Fulton County Ohio Media

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The visiting Patrick Henry Patriots met the Liberty Center Tigers on Friday night in what was billed as the “2023 Game of the Year” in the race for football supremacy in the NWOAL. Both teams were undefeated at 6-0, both sat very high in the State rankings and area computer points and both were considered shoo-ins for a top spot in the playoffs. On paper it looked like a great match up.

However, football games are played on the field, not on paper and despite the hype, despite the matching records and despite the equal dominance both teams had enjoyed over their opponents in the first half of the season, it was only the Tigers that came to play as evidenced by the 62-0 demolition of the Patriots.

The Kruse brothers, Trenton with five touchdowns and Colton with two, combined for 288 yards rushing and seven scores in leading an unstoppable Liberty Center offense to a 41-point first half and adding another 21 points in the running clock second half. The Tiger defense was just as impressive with three turnovers in pitching the shutout.

With the victory, Liberty Center is in the driver’s seat for a second straight NWOAL championship with a 4-0 (7-0 overall) record and a one-game lead over Archbold, Patrick Henry and Wauseon. The Patriots fall to 3-1 in the league and 6-1 on the season. Next week the Tigers travel to Evergreen to take on the Vikings while Patrick Henry welcomes in the Delta Panthers.

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Colton Kruse races down the left sideline for a first half touchdown