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OCC Roundup: The Week That Was and The Week Ahead

By Greg Glasser, 01/28/24, 6:30PM EST

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Round II of conference play highlights a busy week

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- This past week saw a hefty double dose of league games for all OCC teams.

The packed schedule gave clarity on which teams may lock up the division, although most leagues are still up for grabs.

Let's take a look at what all took place and preview what games to keep an eye on this upcoming week.

OCC-Buckeye

The Week That Was: Reynoldsburg and Lancaster made the most of their two league games, as both teams went 2-0 in division play. Lancaster took care of Central Crossing and Groveport Madison, while Reynoldsburg also beat the Cruisers, but had the league win of the week with a double-digit victory over Newark. The Raiders are now tied in first with the Wildcats. Pickerington Central split their two Buckeye games, first a loss to Newark followed by a win against Central Crossing. Newark followed their loss to Reynoldsburg with a 20-point non-league defeat to Hilliard Bradley on Saturday. 

The Week Ahead: League games will take place on Friday. Before that on Tuesday, Central Crossing plays at Logan and Reynoldsburg hosts DeSales. Then when division games square off, Central Crossing hosts Newark, Groveport does the same with Pickerington Central and Lancaster welcomes Reynoldsburg. Anything can happen, but barring major upsets, expect the Wildcats and Raiders to maintain their conference lead for at least another week. Saturday has an intriguing game when Central travels to undefeated Olentangy Orange.

OCC-Capital

The Week That Was: Delaware Hayes pulled off one of the best wins of the week, a second straight defeat over Westerville North on Tuesday, followed by a victory against Worthington Kilbourne on Friday. The edge over the Warriors gives Hayes sole possession of first place as the Pacers now control their destiny. North followed that loss with a win over rival Westerville South on Friday. South dropped that game after they beat Big Walnut on Tuesday. Although Canal Winchester lost to Franklin Heights to start the week, they picked up their first division win as they defeated Dublin Scioto on Friday. That loss for the Irish was sandwiched between defeats to Worthington Kilbourne and Dublin Coffman, as they have now gone 1-7 after they started the season 8-1. Big Walut picked up back-to-back victories over the weekend, first with Franklin Heights then a solid non-league win against Bishop Watterson on Saturday. 

The Week Ahead: Big Walnut kicks off the schedule with a non-league game at Marion Harding on Monday, while Franklin Heights makes the short trip to Columbus West. Tuesday will have Canal Winchester travel to Chillicothe, while Worthington Kilbourne hosts New Albany, one of the area's hottest teams. For league play on Friday, Delaware Hayes can avenge their only conference loss when they host Westerville South. A win all but locks up the division for the Pacers. Big Walnut will host Worthington Kilbourne, while Canal Winchester welcomes Westerville North and Scioto hopes to end their losing skid when Franklin Heights visits. On Saturday, North will have the challenge of playing Akron St. Vincent-St.Mary, while Scioto hosts Tri-Valley. 

OCC-Cardinal

The Week That Was: Tuesday's games were business as usual, with no surprises. Marysville beat Hilliard Darby, Dublin Jerome defeated Thomas Worthington and Olentangy took care of Olentangy Berlin. Friday was basically the opposite, as Jerome handed Marysville their first league loss on a buzzer beater and Olentangy fell to Thomas. The loss for the Braves prevented them from getting back into a first-way tie with the Monarchs, as Marysville holds a one game edge in the standings. Berlin, however, avoided upset with a win over Darby. On Saturday, both the Braves and Cardinals had solid victories against neighborhood rivals, as Olentangy took down Olentangy Liberty and Thomas defeated Worthington Kilbourne. 

The Week Ahead: A lot of non-league action takes place Tuesday when Jerome hosts Harvest Prep, Darby will try to upset Upper Arlington, Thomas Worthington is home against Westerville South and it'll be a battle of two of the area's best big men when Marysville welcomes Grove City. On Friday, Marysville will look to hold their division lead when they host Thomas and Olentangy hopes to stay in reach when they travel to Darby, a team still looking for a division win. Jerome will travel to Berlin. The week ends on Saturday when Marysville visits Olentangy Liberty and Thomas hosts Pickerington North. 

OCC-Central

The Week That Was: It's still Olentangy Orange's division to win, as the undefeated Pioneers defeated Hilliard Davidson and Dublin Coffman. One game behind them is Hilliard Bradley, who had an impressive week with wins over Upper Arlington, Davidson and Newark, all by at least 18 points. Coffman picked up a win over Olentangy Liberty on Tuesday, while the Patriots responded on Friday with a win over Upper Arlington. 

The Week Ahead: Tuesday starts the action when Davidson travels to St. Charles and Coffman hosts Westland. We'll then see on Friday if Orange and Bradley can keep it a two-way race for the division, as the Pioneers host UA and Bradley visits Liberty. Coffman will travel to Davidson. In addition to the games previously mentioned in the divisions above, Saturday also includes Bradley against out-of-region Perrysburg and UA traveling to Granville. 

OCC-Ohio

The Week That Was: While every other division is mostly down to two-team races, that's far from the case in the Ohio, as four teams are firmly in the hunt. New Albany now holds a first-place tie with Grove City after the Eagles beat the Greyhounds on Tuesday, followed by a one-point win over Gahanna on Friday. The Lions are still in the hunt and a game behind, as they beat Westland on Tuesday along with a non-league win over Walnut Ridge on Saturday. Pickerington North regained some positive movement in the standings with wins over Westerville Central and Westland. Central has dropped to fifth in the division after they followed their loss to the Panthers with a defeat to Grove City on Friday. 

The Week Ahead: Every league games carries some significance as it appears it'll go down to the final week of the season to determine who will come out on top. Friday may create some clarity, but expect New Albany to at least hold a share of the lead when they host Westland. Grove City will look to do the same when they welcome Pickerington North and Gahanna will try to stay in the hunt when they visit Westerville Central. 

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