Ohio high school football scores: Reynoldsburg edges Pickerington Central 19-15 in playoff opener
Ohio high school football scores from the first round of the 2026 state playoffs: Reynoldsburg beat Pickerington Central 19-15, Whitehall topped Hamilton Township 33-7 and Olentangy Orange won 29-26 at St. Charles.
Several first-round Ohio high school football playoff games were decided on Friday, with the most dramatic result coming in Division I, Region 3 action. Reynoldsburg defeated Pickerington Central 19-15, scoring on a 4-yard run by Hammond Russell VI with 43 seconds remaining. The 10th-seeded Raiders (7-4) knocked off seventh-seeded Central (7-4) and advance to a quarterfinal against second-seeded Upper Arlington.
Late drives decide close games
Reynoldsburg's winning drive covered 80 yards and included three completions from Justin Heckman to Damontae Butler, including a 29-yard gain on third down. Penalties on Central for roughing the passer and holding helped keep the drive alive. Heckman is listed with an unofficial 287 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Butler caught four passes for 185 yards and a score.
The game swung several times. Pickerington Central took a 15-12 lead early in the fourth quarter after Edmund McAllister III scored on a 4-yard run, and it had a chance to extend the lead with a long possession late, but a missed 35-yard field goal left the door open for Reynoldsburg. Reynoldsburg also committed turnovers that Central turned into points, including a fumble recovered by Cam Miller that led to a 39-yard touchdown drive.
Olentangy Orange escapes St. Charles
Defending state champion Olentangy Orange (6-5) rallied to beat St. Charles (8-3) 29-26. Trailing 26-22 with 53 seconds left, the Pioneers answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Colby Luling to Jake Luling with nine seconds remaining, then moved ahead on a 16-yard run by Jaeyln Berry with 4:32 left. Orange went for two and converted on a pass from Colby Luling to Deonte Robinson.
St. Charles had led 19-7 in the third quarter before Orange's comeback. Jack Hilbert's 27-yard touchdown catch from Nolan Beyer had given the Rams a late lead on the previous possession. Orange will face top-seeded Gahanna in the Region 3 quarterfinal.
Whitehall rolls past Hamilton Township
Whitehall beat visiting Hamilton Township 33-7 behind a strong defensive performance. Lathan Western scooped up a Hamilton Township fumble on the first play of the second half and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown, extending the Rams' lead to 27-7. Malachi Jackson later added an 8-yard touchdown run with 3:56 remaining to finish the scoring.
The eighth-seeded Rams (9-2) have won nine games in a row and will play top-seeded Watterson next week, on Nov. 6. The ninth-seeded Hamilton Township Cardinals finished 7-4.
What's next
The winners of the first round move on to quarterfinal games next week, with Reynoldsburg, Olentangy Orange and Whitehall all advancing. Final statistics for several games were listed as unofficial in initial reports, and official results may differ slightly from the figures published during the games.
Reynoldsburg's win sets up a meeting with Upper Arlington, while Orange plays at Gahanna. Whitehall's trip to Watterson is the other matchup on the Region 3 quarterfinal list reported so far.
