It's crunch time in the 2024 high school football regular season. It's Week 8 , and that means many games have league championship and playoff seeding implications.
The three games we covered Friday night fit one or both criteria.
Frank DiRenna was at Grove City, where Pickerington North visited for a battle of teams hoping to win the OCC-Ohio title and move up in the Division I, Region 3 standings. North pulled away in the second half for a 28-7 win. North is No. 3 and Grove City is tied for No. 6 in our central Ohio Top 10 poll .
Dave Purpura covered Bloom-Carroll at Hartley, a matchup of teams that had been going in opposite directions in Division III, Region 11. Hartley's playoff hopes could rest on the outcome , and the Hawks won 44-38.
Scott Gerfen was at Beechcroft, which hosted East in a City League-North contest. Beechcroft needed a win to keep its league title and Region 11 playoff hopes alive, while East moved a step closer to the league championship and a first-round home playoff game in Division IV, Region 15 with a 50-25 victory.
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OHSAA scores, updates from Week 8 of Ohio high school football season
In central Ohio, Week 8 got underway Thursday with three games: Africentric beat Independence 28-0 in City-South action, Whitehall defeated Bexley 40-21 in Central Buckeye League play and Columbus Academy beat Worthington Christian 52-7.
Follow along with the action all evening as this live blog grows.
East doubles up Beechcroft
East completed a 50-25 win at Beechcroft to improve to 7-1 and 4-0 in the City-North. Beechcroft fell to 4-4 and 3-2.
Royster scores again for East
Ta’John Royster adds to his TD total with a 25-yard run to make it 36-19 East over Beechcroft with 10:16 left. Royster has two TDs and 162 yards on 15 carries.
Hartley holds off Bloom-Carroll
Bloom-Carroll's last-minute drive was thwarted when Vincent Mertz sacked Ethan Thanthanavong to force fourth-and-18, and Thanthanavong's ensuing pass was incomplete. Hartley took over on downs and got a season-saving victory in terms of its Division III, Region 11 playoff hopes. The Hawks improved to 4-4, while Bloom-Carroll dropped to 6-2.
Beechcroft is back within striking distance of East
Beechcroft’s Cam Cooley runs it in from 11 yards to make it an 11-point game, 30-19, with 11:38 left. Cooley has 71 yards on 16 carries.
Hartley goes back in front of Bloom-Carroll
Hartley drove 80 yards in 13 plays and took a 44-38 lead on Robert Lathon's fourth touchdown, a 2-yard run with 1:20 left. Lathon was ruled short of the goal line on the ensuing two-point conversion, even though a television replay indicated that he crossed the goal line. The touchdown run gave Lathon 257 yards on the night.
Pickerington North finishes off Grove City
North outscores Grove City 21-7 in the second half and wins 28-7. The Panthers improve to 7-1 and 3-0 in the OCC-Ohio. The Dawgs drop to 6-2 and 1-2.
Bloom-Carroll rallies to tie Hartley
A defensive stand and a thwarted fake punt set up Bloom-Carroll's offense. The Bulldogs then needed only five plays to cover 68 yards. Much of that, 48, came on a pass from Ethan Thanthanavong to Colgate-bound tight end Michael Stevenson, and Jordan Hutchinson ran in from 3 yards two plays later to tie it at 38.
Pickerington North closing in on win
Michael Taylor’s second touchdown of the game, a 3-yard run, gives North a 28-7 lead at Grove City with 3:23 left.
East adds to lead at Beechcroft
Darion Matlock’s 4-yard touchdown run puts East up 30-13 with 7:01 left in the third quarter.
Pickerington North takes two-possession lead on Grove City
North takes advantage of a personal foul on a punt to open a 21-7 lead on Michael Taylor's 4-yard touchdown run with 6:47 remaining.
We've got a slugfest at Hartley
Hartley's latest answer was followed by another answer, this when Ethan Thanthanavong tossed a 51-yard score to Jordan Hutchinson to get Bloom-Carroll within 38-31 with 4:31 left in the third.
Pickerington North at Grove City wasn't tied for long
North quickly responds to Grove City's touchdown, as Jarin Mock hits Preston Bowman for a 66-yard score. The Panthers lead 14-7 with 9:13 remaining.
Hartley's offense continues impressive night
Hartley answers again, scoring for the fifth time in as many drives as Bryson Winbush dashes in from 19 yards to make it 38-24 Hawks over Bloom-Carroll exactly halfway through the third quarter.
Grove City ties Pickerington North
Grove City's offense finally clicks as Carson Welsh connects with Owen Steele for a 23-yard touchdown. The game is tied at 7 with 10:36 remaining.
Pickerington North takes lead into fourth quarter at Grove City
North leads Grove City 7-0 after three quarters. The host Dawgs will have a third down in North territory to begin the fourth. They were aided by a personal foul by North late in the third.
Bloom-Carroll is back in the game at Hartley
Bloom-Carroll came out fast after halftime, largely thanks to Beau Sherman. He returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter more than 50 yards, then caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Thanthanavong to get the Bulldogs within 32-24 just over a minute into the second half.
Points remain scarce in Pickerington North at Grove City
Grove City and North trade turnovers. North maintains a 7-0 lead with 3:50 left in the third quarter.
Second half underway between Pickerington North, Grove City
A holding penalty by North nullifies a 35-yard touchdown pass to Preston Bowman and the Panthers are forced to punt.
East extends lead against Beechcroft
East adds another touchdown, Darnell Kellam’s 30-yard run, and a two-point conversion to go up 24-13 late in the second quarter. The Tigers have 203 yards rushing.
Robert Lathon having big game for Hartley
Lathon's third touchdown, from 6 yards, and his two-point conversion run ended Hartley's final drive of the first half and extended the lead to 32-17.
Beechcroft pulls within three
Beechcroft’s Jaymir Radford’s 1-yard touchdown run cuts East’s lead to 16-13 with 2:58 left in the first half.
East widens lead on Beechcroft
The Tigers go up 16-7 on a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Aaron Britford with 6:26 left in the first half. Britford has 10 carries for 44 yards.
Defenses dominating in Pickerington North at Grove City
In a surprisingly low-scoring game, North leads Grove City 7-0 at halftime. The teams combined for seven punts in the first half. Grove City has five first downs to four for North. North entered averaging 41.3 points per game, and Grove City averages 35.6 points.
Track meet continues in Bloom-Carroll at Hartley
Bloom-Carroll covered 66 yards in six plays, and Ethan Thanthanavong tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to an open Lunden Dodds to cut the deficit to 24-17. A quick shovel pass on the previous play from Thanthavong to Jordan Hutchinson went for 36 yards to set up first-and-goal.
Pickerington North breaks through against Grove City
North opens the scoring as Jarin Mock connects with Preston Bowman for a 49-yard touchdown. The Panthers lead 7-0 with 2:57 left in the first half.
Hartley uses longest drive of night to extend lead
An 11-play, 80-yard drive capped by Robert Lathon's 13-yard touchdown run put the Hawks ahead 24-10 with 9:04 left in the first half. Camden Caldwell added Hartley's third two-point conversion run of the night.
Defenses making statement in Pickerington North at Grove City
The teams have combined for six punts in a scoreless game midway through the second quarter.
East grabs first lead
Ta'John Royster’s 17-yard touchdown run helps give the Tigers an 8-7 lead following the two-point conversion. Royster already has five rushes for 59 yards.
Beechcroft scores first in matchup with East
Beechcroft puts together a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive on its first possession. David Tran’s 7-yard TD toss to Robert Watkins gives the Cougars a 7-0 lead. East’s first drive reached the Beechcroft 19 yard-line, where it lost a fumble.
Unexpected defensive battle brewing at Grove City?
Pickerington North and Grove City, two of the higher scoring teams in central Ohio, are scoreless after one quarter.
Bloom-Carroll pulls closer to Hartley
The Bulldogs got some points back on their next drive, when Treyton McKee's 38-yard field goal trimmed Hartley's lead to 16-10 in a high-scoring first quarter.
Bloom-Carroll answers, but Hartley quickly responds
Bloom-Carroll answered quickly, as a nine-play drive culminated in Ethan Thanthanavong's 4-yard touchdown pass to Maddox Byler. But on Hartley's next play from scrimmage, Bryson Winbush raced 80 yards for a score to increase Hartley's lead to 16-7.
Hartley strikes first in must-win game
The host Hawks started a big Division III, Region 11 clash with a six-play, 80-yard drive, 47 of which came on a touchdown run for junior running back Robert Lathon. Quarterback Matt Galich scored the conversion on a keeper to give Hartley an 8-0 lead 2:52 into the game.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio high school football: Columbus area OHSAA live scores, updates from Week 8
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