LIBERTY CENTER, Ohio — The Liberty Center football team triumphed over Archbold in a battle of unbeatens, claiming its fifth straight Northwest Ohio Athletic League title and undefeated regular season in a 42-10 victory. 

The Tigers connected on two first-half passing touchdowns from Jack Badenhop to Jaxton Lawniczak of 41 and 42 yards. Running back Garrison Kruse added a three-yard rushing touchdown to build a 21-10 halftime lead. 

That advantage immediately grew on the ensuing kickoff, as wide receiver Ethan Gray ran 98 yards to the end zone. After an Archbold turnover on downs, Kruse broke free for a 78-yard score on the first offensive snap of the half for LC. 

Adding another rushing score, Max Perry put the final touches on the win from one-yard out with 2:09 left in the fourth, seeing the Tigers score three touchdowns in both halves.

“I think the standard we’ve got is a credit to the past teams that we’ve had, and they’ve constantly raised the bar for everybody,” Liberty Center head coach Casey Mohler said. “That’s the expectation. You have to meet the standard, and these seniors have reset that standard. They’ve done a great job of bringing the underclassmen along with them. We’re just hoping for continued development.” 

Archbold’s scores came on a 23-yard field goal in the first quarter and a three-yard touchdown pass from Maddox Pinter to Morgan Harris with 18 seconds remaining until the break. Those efforts, however, couldn’t match Liberty Center’s first-half passing attack and second-half explosive plays.

The Tigers outgained the Blue Streaks 428-269 as Badenhop finished 7 of 11 for 196 yards and two passing touchdowns. Kruse added 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 24 rushing attempts. Lawniczak had three receptions for 106 yards and two receiving touchdowns. 

“We like to celebrate a great culture from before. We know what to do. Five straight, but it’s still special though,” Badenhop said. “We really emphasized coming out of the half [fast], so we came out the first half firing, and the second half was the same thing. Those two touchdowns were huge.” 

Defensively, Liberty Center forced two interceptions. Those came from Gray and Kruse. The Blue Streaks went 4-for-12 on third down conversions, totaled 95 rushing yards, and were shut out in the second half. 

The result ended a nine-game winning streak for Archbold (9-1, 6-1 NWOAL). A Blue Streaks’ win over Liberty Center in 2021 remains the last time an opponent bested the Tigers in the regular season.

“We couldn’t get off the field on third down. That was huge, and hats off to them, they’re a heck of a football team,” Archbold head coach David Dominique said. “We had opportunities to get off the field, and it was frustrating across the board. But, at the end of the day, we got to get ourselves in better positions to make plays. That’s on me.” 

LC enters the OHSAA Division VI playoffs unbeaten after winning the Division V state title a year ago. Throughout the regular season, Liberty Center scored 52.7 points on average while allowing 7.4 per game.