears, the hard-running, high-stepping 5-foot-11, 210-pounder ran over, around and through the Panthers, amassing a career-high 209 yards with three touchdowns on just 15 carries as host Davidson pulled away for a 35-14 nonleague victory in the latest edition of the Great American Rivalry Series.
Schmidt, whose two older brothers also starred for the Wildcats, scored on touchdown runs of 5, 39 and 52 yards.
Davidson (3-1) took a 13-6 lead in the series, which dates to 2007.
“Everything was working tonight, the counter, the power, the option … and my O-line and wide receivers did a great job blocking to make it all happen,” Schmidt said. “As a team tonight, we had some up and downs, but we showed our true character in the second half.”
Jake Lawrence celebrates a huge 4th down stop late in the game.
While complimentary of Schmidt’s big game, Davidson coach Jeremey Scally was more focused on the total team effort.
“Every team that I coach has different specific hurdles or barriers we need to get over,” he said. “The one with this team is that I don’t always feel good about our ability to play complementary football. Tonight, we excelled in those moments where it called for a massive play from different people, and they came on both sides of the ball and on special teams.”
Indeed, Davidson featured plenty of balance to shake off a 14-14 halftime tie and pull away for the convincing win in a game that means a lot within the three high school-community.
DiBlasio and Windham connected on brilliant touchdown passes of 30 and 25 yards.
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The defense made its share of third- and fourth-down stops and forced Darby (2-2) into three turnovers – each of which ultimately proved costly.
Darby’s Braylon Griffith looks to the ref for the signal as he scores from the 1-yard line but the play was waived off due to a Panther penalty.
Schmidt and Darby tailback Kohen Kornegay took turns dominating the evenly-played first half, both rushing for over 100 yards and scoring two TDs each.
The script flipped after halftime, however.
On the opening series of the third quarter with Davidson facing fourth-and-2 at the Darby 13, Dayton Wallace practically caught a short pitch intended for Schmidt and ripped it out of his hands for an 11-yard loss.
Davidson returned the favor on ensuing series. Darby first-year coach Brad Burchfield opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 at his own 32, and it backfired. Sophomore Holton Brown torpedoed through the line and nailed Kornegay, forcing him to lose a yard – and the football.
“That was a massive momentum play for us,” Scally said.
Two plays later, Windham high-pointed the ball and outleaped two defenders at the goal line on a spectacular catch. He made five receptions for 87 yards.
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Kaden Windham dives for the pylon for a second-half touchdown.
“Sometimes, I struggle with confidence but that play was straight up confidence and concentration,” Windham said. “Josh and I have really begun to form a chemistry.”
After another fourth down stop near the Davidson red zone, Schmidt accelerated through a hole and bounced off defenders, stiff-arming many of them, all the way to the end zone for a 52-yard score.
“The defense stepped up and got us the ball numerous times tonight,” Schmidt said.
Darby fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up the second DiBlasio-to-Windham TD connection. This time, Windham caught a short pass and tight-roped the sideline. The rout was on.
“It’s no surprise that we want to run the football and stop the run defensively, and go from there,” Scally said. “But when we’re able to make big plays like that through the air it adds a very valuable dimension to our scheme.”
Kohen Konegay came up big on the ground for the Panthers, charting 155 yards on 22 carries.
Kornegay finished with 155 yards on 22 carries, with TDs of 1 and 34 yards, to keep Darby (2-2) close.
But a peek at the roster indicates a eye-popping discrepancy. Davidson has 26 seniors to just eight for Darby, and the Wildcats’ size and maturity up front was more noticeable as the game wore on.
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“We made too many mistakes, and everybody knows that turnovers and big plays almost always decide big games,” Burchfield said. “They got some turnovers and really made us pay for them. We were inches away a few times, but that’s football.”
It’s no secret that youthful Darby is in a bit of rebuild mode after going 1-9 in 2024. An upset of Hilliard Bradley in Week 2, however, showed the Panthers’ potential.
“We just have to play better and we will,” Burchfield said. “We’ll just keep thumping away. It’s all part of the process.”
Davidson, which won two playoff games in finishing 8-5 last season, has one more nonleague game before opening play in the rugged Ohio Capital Conference Division, which includes defending Division I state champion Olentangy Liberty, Olentangy Orange, Upper Arlington, Hilliard Bradley and Dublin Coffman. Traditionally, none of those opponents are pushovers regardless of record.
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