Week 1 Preview: Columbus

The 2021 High School Football season is almost here.  Columbus, OH over the years has produced some of the best High School talent in the country and 2021 will be no different.  Here are five games featuring Columbus teams to watch in week 1. Olentangy vs Westerville South In 2020, the Braves of Olentangy and the Wildcats of Westerville South featured two of the top offenses in the state as they averaged 30 and 41.4 ppg respectively.  Westerville South finished at 8-1 and advanced to the 3rd round of the playoffs while Olentangy finished at 5-3 and also advanced to the 3rd round of the playoffs.  There are quite a few players from the Prep Redzone rankings in this game and they are OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116395" first="TJ" last="Gadd"]</strong> and K <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116399" first="Hayden" last="Olcott"]</strong> from Olentangy and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34379" first="Kaden" last="Saunders"]</strong>, RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="120164" first="Brandon" last="Armstrong"]</strong>, OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="117382" first="Tyler" last="O’Reilly"]</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="120166" first="Javier" last="Wills"]</strong> from Westerville South. Westerville Central vs Westerville North Two rivals from Westerville will face each other to start the season when the Warhawks from Westerville Central play the Warriors of Westerville North on Friday night.  In 2020, Westerville Central finished 8-2 and advanced to the 4th round of the playoffs.  They looked very impressive on both sides of the ball as they averaged 30.3 ppg and allowed only 13.6.  Westerville North finished the 2020 season at 6-4 and held their opponents to 10 or fewer points 5 times.  The players to watch from the Prep Redzone rankings in this game are RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91581" first="Michael" last="Ross"]</strong>, K <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="120191" first="Jason" last="Robertson"]</strong> and ATH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34503" first="Donovan" last="Hunter"]</strong> from Westerville Central.  From Westerville North there are ATH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="106023" first="Stanley" last="Jackson Jr"]</strong> and DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="117448" first="Chris" last="Campbell"]</strong> Pickerington North vs Lancaster On Friday night, the Panthers of Pickerington North will open the 2021 season against the Golden Gales of Lancaster.  Last season, Pickerington North finished 6-2 and advanced to the 2nd round of the Division 1 playoffs.  Lancaster finished at 3-6 but ended the season on a high note as they shut out Teays Valley 24-0 in the season finale.  This game features several players in the Prep Redzone rankings.  Those players include from Pickerington North- LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34471" first="Blake" last="Bennett"]</strong>, DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91486" first="Eli" last="Coppess"]</strong>, DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34427" first="Jon" last="Lipscomb"]</strong>, OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="120190" first="Braden" last="Watts"]</strong>, RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="92628" first="Dawaun" last="Green"]</strong> and DL <strong>David Alibi</strong>.  From Lancaster, There is LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115823" first="Ajay" last="Locke"]</strong> and DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115822" first="Eli" last="Rathburn"]</strong>. Grove City vs Dublin Scioto In week 1, the Greyhounds of Grove City will play the Irish of Dublin Scioto.  Grove City finished 2020 at 3-8 but looked impressive in the season finale as they beat Westerville North 10-0 and look to carry that momentum over to 2021.  Dublin Scioto finished 2020 at 7-2 and advanced to the 3rd round of the playoffs.  They averaged 27.7 ppg while giving up 16.9 ppg.  The players to watch in this game from Dublin Scioto are RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="92612" first="Ed" last="Worthen"]</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="117439" first="Lesley" last="Andoh"]</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="117449" first="Tyler" last="Boze"]</strong>, QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91533" first="Amare" last="Jenkins"]</strong>, OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="117445" first="Max" last="Martin-Lee"]</strong> and from Grove City there is RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34477" first="Zach" last="Nelson II"]</strong>. Groveport Madison vs Canal Winchester The Cruisers of Groveport Madison and the Indians of Canal Winchester are looking to get off to a good start in 2021 on Friday night when they play each other in Canal Winchester.  In 2020, Groveport Madison finished 5-3 and were eliminated by Hilliard Bradley in the 1st round of the playoffs.  Canal Winchester finished 5-5 and advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. The players from the rankings in this game are DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91485" first="Delaney" last="Wilburn"]</strong> from Groveport Madison and RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34386" first="Stephan" last="Byrd"]</strong>, OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="92618" first="Mason" last="Fry"]</strong> from Canal WInchester. Reynoldsburg vs Upper Arlington The week 1 matchup between the Reynoldsburg Raiders and the Upper Arlington Golden Bears features two teams that made the playoffs in 2020 and are looking to build on the success that they had.  In 2020, Reynoldsburg finished 4-4 and advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs.  The Raiders had a high powered offense that scored 30 or more points 6 times.  Upper Arlington finished 3-5 but showed great heart as they won two of their final three games in 2020 and they also advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs.  The players from the rankings to watch in this game are WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115824" first="Mark" last="Gillam"]</strong> and QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34420" first="Dijon" last="Jennings"]</strong> from Reynoldsburg and RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91583" first="Carson" last="Gresock"]</strong> from Upper Arlington. &nbsp;