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Ohio high school football: Liberty knocks out three-time defending champion St. Edward
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- Ohio high school football: Liberty knocks out three-time defending champion St. Edward
MANSFIELD – Jake Struck helped Olentangy Liberty's hockey and lacrosse teams win state championships in winter 2023 and spring 2024, respectively.
Struck now has an opportunity to add a football title after he helped Liberty take down three-time defending state champion Lakewood St. Edward 21-7 in a Division I semifinal Friday at Arlin Field.
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The Patriots (13-2) face Cincinnati Moeller in their first state final at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
"We've been working so hard since freshman year," said Struck, a senior who will play lacrosse at Ohio State . "We knew this group was something special, but we knew we had to prove it to people."
Olentangy Liberty's Jake Struck attempts to hurdle Pickerington North's Malachi Taylor during the second half of the Division I, Region 3 final.
Struck, a second-team all-district selection, and his teammates proved it with an effort that halted Ohio's longest active playoff winning streak of 22 consecutive games.
St. Edward (9-6) last lost in the playoffs in 2020, 35-31 to Medina, in a regional quarterfinal.
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"It's just nice to see all the hard work is paying off, finally," said senior quarterback Andrew Leonard, the Central District offensive Player of the Year and a Mr. Football finalist . "When we can control the line of scrimmage like we did tonight … that means a lot. It's so easy to run an offense when you have guys open everywhere."
Nobody was more open than Christian Moulton, who caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Leonard with 43 seconds left in the third quarter that gave the Patriots a 21-0 lead.
Leonard first thought he was going to take off and run but spotted Moulton downfield with no defenders around him.
Leonard, who also was a member of the state championship hockey team, completed 7 of 12 passes for 136 yards and added 42 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries.
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Olentangy Liberty scores 14 points off turnovers
Liberty couldn't have asked for a better start when Carter Kuhn intercepted St. Edward quarterback Thomas Csanyi on the Eagles' first snap.
Kuhn took it to the end zone, but the touchdown was called back on a holding penalty.
Four plays later, Leonard scored on a 17-yard run.
Csanyi turned the ball over again in the third quarter, and Struck made the Eagles pay on the next play with a 39-yard touchdown run that put the Patriots up 14-0.
"(Those plays) just changed the game for us," Liberty coach John Sansbury said. "All year, our defense has been preaching, 'take the ball away, take the ball away.' Coach Chris Sansbury is the defensive coordinator, and he's really changed the mindset from last year to this year. We've been doing it all year."
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The Eagles finished with three turnovers.
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Coach John Sansbury has guided Olentangy Liberty to its first state final.
Defense limits Lakewood St. Edward scoring opportunities
The Eagles were held to 221 total yards and didn't cross the goal line until Nat Gregory capped a 15-play, 72-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard run to make it 21-7 with 7:14 left.
The Patriots stopped St. Edward three times on fourth down in Liberty territory.
Liberty Linebacker Lincoln Gardner and defensive back Landon Hersey led the way with 10 and nine tackles, respectively.
"We play together, and we dominate," Gardner said. "We're fundamentally sound and play as a team. We get it done."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA football: Olentangy Liberty knocks out St. Edward in state semi
