COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Happy New Year! If we learned anything from the last month of 2023, it's that we are in store for some competitive OCC title races for 2024. 

Just about every OCC division is very much up for grabs. The parity we predicted in the preseason has appeared to be on track as there is not a lot that separates the top dozen teams in the area.

This past week, all league games took a brief break, but there was plenty of non-conference action. Let's take a look at how the OCC finished the calendar year and what games to keep an eye on to start the new.

OCC-Buckeye

The Week That Was: League play took a pause and Buckeye teams took their swings agains non-conference opponents. Outside of Newark, who had back-to-back wins against Riverside and Thomas Worthington, it was mostly a tough go. Reynoldsburg, in the midst of their ambitiously difficult schedule, grabbed a third straight loss, this time on the road in a one-point overtime defeat to Lima Senior. Central Crossing lost to Teays Valley and Groveport Madison fell to Upper Arlington. Lancaster rebounded from a two-point loss to St. Charles with a win over Hamilton Township. Pickerington Central had no games scheduled.

The Week Ahead: While Buckeye play resumes on Friday, don't expect much movement in the standings. The division is relatively top-heavy and all of those higher end teams should be heavily favored this Friday. Newark hosts Central Crossing, Pickerington Central welcomes Groveport and Reynoldsburg has a home game against Lancaster. Central Crossing will also play against Canal Winchester on Wednesday, while Newark takes on Mount Vernon on Saturday. 

OCC-Capital

The Week That Was: No league games, but a good amount of action still took place. In a match-up between two Top 5 teams, Westerville North fell to undefeated Olentangy Orange. Westerville South secured a sound defeat over Harvest Prep, while Delaware Hayes and Dublin Scioto both went two-for-two, as the Pacers took down Mount Vernon and Olentangy Berlin and the Irish handled Marion Franklin and Independence. Don't sleep on Big Walnut, winners of six straight, most recently a win at Ashland. It was another difficult week for Canal Winchester and Franklin Heights, as the Indians fell to Watkins Memorial while the Falcons were victims of three losses via Briggs, Dayton Stivers and Grove City.

The Week Ahead: It's an absolute battle in the Capital division, with four teams at 3-1 and Westerville South lurking at 2-2. We'll know more about Scioto and Big Walnut, as they take on Hayes and Westerville North, respectively, on Friday. On the same day, Canal Winchester is at Westerville South and Franklin Heights hosts Worthington Kilbourne. On Saturday, Westerville North will take a crack at Africentric.

OCC-Cardinal

The Week That Was: Cardinal teams had some success outside the region, but struggled against local competition. Olentangy picked up wins near or across the West Virginia border, as they defeated Wheeling Park and Hannibal River. Thomas Worthington grabbed victories over Conner (KY) and Cleveland Villa Angela-St.Joseph, but had a close defeat in a low-scoring game against Newark. Only Marysville picked up a win against a regional team as they won 60-57 against Jonathan Alder. Otherwise, we saw Dublin Jerome struggle against Westerville Central, Darby handily lost to rival Hilliard Davidson and Berlin had no luck against New Albany and Delaware Hayes.

The Week Ahead: Jerome looks to break their losing skid and start the year on a good note when they travel to St. Charles on Tuesday. Marysville looks to do the same when they visit Centennial on the same day. Otherwise, it's all league games that take place on Friday. Berlin squares off against Jerome, Darby visits Olentangy and Thomas Worthington hosts Marysville. On Saturday, Jerome visits Gahanna.

OCC-Central

The Week That Was: Olentangy Orange solidified their #1 position in our Power Rankings with impressive wins against Westerville North and Westerville Central to remain undefeated. Upper Arlington also picked up two victories, first against Groveport Madison then Teays Valley. Hilliard Bradley secured a win over Teays Valley. Dublin Coffman and Olentangy Liberty went .500, as the Rocks defeated Beechcroft, but narrowly lost to Pickerington North while the Patriots split outcomes against teams from Tennessee. 

The Week Ahead: All teams are off until Friday when division play picks back up. The most notable match is between Hilliard Bradley and Olentangy Liberty, with an honorable mention for Upper Arlington as they host Orange. Davidson or Coffman will get a chance for their first win in the league as those two square off. UA will cap the week with a game against Centennial on Saturday.

OCC-Ohio

The Week That Was: After a strong start to the season, Gahanna had a baffling 23-point loss to DeSales. Grove City had better luck against CCL competition when they defeated Watterson, followed by a win over Franklin Heights. In addition to their win against Coffman, Pickerington North beat Whitehall, while Westland and New Albany both secured victories against Watkins Memorial and Olentangy Berlin, respectively. As previously mentioned, Westerville Central split outcomes that started with a win over Dublin Jerome, but ended with a loss to Olentangy Orange.

The Week Ahead: The Ohio division looks to be a four-team race that may get some clarification on Friday. That's when Gahanna will look to stay undefeated in the league when they host Westerville Central, while Grove City will try to do the same as they visit Pickerington North. New Albany's trip to Westland rounds out conference play. Then on Saturday, the Panthers take on Eastmoor Academy and the Warhawks go up against DeSales.