Hilliard Bradley defeats Pickerington North in Ohio high school football regional semifinals

COLUMBUS, Ohio –  Preston Wolfe had a major chip on his shoulder entering Friday’s Division I, Region 3 regional semifinal at St. Francis DeSales.

The Hilliard Bradley senior wide receiver felt disrespected after receiving only honorable mention all-Central District honors on Monday, and he was eager to demonstrate his abilities against one of the best teams in the state in Pickerington North.

Playing on the biggest stage of his high school career, Wolfe rose to that challenge by making eight catches for 85 yards and scoring the game’s only two touchdowns to help lead the Jaguars to a 19-0 victory over the Panthers.

The Jaguars, who were seeded second in Region 3, improved to 12-1 overall and will face fourth-seeded Upper Arlington (10-3) in the regional final Nov. 17 at a site to be determined.

Bradley – which will be making its first regional final appearance – was sixth in the final Division I state poll, one spot ahead of third-seeded Pickerington North, which finished 11-2 overall.

“I feel like I’m the most underrated player and recruit in Ohio, and that our entire team has been overlooked this season,” Wolfe said. “I was only honorable mention all-district but I’ve received nine Division I (college football scholarship) offers and I deserve where I’m at, and that just gave me extra motivation for this game.

“Pickerington North has a great defense, but I believe in myself that I can make plays no matter who is in front of me.”

Wolfe scored the opening points of the game on a diving catch in the back of the right corner of the end zone on a beautifully thrown 16-yard pass from quarterback Bradyn Fleharty. Jacob Walter then kicked an extra-point to put Bradley ahead 7-0 with 2:51 remaining in the first quarter.

“Preston’s a great receiver,” said Bradley coach Mike LoParo, whose squad set a new team record for most wins in one season, topping his 2017 squad, which finished 11-1. “He’s our guy. When we need something big, we go to Preston Wolfe. That first touchdown was big, because most of the first half was a defensive battle.”

Wolfe also outleaped a defender in the end zone to nab an 8-yard touchdown pass from Fleharty to put the Jaguars ahead 16-0 with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter, to all but seal Pickerington North’s fate.

“I ran a corner route, and when Bradyn high-pointed the ball in my direction, I knew I was coming down with it,” Wolfe said.

Walter missed the extra point attempt wide left after Wolfe’s second touchdown to give North a glimpse of hope, but he made up for the missed opportunity by drilling a 41-yard field goal to put Bradley ahead 19-0 with 3:32 left in the game.

“My shoulder popped out (of socket) on the play before I threw that second touchdown,” Fleharty said. “That’s the second time that’s happened this season. It was painful, but it popped back in and then adrenaline kicked in and I was able to make the throw.

“I just high-pointed the ball, because I knew Preston would go up and get it.”

Led by Central District Defensive Player of the Year and Illinois recruit Angelo McCullom on the defensive line, Pickerington North’s defense didn’t make things easy for Bradley, as the Jaguars had only 95 passing yards and no rushing yards on seven carries in the first half.

Fleharty was forced to scramble away from pressure throughout the game, and he was sacked by Tyler Irby and McCullom on back-to-back plays in the second quarter.

Yet the Central District Offensive Player of the Year used his speed to evade defenders long enough to avoid being sacked throughout the rest of the contest, and the Yale recruit ended up going 17-of-41 passing for 196 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“Their quarterback extended plays when it looked like we had him sacked again and again,” Pickerington North coach Nate Hillerich said. “He’s our district’s offensive player of the year for a reason.”

The Panthers hurt themselves with untimely penalties, getting flagged a total of 14 times for 158 yards and was penalized twice for a total of 30 yards to set up Bradley’s first touchdown.

On the opening drive of the second half, the Panthers were penalized three more times for 35 yards during the Jaguars’ 17-play, 80-yard drive, which ended with a 26-yard field goal by Walter to make it 10-0.

“We didn’t play our best game and we never could catch the momentum,” Hillerich said. “We had some penalties that went against us, along with a lot of other mistakes, and their defense made a lot of great plays, too.”

Indeed, Bradley’s defense was especially stout against the run, limiting the Panthers to negative-six rushing yards on 17 carries.

Pickerington North quarterback Landon O’Connell was 25-of-44 passing for 165 yards, but he didn’t have any completions of 20 yards or longer.

Leading the Panthers in receiving were Derick Ross Jr. (eight catches, 61 yards) and Jaiden Vital (six catches, 40 yards).

“We used mixed fronts – four-man, three-man and nickel – to try to keep them off-balance,” LoParo said. “We were able to control their vertical passing game and make them throw to the outside, where we were able to make tackles.

“Our front played well at the line of scrimmage, and I think Ethen Tebbetts and Nicolaj Kisin are the two best linebackers in central Ohio as a tandem. (Defensive backs) Andrew Miller and Jordan Reed-Davis played great against their best wide receivers, and Nathan Brown had some massive hits and tackles for us as well.”

The Panthers turned the ball over on downs three times, including twice inside of Bradley’s territory.

A Bradley defender stripped the ball out of O’Connell’s hands and defensive end Brody Healy recovered it at Pickerington North’s 26-yard line midway through the third quarter, setting up Wolfe’s second touchdown just five plays later.

On a fourth-and-12 play midway through the fourth quarter, nose guard Jason Morbitzer also sacked O’Connell at Pickerington North’s 29, setting up Walter’s second field goal which essentially iced the game.

“Our defense has been playing lights-out all year, and we were just the more physical team,” Healy said. “(We focused on) their passing game, especially those screens they had. We took them away.”

Leading Bradley in tackles were Kisin (4), Reed-Davis (4), Damon Bordner (3.5) and Miller (3), while Healy, Alex Koons and Julian Dandridge each had a sack.

“That was the best defense we’ve seen all year,” Hillerich said. “Their front-7 is big and fast. They controlled the line of scrimmage and we couldn’t get our running game going.”