5 things we learned in Week 4 of the high school football season in central Ohio

A schedule filled with community rivalries more than lived up to its billing in Week 4. 

The battle of Pickerington and one of the annual games between the Dublin programs were filled with drama, and there was plenty of excitement in matchups such as when Olentangy beat Olentangy Orange 24-21 after both teams came in winless. 

Who won in Week 4?:Check out Friday night's scores and recaps

Week 5 matchups such as Westerville South at Big Walnut, Gahanna Lincoln at Hilliard Darby and Upper Arlington at Central Crossing should provide further clarity on this year’s hierarchy of teams in central Ohio.

Here are five things we learned in Week 4: 

1. Pickerington North’s defense should keep it in the OCC-Ohio Division title race

Other than in their 48-0 victory over Walnut Ridge on Aug. 27, the Panthers have averaged just 163 yards of offense. 

A defense featuring senior Eli Coppess and junior Malik Ray, though, has proven to be more than enough to keep North in games, with the latest example being a 13-10 overtime win over Pickerington Central on Sept. 10. 

North was held to just 106 yards against the Tigers but got a forced fumble by Ray that he recovered and turned into a game-tying touchdown and a pair of field goals while limiting Central to 256 yards of offense. 

It snapped a 19-game winning streak by the Tigers against Central District opponents.

2. Senior Blake Horvath is a quarterback capable of taking Hilliard Darby to new heights 

Darby is 4-0 for the first time since 2015, when it won its first eight games and made it to a Division I, Region 3 semifinal. 

John Santagata, who has been the Panthers’ coach since 2008, appears to have one of his best teams and perhaps his best quarterback in Horvath. 

In a 29-23 win over Hilliard Davidson on Sept. 10, Horvath rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns and added his third touchdown pass of the season. He has 621 yards rushing on the season.

3. Central Crossing is enjoying one of the best starts in program history

In his fifth season as coach, Trevor White has Central Crossing out to just the second 3-1 start in program history. The only other time the Comets have been 3-1 was in 2015, when they made the second of back-to-back playoff appearances. 

Central Crossing beat Grove City 19-14 on Sept. 10 as senior quarterback Alec Boyd rushed for 118 yards and one touchdown and sophomore running back Abdul-Malik Kamara had 22 rushes for 107 yards and one score. 

Kamara has been one of central Ohio’s top running backs through four games with 495 yards and four touchdowns. 

4. Dublin Coffman got the breakthrough win it has been seeking

As if it wasn’t rare enough to give up three kickoff returns for touchdowns, as Coffman did Sept. 10 against Dublin Jerome, the Shamrocks managed to pull out a 49-42 overtime win despite those special teams lapses. 

One of the biggest reasons for that was the play of senior quarterback Mason Maggs, who rushed for 227 yards and four touchdowns on 47 carries and completed 19 of 27 passes for 153 yards and one score. 

Coffman improved to 1-3, earning its first win under new coach Geron Stokes. 

5. The improvements of Columbus East, Linden-McKinley and Africentric are creating intrigue in the City League

Beechcroft and Northland in the City-North and Walnut Ridge, Eastmoor Academy and Marion-Franklin in the City-South have been the most competitive teams in the league in recent years, but more parity could be coming. 

Africentric won a pair of Division VI, Region 23 playoff games in its first postseason appearance last fall and is out to a 3-1 start under a new coaching staff that includes head coach Jamell Davis and longtime City assistant Steve Ayers.  

While the Nubians edged Columbus South 14-12 on Sept. 10, East beat Centennial 46-7 and Linden beat Mifflin 36-8 on the same night to also improve to 3-1. 

julrey@thisweeknews.com 

@UlreyThisWeek