Speedy, athletic Pick North does a number on Kilbourne in unexpected rout
Friday, November 6, 2026
By Steve Blackledge
sblackledge@cbussports.com
Pickerington North’s Dennis White (6) returns a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown in the Panthers’ 45-7 win at Worthington Kilbourne on Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg
WORTHINGTON – On paper, this was supposed to be one of the most scintillating Division I regional quarterfinal matchups across the state. Apparently, Pickerington North threw the paper out with the trash.
Faced with the unenviable task of somehow trying to contain Worthington Kilbourne dual threat quarterback Jackson Szabo – who came in leading the nation in total yardage per game — the Panthers implemented and executed a defensive game plan that succeeded with flying colors.
Dominating in all three phases, sixth-seeded North (9-3) blasted third-seeded Kilbourne 45-7 Friday to set up a regional semifinal date at No. 2 seeded Upper Arlington (9-2).
“We think our team speed on defense is second to none in the entire state,” North coach Nate Hillerich said. “We’re built in the trenches. Our defensive line, we’re throwing bodies at people. To handle a quarterback like that is incredible.”
North’s elite athleticism, on display from the opening kickoff, put Szabo in a predicament he hadn’t encountered all season. Due to the Panthers’ constant blitzing and stunting, the Ohio Mr. Football candidate was rarely afforded time to find big pass plays downfield or to use his legs to create chunk plays.
“We watched a lot of film on them this week and the fact that that their quarterback definitely can do it all had our attention,” North junior linebacker Demetrius Curtis said. “But we knew they hadn’t seen anything like the speed we were going to bring. We knew what we were going into and we had a lot of confidence we could come out on top … not by that much, though.”
Pickerington North quarterback Demetrius Neal-Nesbitt completed 14 of 20 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns during the Panthers’ win at Kilbourne on Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Kilbourne (9-2), which came in scoring 42.6 points per game, simply ran into a buzz saw on this night.
On a surprisingly short and low opening kickoff by 2025 All-Ohioan Erkan Erciyas, Dennis White caught the ball near the left sideline, reversed his field and raced 81 yards to the end zone.
“That had to be a miskick,” Hillerich said. “He usually kicks the ball in the end zone.”
Added White, “No way did I think I’d ever get a chance to return one. What a way to grab the momentum and run with it.”
On Kilbourne’s opening series, Szabo completed three passes for 63 yards to march deep into North territory. But on fourth-and-6 at the 15, Wolves coach Michael Edwards boldly opted to go for it. Szabo attempted a sweep around right end, but Curtis was there to swallow him up for a two-yard loss. Curtis had a monster game with two sacks, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
“That was the biggest play of the game,” Hillerich said.
The stop didn’t yield any points, but plenty of those would come later.
Sophomore quarterback Demetrius Neal-Nesbitt hit Noah Dumas on a shovel pass on a jet sweep for a 5-yard TD to make it 14-0 late in the first quarter.
Kilbourne showed some resolve, marching 80 yards in eight plays, capped by a Szabo 32-yard TD pass to Shawn Rice.
North responded with TDs on its next three drives to take a 35-7 lead to halftime, that eventually produced a rolling clock.
Pickerington North’s Demetrius Curtis (4) pressures Kilbourne quarterback Jackson Szabo during their playoff game at Kilbourne on Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“Demetrius is playing with a ton of confidence,” Hillerich said.
Freshman running back Jayden Preece contributed 74 yards on just eight carries for the Panthers, whose defeats came by one point to unbeaten Gahanna, two points to New Albany and three to Cleveland St. Ignatius.
But North’s defense, which came in allowing 8.5 points per game, was the big story. Kilbourne became its ninth opponent held to 10 or fewer points.
“Our defensive coordinator came up with a plan to build a fence up front and send different bodies at them in hopes of wearing them down,” Hillerich said. “I just loved how we ran to the football tonight.”
Another major cog in the win was elite junior cover corner Geo McKnight, who owns scholarship offers from just about major college program in the nation.
Szabo, who entered the game with 2,977 yards passing with 31 TDs and 1,183 yards rushing with 22 more scores, found the sledding tough against North. He went 16 of 26 for 178 yards and, counting sacks, netted just eight yards on 14 carries.
“We knew coming in that our biggest challenge would be blocking them,” Edwards said. “I thought we put in the right scheme, but you just double-team everybody because they’re so fast. Their personnel is elite, no question about it, but I thought … hoped, I guess, that things might go differently. We got off to that horrible start with the opening kickoff and it just got away from us. We ran out of ammunition.”
Rice, who came in with over 1,000 yards receiving, did not return in the second half after sustaining an injury. Tight end Gray Wanner also was lost to injury.
Pickerington North wide receiver Noah Dumas runs after a catch in the Panthers’ 45-7 playoff win at Kilbourne on Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg