CANTON – Friends since third grade, Olentangy Orange senior wide receiver MC Walker and senior quarterback Levi Davis immediately reconnected after Walker transferred to Orange from Westerville North in February.
They trained together during the summer to prepare for this season, which ended Dec. 5 with the Pioneers beating Cincinnati St. Xavier 28-14 in the Division I state final at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Walker entered the game as the team’s top receiver, with 44 catches for 632 yards and five touchdowns, and then caught five passes for 123 yards and a score – all in the second quarter – to help Orange win its first championship.
“Me and Levi’s relationship has been going since third grade, playing AAU basketball and Ohio Hoopsters,” Walker said. “Being able to go all through those days, I feel like our connection is a little bit deeper than people think. It took a long time coming.”
Davis said his strong bond with Walker made a difference this season.
“A lot of people like to call us twins,” Davis said. “You’d be surprised how much people say that we look alike. I don’t see it. He’s basically like my brother. I spend so much time with him outside of football that on the field, it’s just an extension of whatever we do off the field. We did a lot of offseason work.”
Walker made a one-handed grab on his 4-yard touchdown reception from Davis with 5:35 left in the second quarter, giving the Pioneers the lead for good at 14-7.
Orange (15-0) struck again on its final possession of the half, with Walker making his final two catches – covering 24 and 39 yards – to set up Davis’ 15-yard scoring pass to Lucas Fickel for a 21-7 lead with 13 seconds left before halftime.
“It was all a blur,” Walker said. “(They) were playing outside of me … but I was running right by them. They couldn’t keep up with me, so Levi would throw it up and I would make a play.”
Walker said the preseason workouts with Davis made a difference.
“We were there every single day, enjoying it and having fun,” Walker said. “That was the big part of it. We were being friends and hanging out together. It became second nature to us to do those kinds of things.”
Orange coach Wes Schroeder said it was an impressive way for Walker to close his only season with the program.
“It was a phenomenal performance by him,” Schroeder said. “Just to show out and show up in that game and that moment. The one-hand, back-shoulder throw that he caught, that was a huge play. … He had a bunch of catches, and we were proud of him.”
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Levi Davis, MC Walker connection helps Orange football win state title
Reporting by Frank DiRenna, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
