Liberty Center’s Garrison Kruse hurdles the pile to score the Tigers’ second touchdown in the Division V title game. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
Liberty Center’s ball-control offense and relentless defense proved too much to handle for Wheelersburg in a Division V state championship game with juicy subplots.
Canton, OH – After suffering bitter defeats in the past two Division V state championship games, Liberty Center running back/defensive back Thomas Mohler made bold promises that the Tigers followed through on.
“Two years ago, we lost a heartbreaker (to Perry 21-14) and Thomas came up to me and guaranteed that we will be back next year,” said coach Casey Mohler, his father. “Then, after we lost (to Ironton 28-17) last year, he said the same thing. My thought at the time was that it was the strangest thing anybody can say when it’s so unbelievably hard to get there.”
Serving sports fans in south central and southeastern Ohio with everything we have. Contact Sheward-Fulks if we have something for you.
The third time indeed was a charm for Liberty Center, which left no doubt with a 35-3 beat-down of Wheelersburg Saturday before 4,414 fans in Tom Benson Hall Of Fame Stadium. The Tigers ran their wing-T offense effectively and their defense was downright devastating in this tantalizing matchup of unbeaten regional top seeds.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Steve Blackledge writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros.
“I feel like I’m blessed tonight,” said Casey Mohler, who had built a gaudy 105-16 record in nine seasons as coach with four straight final four appearances and no gold trophy to show for it. “All these kids have talked about for the last three years is winning a state title and we finally got it done.”
The pregame hype centered on the matchup pitting Liberty Center’s prolific offense, which came in scoring 47.7 points per game, against a stout Wheelersburg yielding 7.1.
But it turned out that the Tigers defense stole the show, limiting the Pirates to 143 total yards and just six first downs.
Logan Services, in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, proudly sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“The story of this game, and this season for that matter, was our defense,” Casey Mohler said. “They say your best defense is your best offense and your best offense is your best defense, and that couldn’t have been truer tonight. We played the game we wanted to. We dictated things. We moved the chains. Our identity for a long time has been three yards and a cloud of dust and be physical, and as the game wore it we kept asserting ourselves.”
While Liberty Center’s punishing run game led by Thomas Mohler (14 carries for 95 yards, one TD) and Garrison Kruse (22 carries, 84 yards, two TDs) was a given, quarterback Kaden Kreinbrink made the most of his opportunities with two clutch touchdown passes to Jaxton Lawniczak that perhaps turned the tide.
The first connection came on a beautiful fade pass in the corner of the end zone that Lawniczak somehow hauled in over his shoulder, dragging one foot in bounds, for a 16-yard TD before bounding into a snow drift. The score, with seven seconds left in the first half, capped a 17-play, 72-yard drive that gobbled up nearly eight and a half minutes.
Earlier in the second quarter, the duo connected on a 44-yard TD play that made it 14-0.
“That score before half probably set the tone for the rest of the game,” Casey Mohler said. “That was vintage Liberty Center right there.”
The defensive effort of Liberty Center was intense. ‘Burg quarterback Braylon Rucker is sacked by Liberty’s Max Walker.
The defensive effort for the Tigers was buoyed by linebacker Max Walker (one sack, two tackles for loss), Lawniczak (1.5 TFLs), defensive back Kaden Sonnenberg (five tackles, one TFL) and Mohler (interception).
Liberty Center (15-0) nearly doubled up Wheelersburg (14-1) in time of possession while converting 10 of 14 third downs to 0 of 7 for the Pirates.
It was the fifth title game out of seven over the weekend that utilized a running clock because due to a lopsided (30 points or greater) margin. This was perhaps the most surprising mismatch on paper.
“There were just some situations they put us in with their schemes that didn’t go our way,” Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward said. “They put some wrinkles in to test us … threw in a few things they had kept in their pocket and we couldn’t quite get them stopped. We looked to make adjustments the best we could but we couldn’t get any consistency. Offensively, we just couldn’t get there tonight.”
Big plays, and a few missed tackles is all it takes. Liberty Center’s Jaxton Lawniczak scores on a 44-yard catch and run in the second quarter.
Wheelersburg’s model for success all season featured a balanced offense, a defense allowing just 147 yards per game, an astonishing plus-29 turnover rate and tremendous special teams play from Ohio University-bound kicker/punter Cooper Heimbach.
But when Liberty Center got ahead 21-3 at halftime, Wheelersburg was forced into an unenviable position.
This marked the Pirates’ first trip here since 2017, when they captured their second state crown.
“At our pep rally, I could see the joy in our fans’ faces and it made me realize that we’re here not necessarily for the wins, but the bonds we’ve formed,” senior two-way lineman Ison Emmett said. “It’s not all about the winning, but rather working towards something and passing it on to other generations.”
Added senior wide receiver/outside linebacker Hunter Henderson, “I said at the beginning of the season, I wanted this team to leave a legacy and I think we’ve done that.”
Proudly sponsoring the OHSAA football tournament on Press Pros Magazine.com.