Olentangy Liberty beat Moeller for its first state title

CANTON — If Cincinnati Moeller had every reason to be the favorite in Friday night’s Division I final, from pedigree to Mr. Football quarterback, no one told Olentangy Liberty about it.

The Patriots (14-2) benefited from a lightning-fast defense and great performances from their own Mr. Football finalist, senior quarterback Andrew Leonard, and his balanced offense. They set the tone early and shot to their first championship, dominating the Crusaders 28-14 in front of 4,814 relaxed fans at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

“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. They were shown today.”

Patriots coach John Sansbury quickly interjected.

“Jake led our team meeting on Wednesday and mentioned some of these things,” Sansbury said. “That fired us up.”

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.

All of that complemented a defense that never allowed Crusaders quarterback and Mr. Football winner Matt Ponatoski to feel comfortable. A week after throwing for 431 yards and six touchdowns in a state semifinal win over Centerville — all in the first half — Ponatoski was limited to 16 of 30 passes for 112 yards.

Moeller (14-2), which was in its 14th state final and fell short of its 10th title, was stopped three times on fourth down, tripped three times and reached the red zone just once.

Liberty linebacker Lincoln Gardner’s nine tackles and a fumble recovery and defensive back Tyler Thornton’s eight tackles led the way.

“Self-inflicted wounds made life difficult for us,” said Moeller coach Bert Bathiany. “Give Liberty a lot of credit. They forced us to do this. I never felt like we were getting going. We’ve been able to create a lot of explosive plays all year, but we just haven’t been able to do that. Their defense does what it does and they do it very well.”

Struck scored from one yard out in the first quarter and Leonard hit Moulton from 20 yards out for a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Liberty attempted a 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 the ball from 80 yards to make it 14-7 at halftime.

Two plays after Gardner’s fumble recovery early in the third, Moulton brilliantly caught a 61-yard touchdown pass. On the next possession, he made another 13-yard catch 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 at any time, it’s easy to do what I can do to be successful.”

Liberty’s win gave Central Ohio its first major school title since Pickerington Central in 2019 and two championships on the same day, the first time since Hartley and Watterson won Divisions IV and III, respectively, in 2010.

Watterson defeated Toledo Central Catholic 19-14 in the Division III final on Friday.

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Olentangy Liberty beat Moeller for its first state title

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