Fulton County Ohio Media

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The general consensus, prior to the OHSAA Division V Region 18 Semi-Final rematch between Liberty Center and Oak Harbor, was the game would be very close, and in no way would resemble last year’s 45-14 Tiger blowout win.  That is what most expected and that is what two great teams, both again at 12-0, delivered as the game was not decided until a Liberty Center interception deep in their territory with less than a minute remaining sealed the Tigers’ 24-21 over the Rockets on Friday night at Maumee High School.

For most of the contest both offenses had to grind it out with long clock-eating drives, Liberty Center almost exclusively on the ground and Oak Harbor mixing in runs with short passes. The Tigers took the opening kickoff and drove down for a 7-0 lead with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter.  The Rockets responded with a drive of their own and tied the game at 7-7 with a touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.  It was the only time the game was tied and from there the teams began exchanging leads.

Ian Rosebrook booted a short field with 0:05 left on the clock goal to put LC up 10-7 at halftime, then Rocket QB Mike LaLonde plunged in from the one-yard line with 8:57 in the third and OH took a 14-10 lead heading into the final quarter.  The Tigers put together a 13-play 80-yard drive and regained the lead 17-14 when Waylon Rentz went in from a yard out at the 10:51 mark of the fourth.  However, the advantage only lasted 16 second as Tyler Thompson returned the kickoff 93 yards and the Rockets were back in command at 21-17.

Liberty Center returned the ensuing kickoff to their 45-yard line and began to pound the Oak Harbor defensive line with short gains, squeezing out first downs to stay alive.  With 6:43 left, the Tigers season hung in the balance as they faced a fourth down with three yards to go.  Quarterback Grady Miller ran around the right side and was knocked out of bounds close to the first down marker. The referees called for a measurement which showed the tip of the ball about two inches over the line.

The drive continued and Liberty Center went back on top with 3:03 remaining with another Rentz one-yard plunge.  Oak Harbor put together one last drive, advancing the ball down to the Tigers’ 26-yard line, but a LaLonde threw a pass into the waiting arms of linebacker Stephen Brogan with less than a minute to go, essentially ending the game as Liberty Center was able to run out the clock from there.

For the second consecutive season, the Oak Harbor Rockets end their season with a 12-1 record with a loss to Liberty Center.  The Tigers stay unbeaten at 13-0 and will now face the top-seeded Milan Edison Chargers (13-0) on Friday, November 22^nd at 7:00 pm at Lake High School in Milbury.

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.