COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the first full night of league action in Central Ohio, there were plenty of fireworks and a fair share of massive blowouts. Let's take a look at the top action in the area beginning with the game of the night between No. 4 (D2) Linden-McKinley and No. 7 Northland.

Jumping out to a 14-5 lead in the opening minutes against Linden, Northland never trailed again in a convincing 66-56 win at home. The hot start by the Vikings was triggered by its backcourt of Jejuan Weatherspoon and Will Mfum, who went 4-for-4 from three to begin the game.

Leading 20-16 at the end of one, Northland would keep Linden at a distance for most of the night. The Panthers would close the gap to 42-41 with 3:30 to go in the third quarter. However, Northland would execute a 20-8 run over the next eight minutes to put Friday's game away.

Leading the way for Northland was the senior Weatherspoon, who finished with a game-high 23 points. Weatherspoon also added nine rebounds and four assists in an impressive all-around performance. Mfum added 12 points, while juniors Mark Lee and Tayvon Davis each finished with 10 points.

For Linden, senior forward Faizon Tucker had a strong performance, going for 20 points and nine rebounds. Tucker was the Panthers' only source of consistent offense, as no other player scored in double figures for Linden. Junior forward Dave Brown added nine points on all three-point field goals.

With the win, Northland flexes its muscle against one of the City League North's promising programs. The Vikings will head to Whetstone on Tuesday before hosting No. 1 (D2) Beechcroft a week from Friday in a matchup that will have major implications.

For Linden, the Panthers must rebound quickly as matchups against undefeated Beechcroft and East await next week.

We haven't seen a single night produce as many huge blowouts as what we saw tonight. On a night where Newark's 43-point win over Franklin Heights wasn't even in the conversation, the top teams in Central Ohio held no mercy on lower opponents on Friday. Take a look at these scores below.

• No. 1 (D3) Harvest Prep went on the road and embarrassed Fairfield Christian by 78 points in a 115-37 victory. This win is the largest margin of victory thus far, eclipsing the 73-point win by Beechcroft last week. Harvest Prep received big scoring games from CJ Penha and CJ Anthony who combined for 55 points.
• No. 6 Dublin Coffman led 58-6 at halftime over Westland in what became a 103-34 victory. Rolling by a margin of 69 points, Coffman would've made matters much worse, but rested its starters for most of the second half. 
• No. 1 (D2) Beechcroft continued an absolutely dominant start to the season with a 105-49 win at home over Whetstone. The Cougars' 56-point win is the second largest margin of victory this season, preceded by last week's 105-32 beatdown of Marion-Franklin. Through five games, Beechcroft is averaging an absurd 92.4 points per game. 
• No. 3 (D2) South flexed its muscle against Marion-Franklin in a 103-47 win at home. The 56-point victory is the largest margin of victory this season for the Bulldogs, who improved to 4-0 heading into a big-time matchup at home vs. No. 2 (D2) Eastmoor Academy on Tuesday. 

In a busy night of Central Catholic League hoops, No. 3 (D3) Bishop Ready and Bishop Watterson delivered big wins on the road.

Ready took down previously undefeated No. 5 (D2) Bishop Ready, who was missing three starters due to injury/illness, 68-48. Senior guards Brady Thomas and Chanc Dawson combined for 36 points in the win.

Bishop Watterson secured a big win at No. 9 (D2) DeSales in a 45-38 barnburner. Junior guard Jimmy Patton scored eight of his 13 points in a third quarter where Watterson held DeSales to just five points in the period. The win over DeSales comes at a good time for Watterson, who came into Friday's matchup losers of its last two gams. 

• No. 1 Pickerington North 54, No. 9 Gahanna 40 - Despite missing its top player in Jerome Hunter due to a two-game suspension, Pickerington North had no issues in a 54-40 win over No. 9 Gahanna. Senior forward Eli McNamara led the way with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
• No. 3 Upper Arlington 45, Hilliard Davidson 27 - Dane Goodwin scored 18 points as Upper Arlington shut down Hilliard Davidson on the road.
• No. 5 Westerville North 69, No. 13 Olentangy 56 - Junior guard Jeremiah Keene went for 21 points, while senior guard Julius Brown added 16 in a big win for undefeated Westerville North. 
• No. 14 Westerville Central 60, No. 12 Olentangy Orange 50 - Westerville Central's senior trio of Thomas Hickman, Josh McDaniel and Cam Schroeder combined for 44 points as the Warhawks snapped Olentangy Orange's undefeated start to the season.
• No. 15 Whitehall 87, No. 10 (D2) London 46 - Senior guard Reiko Bagley went off once again for 30 points as Whitehall rolled on the road at London. In his first season playing high school basketball in Central Ohio after moving from Illinois, Bagley is averaging 23 points per game for the 3-1 Rams. 
• No. 2 (D3) Africentric 70, No. 7 (D2) Independence 60 - Tre Baumgardner and Jah Bennett combined for 50 points in a big win for the undefeated Nubians on the road.
• No. 6 (D3) Grandview Heights 54, Bexley 51 - Grandview kept its undefeated start to the season alive in an overtime win at Bexley. James Lachey led the Bobcats with 16 points, while Damien Davis scored 21 points in the loss for the Lions.