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'Nothing like it': Olentangy Liberty dominates Moeller, wins first OHSAA football title
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- 'Nothing like it': Olentangy Liberty dominates Moeller, wins first OHSAA football title
CANTON – If Cincinnati Moeller had every reason to be considered the favorite in Friday night's Division I state final, from pedigree to its Mr. Football quarterback, nobody told Olentangy Liberty.
Capitalizing on a blitzing defense and huge nights from their own Mr. Football finalist , senior quarterback Andrew Leonard, and his balanced offense, the Patriots (14-2) set the tone early and cruised to their first championship, dominating the Crusaders 28-14 in front of 4,814 chilled fans at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
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"We saw some posts on social media, some things where people were counting us out," Liberty running back, wide receiver and sometimes wildcat quarterback Jake Struck said. "They didn't know our game plan. They didn't know the players we had. Those showed today."
Patriots coach John Sansbury quickly interjected.
"Jake led our team meeting on Wednesday and he mentioned some of those things," Sansbury said. "That got us fired up."
Olentangy Liberty's Carter Kuhn (44), Hudson Dorsey (16) and Antonio Kish (24) celebrate after defeating Cincinnati Moeller in the Division I state final last December in Canton.
Leonard was 17-of-23 passing for 272 yards and three touchdowns, all of which went to Christian Moulton (8 catches, 161 yards), and Struck accounted for 173 all-purpose yards (99 rushing, 74 receiving) and a scoring run. All three are seniors.
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All of that complemented a defense that never let Crusaders quarterback and Mr. Football winner Matt Ponatoski get comfortable. A week after he threw for 431 yards and six touchdowns in a state semifinal win over Centerville – all of that in the first half – Ponatoski was limited to 16-of-30 passing for 112 yards.
Moeller (14-2), which was in its 14th state final and fell short of its 10th title, was stopped on fourth down three times, punted three times and only reached the red zone once.
Olentangy Liberty's Christian Moulton caught three touchdown passes from Andrew Leonard in the state final.
Liberty linebacker Lincoln Gardner's nine tackles and a fumble recovery and eight tackles from defensive back Tyler Thornton led the way.
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"Self-inflicted wounds got the best of us," Moeller coach Bert Bathiany said. "Give a lot of credit to Liberty. They forced us into those. I never felt like we got momentum. We've been able to create a lot of explosive plays throughout the year and we just were not able to do that. Their defense does what they do and they do it very well."
Struck scored from a yard out in the first quarter and Leonard hit Moulton from 20 yards for a 14-0 lead halfway through the second.
Olentangy Liberty's Jake Struck had 173 all-purpose yards and a touchdown run in the state final.
Liberty went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Moeller 20 in the final minute of the first half, but Struck fumbled out of the wildcat and Moeller's Cooper Gearhart returned it 80 yards for a score to make it 14-7 at halftime.
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Two plays after Gardner's fumble recovery early in the third, Moulton caught a 61-yard touchdown pass in stride. He scored again on a 13-yard catch on the next possession for a 28-7 lead.
"It just went into the game plan we had all week," Moulton said. "When I have a quarterback like (Leonard) who can get me the ball whenever, it's just kind of easy to do what I can do to succeed."
Liberty's win gave central Ohio its first big-school title since Pickerington Central in 2019 and two championships on the same day for the first time since Hartley and Watterson won divisions IV and III, respectively, in 2010.
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Watterson defeated Toledo Central Catholic 19-14 in the Division III final earlier Friday.
Struck, meanwhile, celebrated his third state championship, having won in hockey in 2023 and lacrosse last spring. He has signed to play the latter at Ohio State.
"But Ohio D-I football, there's nothing like it," Struck said. "Right after we lost (in the second round of the playoffs) last year, we knew we were harder workers and better athletes than a lot of other teams. After our first game, when we shut out a good Olentangy team 28-0, we all knew we were going to do something special this year."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA football: Olentangy Liberty beats Moeller for first state title
