Gahanna Lincoln beat Westerville Central 34-14 on Friday, Oct. 9, improving to 8-0 on the season.

The OCC road win extended the Golden Lions' best start in years. Gahanna entered the game ranked No. 3 in cleveland.com's Central Ohio Top 10, No. 13 in the statewide Ohio Big 25 and No. 244 nationally by High School Football America. The Lions held the top seed in OHSAA Division I, Region 3 entering Week 7 and were one of nine undefeated central Ohio football teams heading into Friday's game, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Westerville Central’s 14 points were the most Gahanna had allowed this season. The Lions held five of their first seven opponents to seven points or fewer and have allowed just 60 points through eight games.

Entering the week, quarterback Grey Kegley had completed 66 of 105 passes for 850 yards and six touchdowns through seven games, according to a cleveland.com preview. He also had two rushing scores. Running back Leon Cummings carried 92 times for 546 yards and six touchdowns over that span.

The defense has been just as productive. Linebacker Howard Bates led the team with 36 tackles entering Week 8. Taiwan Johnson and Marshall Fry each had two sacks, and Johnson added five tackles for loss.

The Lions' most complete performance before Friday came in their Week 7 win over New Albany on Oct. 2. Kegley completed 14 of 19 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Marki Wallace caught four passes for 106 yards, including a 40-yard score on the first play of the second half. Kaiden Ferris returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown, and the defense picked off three passes total in the 35-3 rout.

Gahanna Lincoln Athletics confirmed the final score in a post on X after the game. The cleveland.com Week 8 scoreboard also listed the result.

The Lions' Week 9 opponent has not been confirmed.