Some might swear that’s actually a cape flapping behind Liberty’s Jake Struck and they might be right. Struck went over and off on the Panthers, racking up 3 TD’s to power Liberty’s 21-9 win. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
Called on to handle a larger role as a runner, three-sport standout and Ohio State lacrosse signee Jake Struck answered the bell as his physical style set the tone on this rainy, windy night.
Columbus, OH – On its third play from scrimmage, Olentangy Liberty delivered an emphatic message to Pickerington North that the Patriots were determined to prove they were the more physical team in a Division I, Region 3 championship game at Historic Crew Stadium.
Hybrid running back/receiver Jake Struck (rhymes with truck) caught an intermediate pass from Andrew Leonard near midfield and barreled through two North defenders en route to a 62-yard gain to the Panthers 6-yard-line. One of the would-be-tacklers was knocked cold and had to be helped off the field.
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“That kind of set the tone for us,” said Struck, a strapping 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior who made first-team All-Ohio both as a midfielder for Liberty’s state championship lacrosse team and as a forward for the ice hockey team in 2024. The Ohio player of the year and a first-team All-American, Struck has signed to play lacrosse at Ohio State. It’s hard to fathom that football is his third best sport.
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“On that first play, the whole sideline was going nuts,” he said. “I kind of knew going to into the game, I was going to get more touches than usual. They rode me in practice. From our film study and what our guys upstairs see, I think they felt like we could use our offensive line to beat them up front and run the ball on them. As the game went along, we just kept running it and running it and running it.”
Struck rushed for 97 yards on 21 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 3, 6 and 2 yards – all out of a Wildcat formation – as Liberty outslugged North 21-9 for its fourth regional title and a trip to the big-school final four. The Patriots (12-2) next will face three-time defending state champion Lakewood St. Edward (9-5), presumably at Mansfield Arlin Field Friday.
Andrew Leonard delivers a brutal stiff arm to Pick North’s Cale Blackman, but it was a bit too brutal, as Leonard was charged for a facemask violation.
Coming into the contest, Struck had gained 585 yards rushing with nine touchdowns in a balanced three-headed attack with Grayson Davis and Leonard. More of his damage had come as a receiver with 49 receptions for 781 yards and 14 TDs. But the script changed on this chilly, blustery night with periods of blowing rain.
“This was just the personnel package we liked tonight,” Patriots coach John Sansbury said. “We tried to rest him a little bit in the regular-season. He’s such a great athlete … a big strong kid who’s hard to bring down, and we thought we’d ride him a little more tonight. I know I wouldn’t want to tackle him.”
Struck’s first TD, two plays after his statement run, gave Liberty a lead it would never relinquish. But uber-athletic North, boasting five Division I commits (four at offensive skill positions) never made it easy.
A 49-yard strike from Leonard to Christian Moulton set up Struck’s second score to make it 14-0.
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Early in the second quarter, North (11-3) mounted a seven-play, 80-yard scoring drive. On fourth-and-goal at the 6, quarterback Jarin Mock hit Preston Bowman in the back of the end zone for a TD.
On Liberty’s third series, Tank Washington blocked a punt by Geno Saccoccia but while trying the secure the ball, lost the grip near the front pylon and it rolled through the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Tyson Long breaks up a pass intended for Liberty’s Christian Moulton.
With North riding a wave of momentum into halftime, Liberty responded with a workmanlike eight-play, 65-yard scoring drive to reclaim command. A 30-yard pass from Leonard to Moulton on third-and-12 was the key play that set up Struck’s third score.
The Panthers hit plenty of chunk plays, but hurt themselves with penalties and turnovers.
Antonio Kish thwarted two potential scoring drives on back-to-back possession with interceptions. The second came in the Patriots end zone, more or less dousing any hopes North had of staging a comeback.
“That’s like a dream performance to get two picks in the regional championship game,” said Kish, who also had a team-high tackles, said. “A lot of the game, I was covering Bowman, and he’s definitely one of the best in the state. He beat me a few times, but we finally got some things figured out in the second half. He was a big focus, for sure.”
Bowman, a Kentucky commit, capped a brilliant career with nine receptions for 152 yards. Mock, a junior who has committed to Wisconsin, completed 18 of 27 passes for 250 yards.
Leonard, the district player of the year, hit on 9 of 14 passes for 178 yards in a minimized role. He entered with 2,585 yards passing with 38 TDs.
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Liberty was coming off an atypical 4-8 season in 2023, making this run that much more special.
“All summer long, we knew we had the players to make this kind of run,” Struck said.
Senior linebacker Austin Stamp, who made a fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter to seal the win, said the Patriots were supremely confident heading in.
Preston Bowman jukes and evades Liberty’s Carter Kuhn for a big gain.
“We had a good game plan for them tonight,” he said. “We liked our odds up front and we viewed this as Liberty conditions. They have some great athletes, but really feel like we just had a better all-around team than them.”
Sansbury, a 2005 Liberty grad, who assisted Steve Hale for 14 seasons before taking the helm in 2023, felt the key was limiting big plays and playing the cleaner game.
“Our focus was to prevent bad plays,” he said. “We had a hard time containing Bowman at times, but I felt like we rallied to the ball well and thrived on our wild dog mentality.”
In addition to the three turnovers, North was penalized 10 times for 87 yards. A few were drive wreckers and others helped sustain Liberty drives.
“They did a good job in the red zone and we didn’t,” Panthers coach Nate Hillerich said. “We had a few really good chances and couldn’t convert. Our defense did a pretty good job containing them through the air, but they hit some big plays and capitalized on them. Struck was really hard to stop. That’s why he’s one of their go-to guys.”
Hillerich added that his seniors will depart as the winningest group in program history with one regional final appearance and three regional semifinal appearances.
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