The Hurry-Up: Playoffs Start This Weekend for In-State Ohio State Recruits and Zachariah Branch Puts the Buckeyes in His Top 12

By Garrick Hodge on October 25, 2021 at 5:30 pm
Tegra Tshabola
Tegra Tshabola
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Brackets for the Ohio high school football playoffs were released over the weekend by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, and postseason play will begin this weekend.

Four-hundred and forty-eight teams across seven divisions qualified for the state playoffs. Divisions one through four will play on Friday at 7 p.m. while divisions five through seven play at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Just some unsolicited two cents, but having those schools play their games on the same day and near the same time Ohio State kicks off against Penn State seems a little unfair to the kids, specifically ones that wanted to make a game day visit, but what can you do? 

There’s going to be some really lopsided results this weekend considering around 80 or so of the 448 qualified teams have sub-.500 records.

Gripes aside, most of Ohio State’s in-state commits and targets will be on the field this weekend beginning their quest for a state championships.

The first-round matchups for those players are listed below. Matchups are hosted at the higher seed's home venue. A complete bracket of all divisions can be found here. 

  • Division 1, Region 4: No. 3 Lakota West (8-1) vs. No. 14 West Clermont (2-8): This contest will feature OSU 2022 commits Tegra Tshabola and Jyaire Brown. 
  • Division 1, Region 3: No. 2 Pickerington Central (9-1) vs. No. 15 Grove City (2-7): This matchup will feature priority 2023 safety/linebacker target Sonny Styles. 
  • Division 1, Region 2: No. 1 Marysville (9-0) vs. No. 16 Delaware Hayes (3-7): Gabe Powers, a 2022 linebacker commit, will begin postseason play for undefeated Marysville. 
  • Division 1, Region 2: No. 3 Huber Heights Wayne (8-2) vs. No. 14 Dublin Coffman (3-7): There is a lot of Ohio State intrigue in this matchup. OSU offensive line targets Aamil Wagner and Joshua Padilla will suit up for Wayne, while OSU legacy Will Smith Jr. will try to muster an upset to keep Dublin Coffman’s season alive. 
  • Division 1, Region 2: No. 6 Findlay (7-3) v. No. 11 Miamisburg (6-4): This is probably going to be the best game from the matchups listed here. Priority 2023 offensive line target Luke Montgomery will hope to extend Findlay’s season, while his younger brother Ryan will handle quarterback duties. 
  • Division 2, Region 7: No. 4 Massillon (8-2) vs. No. 13 Columbus Independence (5-5): Massillon running back Willtrell Hartson will have a chance to show what he can do for one of Ohio’s most prominent high school programs. 
  • Division 3, Region 12: No. 15 Archbishop Alter (5-5) vs. No. 2 Monroe (8-2): This contest will feature OSU 2022 linebacker commit C.J. Hicks as Captain Buckeye hopes to extend his high school career with an upset. 
  • Division 4, Region 15: No. 2 St. Clairsville (9-1) vs. No. 15 Newark Licking Valley (2-7): Newly committed OSU 2022 offensive tackle Avery Henry will take the field just a little over a week after pledging his commitment to Ohio State. 

Branch puts Buckeyes in top 12

One of Ohio State’s top priority wide receiver targets in 2023 has narrowed his list down to 12 schools.

Zachariah Branch, the brother of 2022 OSU safety target Zion Branch, announced a top school list Friday consisting of Michigan State, Washington, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and Oklahoma.

Zachariah Branch, a 5-foot-9, 172-pound athlete who is one of five wide receivers Ohio State has offered so far in the 2023 class, is ranked as the 44th-best player in the class and seventh-best wideout per 247Sports' composite rankings. Both Branch brothers have expressed considerable interest in USC, so the new hire from the Trojans could play a factor in where both of them end up.

Both Branches are expected to visit Ohio State this weekend when the Buckeyes host Penn State under the lights at Ohio Stadium. 

Visitor list for PSU game grows

This weekend is shaping up to be an even bigger recruiting weekend than OSU’s home opener against Oregon. While we’ll have a full expected visitor list for the Penn State game later this week, several recruits have already announced on social media they plan to attend the game this weekend.  

North Carolina four-star 2023 defensive lineman Keith Sampson Jr. announced on Twitter he’d be making the trek to Columbus. Sampson Jr. is ranked as the 217th-best prospect and the 33rd-best defensive lineman in the cycle. 

North Carolina wide receiver Chris Culliver, who has yet to receive a composite ranking, also posted he’d be visiting OSU this weekend. Culliver has 10 Division I offers so far, which include South Carolina, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia. If he picks one up from OSU, he’d be the sixth wide receiver offered in the class. 

2024 wide receiver Jeremiah Smith announced he would be making the trip last week. Smith, who plays at the same Florida high school (Chaminade-Madonna Prep) as 2022 Ohio State commits Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Ryan Turner, is ranked as the 39th-best player and the ninth-best wideout in the 2024 class.

Numerous Ohio State commits will be in the Shoe this weekend, too. Kyion Grayes and Kojo Antwi, both wide receiver commits in the 2022 class, each posted they’d be supporting the Buckeyes in person on Saturday.

Hayden, Young go off 

Dallan Hayden had a night to remember on Friday. The 2022 Ohio State running back commit scored five touchdowns and ran for 262 yards on 29 touches, his highest single-game rushing performance of the year. He helped Christian Brothers High School (Memphis, Tennessee) to a 42-28 victory. 

“I needed a game like this,” Hayden told The Daily Memphian after the game. “The last two weeks didn’t go as planned for us ... we needed this.”

Meanwhile, top-ranked 2023 running back Richard Young, who also plans to visit Ohio State this weekend, ran for 240 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries in a 48-20 win for Lehigh (Lehigh Acres, Florida) against Palmetto Ridge in Florida’s Class 7A-District 12 title game on Friday. Some highlights of Young’s performance can be found here. 

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