The high school football playoffs kick off Friday night. Players, coaches and fans – and sportswriters – have been waiting for this since teams opened practice Aug. 1.

The Dispatch is covering three first-round matchups. Dave Purpura will be at Groveport, where the eighth-seeded Cruisers host ninth-seeded Delaware Hayes in Division I, Region 3 .

Frank DiRenna will be at DeSales for a Division II, Region 7 matchup between the fifth-seeded Stallions and 12th-seeded New Albany, and Scott Gerfen will be at Central Crossing for a Division IV, Region 15 contest between No. 9 Jonathan Alder and No. 8 Ready.

OHSAA scores, updates from first round of Ohio high school football playoffs

Our sister papers in Lancaster, Newark and Marion are covering No. 12 Hartley at No. 5 Bloom-Carroll (Division III, Region 11), No. 12 Newark at No. 5 Upper Arlington (Region 3) and No. 16 Marion Elgin at No. 1 Grandview Heights (Division VI, Region 23).

Who's going to win Friday ? Follow along with the action all evening as this live blog grows.

Upsets brewing in Division I, Region 2?

In the second quarter, No. 14 Dublin Coffman leads No. 3 Westland and No. 13 Hilliard Bradley leads No. 4 Springfield, both by scores of 28-14. Springfield has won five consecutive regional championships.

Jonathan Alder leads Ready 10-2 at halftime

The Pioneers’ points have all come off Silver Knights turnovers. Alder quarterback Grant Horn has rushed 11 times for 35 yards, and Ready’s Anthony Campbell has 53 yards on 12 carries.

DeSales goes ahead 20 on New Albany

The Stallions' offense continues to click as R.J. Day hits Jordan Karhoff for a 26-yard touchdown and a 34-14 lead with 56 seconds left in the first half.

Upper Arlington rallies to take lead

After being down 12-0, UA leads visiting Newark 14-12 at halftime.

Grandview Heights widens lead on Marion Elgin

Owen Nugent returns a punt 50 yards for a touchdown, and the Bobcats lead 27-0 late in the second quarter.

Jonathan Alder capitalizes on Ready mistake

The Pioneers take advantage of another Silver Knights turnover, their third of the game. Logan Rich hits a 27-yard field goal. Jonathan Alder is up 10-2 late in the second quarter.

New Albany puts together scoring drive

Jett Jerwers' 5-yard touchdown run with 2:55 left in the first half pulls the Eagles to within 27-14 against DeSales.

Groveport answers again

A 52-yard kickoff return for Joshua Moore leads to an 8-yard TD run for Jo'Siyah Foster and the Cruisers lead goes back to 20 on Delaware at 27-7. And then Groveport recovers the ensuing kickoff for the second time.

Delaware Hayes gets on the scoreboard

Delaware recovers a fumble two plays after its own fumble and takes advantage as Caleb Rowe throws a 53-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Gavin Shears to make it 20-7 Groveport with 9:33 left in the first half.

What is Brown doing for DeSales?

A lot. Jonathan Brown breaks free for his second long touchdown of the first half, scoring on a 63-yard run to give DeSales a 27-7 lead on New Albany with 8:06 left in the second quarter.

Ready scores on special teams

A bad punt snap leads to a safety for Ready. The ball went over punter Aiden Becker’s head and out of the end zone. Jonathan Alder is up 7-2 in the second quarter.

Groveport takes control against Delaware Hayes

Groveport padded its lead 1:22 into the second quarter when quarterback Baker Bowden found receiver Joshua Moore from 32 yards in the right corner of the end zone to make it 20-0. The Cruisers then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and took over at Delaware's 30.

Ohlinger scores third touchdown for Grandview Heights

Henry Ohlinger scores on a 21-yard screen – he previously had two rushing touchdowns – and Grandview leads Marion Elgin 21-0 in the second quarter.

DeSales widens lead on defensive touchdown

DeSales opens a 20-7 lead on New Albany as Elazar Hood returns an interception 65 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.

Grandview Heights leads Marion Elgin early in second quarter

The Bobcats have a 14-0 lead on touchdowns runs of 13 and 1 yard from Henry Ohlinger.

Bloom-Carroll goes back in front of Hartley

Upset brewing at Upper Arlington?

Newark leads UA 12-0 heading to the second quarter.

Groveport takes advantage of interception

An Altrovise Glenn interception ends a Delaware possession, and four plays later Raishad King powers in from 12 yards for his second score to make it 13-0 Groveport.

Jonathan Alder grabs lead as Ready struggles early

Jonathan Alder takes a 7-0 lead on Ready with 3:02 left in the first quarter. Grant Horn connects with Carter Detweiler, who was wide open in the end zone, on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line. Ready’s first two possessions ended with lost fumbles.

New Albany gets a big play of its own

Early fireworks at DeSales as New Albany's Jett Jerwers returns a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, pulling the Eagles within 13-7 with 5:47 left in the first quarter.

DeSales scores again

After New Albany goes three-and-out on its first possession, Jonathan Brown breaks free for a 59-yard touchdown run and a 13-0 DeSales lead with 5:43 left in the opening quarter.

Groveport strikes first against Delaware Hayes

After three punts in as many combined possessions to start the game, Groveport struck fast on its second drive. A 41-yard pass to Joshua Moore set up first-and-goal, and on the next play Raishad King scored from 4 yards to give the host Cruisers a 6-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. King's two-point conversion run failed.

Hartley answers Bloom-Carroll

Hartley scores on its first offensive play. A Robert Latham 71-yard TD run makes it 7-all.

DeSales goes ahead of New Albany

Using a combination of running and passing, DeSales drives 73 yards on the opening drive of the game and R.J. Day connects with Dax Middleton for a 14-yard touchdown with 7:11 left in the first quarter. The extra point is missed. It's 6-0 Stallions.

Bloom-Carroll takes early lead against Hartley

Bloom-Carroll scores on its opening drive as Jude Blair runs it in from 18 yards. Bulldogs lead 7-0.

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