Olentangy Liberty wins state 28-14 over Moeller

 

Canton, Ohio- 4,814 fans braved the low 20-degree weather to witness the Division 1 state final game between Olentangy Liberty and Cincinnati Moeller. Moller is a 9-time state champion, with their last title coming back in 2013. Liberty had not played in a state title game before this, though they had played in three previous state final games, with the last being back in 2018.

Neither team was able to score on their first drive of the contest. For Moeller, they managed just 9 yards on their first drive. For the Patriots, they totaled 38 yards, with the biggest play being a 15-yard run from Jake Stuck.

On the second Liberty drive, things went much better with the offense going 49 yards on 6 plays, but more importantly, they took the lead at 7-0 on a 1-yard Stuck run. Quarterback Andrew Leonard would complete three passes on the drive for 43 yards. The biggest was a 25-yarder to Struck. Struck would catch all three of the passes.

As the Moeller offense continued to be contained by the Liberty defense, the Liberty offense would build the lead to 14-0. Struck would set up the score with a fine 24-yard punt return, taking the ball to the Moeller 16-yard line.

Leonard would use his feet to pick up 13 yards; after he was sacked by Jonah Hayes, he would respond with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Christian Moulton to make this a 14-0 score with Sean Hendricks converting the PAT.

Liberty had the ball again with 2:52 left in the half. The drive started out poorly with two false starts. Things got better when Leonard hit Stuck for 31 yards and then he connected twice with Geno Saccoccia for 15 yards. The drive, however, ended as badly as it could when Struck fumbled the ball due to a nice hit from Jacob Cravens; the ball was scooped up by Cooper Gearhart, who went 80 yards for the score, making this a 14-7 game, with the PAT being kicked by Jack Mallabar.

Moeller received the 2nd half kickoff, and things started poorly when Landen Admas muffed the kick but recovered it quickly. Owen Hodge picked up 14 yards on two runs to move the chains. Three incomplete passes by Matt Ponatoski were followed by a 14-yard run from punter Mason Vitucci, shocking everyone and, more importantly, moved the chains. The drive ended after Jovan Love made a catch, was hit by Luke Mulder, and recovered by Lincoln Gardener to give the Patriots the ball.

Two plays later, the Patriots had a 21-7 lead after Leonard hit Moulton for the 61-yard score. Struck helped with a 22-yard run, setting up the long TD pass.

Moeller was forced to punt on their next drive; the punt by Love traveled just yards, setting the Patriots up just 56 yards from their next score. It would take 7 plays for the score to come with Leonard finding Moulton from 14 yards out, making this a 28-7 game and completely silencing the Crusaders crowd.

After forcing a turnover on downs, the Moeller offense took the field with 10:23 left in the game. An incomplete pass started the drive, followed by a sack from Ryan Schapler, putting the Crusaders offense in deep trouble. But a 15-yard penalty was called on Liberty to keep the drive alive on the next play. With new life, Moeller was able to make this a 28-14 game on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Adams, with 7:36 left on the clock.

Liberty would run the clock out by keeping the ball for 13 plays, gaining 25 yards.

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