DELAWARE COUNTY — Rivalries tend to provide tension and drama and there was no shortage of that Oct. 28 at Olentangy.
Ethan Litton scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 36th minute to lift visiting Olentangy Berlin over the rival Braves.
As the Bears, who were seeded 10th in Division I district tournament, were walking over to get a celebratory team photo, the scoreboard shut off.
Typical rivalry shenanigans. But no hard feelings. Berlin athletic director John Betz chuckled and admitted he would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.
“I’ll give them credit on that one,” he added.
The Bears (9-5-5) were just a couple of weeks removed from a 3-1 loss to the Braves in OCC-Cardinal Division play. Olentangy (13-3-3) was seeded fourth in the tournament.
“They beat us 3-1 (on Oct. 6),” said Litton, a senior forward, who leads the Bears with 23 goals this season. “It was completely different. They scored two goals right away (in the first meeting) and we mentally turned off and couldn’t get it back.
“(This time), they also scored right away. But it was different this time – we never gave up.”
Berlin tied it up on Litton’s first goal in the eighth minute, which came off an assist by junior midfielder Miguel Cardoso.
Cardoso had two helpers in the game and leads the team with 10 assists this season.
“I think we had a good game plan against them,” said Bears coach Josh Diehl, who has run the program since the school opened in 2018. “The guys were up and motivated and they executed. That’s what high school soccer should be about.”
The Bears are finding their footing at the right time. They’ll face reigning state champion Dublin Jerome in a regional semifinal Nov. 4 at Big Walnut riding a four-match winning streak.
Berlin, which lost to the OCC-Cardinal champion Celtics in league play 2-1, hadn’t won more than two matches in a row before this stretch.
“It’s a new season,” Litton said. “We’re 2-0 right now and we’re just going to keep winning out.”
While Berlin may have provided the biggest upset of the night, Liberty got one of its own at fifth-seeded Worthington Kilbourne on Oct. 28.
Junior midfielder Sarvesh Srikant scored the game’s only goal in the Patriots’ 1-0 over the Wolves.
Liberty, which won its second consecutive district title, plays St. Charles in a regional semifinal Nov. 4 at DeSales. The Patriots are seeking their first trip to state since 2019 and seventh all time. They won their only state championship in 2012.
While Liberty and Berlin earned upsets to reach the regional tournament, second-seeded Olentangy Orange avoided such a fate. The Pioneers (16-0-3) rolled over ninth-seeded Dublin Coffman 6-1 to earn their third consecutive district championship.
Senior forward Seth Tedla and junior midfielder/forward Brayden Shoemaker scored two goals apiece and senior defender/midfielder Gavin Wheeler had two assists for Orange, which faces Pickerington North on Nov. 4 at Westerville North.
Senior goalie Evan Hauzie had two saves for the Pioneers, who are seeking their first trip to state since 2010 and second overall.
Seeded fourth in Division II, Big Walnut needed a shootout to capture its first district championship since 2009. Senior forward Connor Huston scored both goals in regulation and added a penalty kick for the Golden Eagles, who play New Albany in a regional semifinal Nov. 4 at Hilliard Bradley.
Big Walnut (11-6-1), which defeated fifth-seeded Dublin Scioto 3-2 in the district final, has never reached the state tournament.
Pacers first district title highlights big night for girls soccer
Four Delaware-area teams punched their tickets to the regional tournament on Oct. 30, but none were as unique as Delaware Hayes.
The Pacers, seeded seventh in the Division I district tournament, went on the road and knocked off sixth-seeded Grove City 2-1 for the program’s first championship.
Senior forward Mady Haser and junior forward Khloe White scored the game winner for the Pacers (14-3-2), who play Jerome in a regional semifinal Nov. 3 at DeSales.
“It was nice to get over the hump and get that win for them, the team and the school,” first-year Pacers coach Jim Daugherty said. “(White’s) done a great job for us all year long, putting in chances and giving us options.”
Delaware was knocking on the door the last two seasons, losing in the final in overtime both times.
But Daugherty missed the game and the historical moment because of illness.
“I tried to battle through it, but I just couldn’t,” he said. “It was no fun at all missing the game.”
Top-seeded Berlin rolled to a 5-1 victory over Gahanna to reach the regional semifinal round for the fifth consecutive year.
Junior forward/midfielder Maya Alonso scored three goals and junior midfielder Emerson Rehklau dished out two assists for the Bears (16-1-1), who play reigning state champion Upper Arlington Nov. 3 at DeSales.
Berlin is seeking its first trip to the state tournament.
Liberty, seeded third, moved its winning streak to 11 with a 3-2 win over eighth-seeded Bradley.
The Patriots (14-2-1), who also beat the Jaguars 1-0 on Sept. 22 in OCC-Central play, go from one league rival to another. Liberty matches up with Coffman, which won a 3-1 decision Sept. 8, handing the Patriots their last loss. The two match up Nov. 3 at Big Walnut.
Junior midfielder Mia Pohl scored twice, and junior defender Brynn Wilson had two assists to lead Liberty. Senior forward Ruby Zerby had the Patriots’ other goal and junior forward Olivia Beamish had an assist.
Liberty is seeking its fourth trip to state. Its last came in 2023 where the Patriots finished second.
Big Walnut (11-3-4), seeded second in Division II, rolled to a 5-1 win over fourth-seeded Watkins Memorial. It’ll face Watterson in a regional semifinal, seeking their first trip to state since 2018, the second of back-to-back trips and the program’s only two.
The two Eagles’ programs meet up Nov. 3 at Pickerington North.
Five different players scored in Big Walnut’s win over Watkins, which were senior forward Anna McGough, senior midfielder/defender Katie Cochran, senior midfielder Ava Gates, junior midfielder Ava Oakes and freshman forward/midfielder Rylan Ranalli.
Big Walnut boys cross country take regional crown
Two weeks after winning the OCC-Capital Division meet and leading the Big Walnut boys cross country to a second-place finish in the league, Ethan Shultz added another title to his trophy case.
The Eagles senior took home a Division II regional championship, beating out 177 other runners with a time of 15 minutes, 26.5 seconds.
This time, Shultz and Big Walnut also took home the team title. The Eagles scored 97 points to beat out Watterson (147) and 18 other teams.
The top five teams and 10 individuals not on qualifying teams advanced to the state meet Nov. 6 at Fortress Obetz.
Senior Frank Evener (18th, 16:14.1), sophomore Jalen Jones (20th, 16:16.1), junior Jason Shady (16:24.5) and senior Samuel Cochran (16:52.9) also scored for the Eagles.
It marks the fourth time this season Shultz has won medalist honors, including the league meet where he took it in 15:23.7.
Shultz is picking the right time to run at his best. He finished second at last week’s district meet with a personal-best 15:19.0.
Orange senior Cowen Allender (seventh of 219, 15:44.2) led area individuals, and Berlin (fourth of 31, 177) and Liberty (fifth, 196) qualified as teams in the Division I meet.
The top eight teams and 16 individuals not on qualifying teams advanced to next week’s state meet.
Senior Vansh Sethi (ninth, 15:51.2) led the Bears and junior Aarush Talekar (20th, 16:07.4) was tops for the Patriots.
Delaware junior Aaron Maus (17th, 16:05.5), Olentangy junior Will Simons (18th, 16:05.6), Delaware junior Trevor Young (35th, 16:20.4) and Olentangy senior Dominic Harvey (38th, 16:25.4) also qualified.
Girls cross country well-represented
Led by three runners in the top 20 and all five scorers in the top 30, Big Walnut took second place in the Division II regional meet.
The Eagles scored 85 points to finish behind champion Watterson (35) in the 19-team race Oct. 31 at Pickerington North.
Senior Grace Buskirk (18:57.8) was 10th and sophomore Lindsey Cochran (19:01.2) placed 11th of 167 runners. The top five teams and 10 individuals not qualifying teams advanced to the state meet.
Sophomores Emma Shultz (19th, 19:35.1) and Lanie White (25th, 19:45.1) and freshman Carlie McGann (28th, 19:46.4) also scored for Big Walnut.
Berlin (219) finished fourth of 30 teams behind champion Upper Arlington (86) to qualify in Division I. The top nine teams and 18 individuals not on qualifying teams advanced.
Junior Claire Heitcamp (27th of 214, 19:18.7) and seniors Joanna Jegan Jose (29th, 19:21.7) and Georgia Speelman (32nd, 19:23.1) led the Bears.
Orange freshman Ellery Jepson (13th, 18:50.3) was the area’s top runner and qualified as an individual.
She is joined by Olentangy senior Elena Wanek (19:22.8), Liberty junior Quinn Cachat (33rd, 19:27.7) and Delaware freshman Brielle Nickolai (42nd, 19:36.7).
Usual suspects remain in girls volleyball
The beat goes on for undefeated Big Walnut. Top-seeded in Division II, the Eagles rolled to a 25-16, 25-14, 25-16 victory over eighth-seeded Mount Vernon Oct. 29 to win the program’s second consecutive district championship.
Big Walnut (24-0) plays Watterson in a regional semifinal Nov. 5 at Hilliard Darby.
Top-seeded in Division I, Berlin also won a district title, beating 15th-seeded Bradley 25-14, 25-15, 25-16 Oct. 31. The Bears (23-1) face Pickerington Central in a regional semifinal Nov. 4 at Darby.
Liberty (21-3), seeded second, is back in the regional tournament after a 20-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-17 over 13th-seeded Franklin Heights.
The Patriots, who won their third straight district title and play Gahanna in a regional semifinal Nov. 4 at Darby.
Fifth-seeded Orange (16-8) beat eighth-seeded Dublin Jerome 25-23, 25-11, 22-25, 25-21 to win their fourth consecutive district title.
The Pioneers play Cincinnati St. Ursula in a regional semifinal Nov. 5 at Springfield.
Big Walnut has made the state tournament seven times, most recently in 2017 where it finished second. The Eagles have never won a state title.
The three Olentangy schools have a combined five appearances at state since 2018 with Orange making it last year, Berlin in 2024 and Liberty finishing second in 2021.
The Pioneers and Patriots are each seeking a third trip while the Bears a second.
Only two of them could make it as Berlin and Liberty are in the same region and could face off in the final, which is Nov. 7.
