No one knew for sure how the Pickerington High School Central football team would fare this season after losing four Division I college athletes to graduation in Zach Boren (Ohio State), Blaine Burgess (Harvard), Patrick White (Michigan State) and Jamie Wood (Ohio State).

Those four players started on both sides of the ball and played a major role in leading the Tigers to a 13-1 record and a Division I, Region 3 title a year ago.

Yet, Central again proved to be one of central Ohio's top teams, finishing 10-2 overall, winning a share of its fourth consecutive OCC title and qualifying for the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

And while the Tigers, who lost to Hilliard Davidson 17-7 in a Region 3 semifinal last Saturday at Gahanna, may not have reached the lofty heights that they did in 2008, senior guard Bill Hinterschied said they feel good about what they accomplished.

"It seems like everybody thought we were going to be down after those guys left, because that's what happened to Dublin Coffman after they won (the Region 3 title in 2007)," he said.

"But coach (Jay Sharrett) had a meeting with our captains at the end of last season and he told us that we needed to make sure everyone worked hard in the offseason to make sure that we didn't let that happen to us. We put in the hard work and we came back and had another good season."

The Tigers went 4-1 against teams with winning records during the regular season, beating Orange (Calif.) Lutheran 28-14 on Aug. 30 at Ohio Stadium, Springfield 28-19 on Sept. 4 at Tiger Stadium, Pickerington North 7-6 on Sept. 25 at Crew Stadium and at Groveport 20-0 on Oct. 2. The loss was to host Lancaster 17-14 on Sept. 18.

"Winning that first game against Orange Lutheran was the highlight of the regular season because that set the tempo for the whole season," senior cornerback and wide receiver Malcolm Pannell said.

Against North, the Tigers were limited to 125 total yards and five first downs, but senior Willie Tatum scored on a 1-yard run with 3 minutes, 33 seconds remaining for the victory.

"That was really exciting because we were down the whole game, but we never gave up," Pannell said.

Central concluded the regular season Oct. 30 by beating visiting Reynoldsburg 27-7 to finish 5-1 in the OCC-Ohio Division, tying Lancaster for first. North (4-2), Groveport (3-3), Gahanna (2-4), Reynoldsburg (2-4) and Newark (0-6) followed.

The Tigers have won nine league titles in the last 11 years.

"Winning a piece of the OCC title was big because our seniors have won league championships all four years now," Sharrett said. "That meant a lot to our kids."

Third-seeded Central downed sixth-seeded North 14-12 in its playoff opener Nov. 7 at Tiger Stadium, as Tatum scored on a 3-yard run and junior quarterback Grant Hammond threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Tamani Carter.

But the Tigers lost to second-seeded Davidson, despite a 1-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Tyler 'Speedy' Hammond.

"A lot of people were predicting we'd go 4-6 this year, so 10-2 wasn't a bad season," Pannell said.

The Tigers will lose eight seniors who started multiple games on defense. They include outside linebackers Willie Tatum and Wuan Tatum, free safety Josh Kristoff, inside linebackers Zach Clouse and Jorden Lascola, tackles lan Burden and Mike Detty and Pannell at cornerback.

Willie Tatum (one interception, one fumble recovery), Kristoff (two interceptions, one fumble recovery) and Pannell (two interceptions) were first-team all-district.

Lascola was special mention all-district, and Clouse and Wuan Tatum were honorable mention all-district.

Six players who played significant minutes on defense are expected to return. They are junior strong safety Eilar Hardy, junior safety Mike Brown, junior linebacker Jay Smith, sophomore linebacker Garrett Foster, sophomore lineman Adam Cole and Carter at cornerback.

Hardy (three interceptions) was second-team all-district, Carter (five interceptions) and Smith (two fumble recoveries) were honorable mention all-district.

The Tigers allowed 692 yards passing and 1,190 yards rushing and forced 23 turnovers.

"I'm very proud of what we accomplished on defense," Pannell said. "Our coaches told us that we were the fastest defense that's ever come through here."

Central will lose five seniors who started on offense in receivers Jarred Miller and Pannell, tailback Willie Tatum, Kristoff at tight end and Hinterschied.

Pannell had 22 catches for 553 yards and five touchdowns and Willie Tatum had 44 carries for 260 yards and seven touchdowns.

Hinterschied was second-team all-district.

Among those expected to return are Carter at wide receiver, Tyler Hammond, starting quarterback Grant Hammond, sophomore backup quarterback Nick Jensen-Clagg, sophomore running back Devone Penick, junior receiver Kris Strange, junior center Brad Kinnison, junior guard Tyler Burch, sophomore guard Jacoby Boren, junior tackle Aric Barker and sophomore tackle Nick Wilson.

Grant Hammond was 60-for-103 passing for 862 yards and eight touchdowns and Jensen-Clagg was 28-for-52 passing for 434 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyler Hammond rushed for 982 yards and 12 touchdowns on 175 carries and was special mention all-district. Penick rushed for 297 yards on 55 carries and Strange had 14 catches for 126 yards.

Boren was honorable mention all-district.

Sophomore kicker Jake Raymond, who was honorable mention all-district, and sophomore punter Nick Ellis are expected back as well.

"Our seniors are the winningest class we've ever had. We went 47-6 during their four years," Sharrett said. "We do have some starters and other guys who played a lot coming back, so I hope we can build on this season and continue to be successful next year."