Fulton County Ohio Media

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Despite the cold steady rain and a formidable opponent, the Liberty Center Football Tigers continued their Running Clock Playoff Tour with a 38-0 beatdown of the Genoa Comets, Champions of the Northern Buckey Conference Friday night at Fostoria High School.  The wet conditions hampered both teams’ offense early on with the only score coming when LC’s Jaxton Lawniczak picked off a Myles Mollenhauer pass down the middle and returned it 44 yards to paydirt, followed by a Max Walker successful PAT.

While the Tiger defense kept the clamps on the Comets, their offense came alive in the second quarter.  Garrison Kruse finished off an 83-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge into the left corner of the end zone to push the lead to 14-0.  Two Genoa turnovers on their side of the field, an interception by Kaden Sonnenberg and a fumble recovery by Degan Schwaiger, set up Liberty Center to take complete control of the contest.

Kruse grabbed a screen pass from Kaden Kreinbrink and ran 17 yards, crossing the goal line for a 21-0 LC advantage.  Kreinbrink then hooked up with Lawniczak for a 20-yard score towards the end of the first half.  Up 28-0 with little time left in the first half, great defense and strategic clock management by the Tiger coaching staff led to a 43-ard field goal attempt by Walker.  The kick sailed through the rain and fell just over the crossbar with no time left on the clock, putting Liberty Center on top 31-0 at the end of the first half. 

The late score proved to be a dagger in the hearts of the Comets and the Genoa faithful.  As the case in almost every game of the 2025 season, the Liberty Center opponent entered the second half of the game with a deficit of 30 points or more and a running clock to further shackle their chances at a comeback.  Isaiah Badenhop returned a punt 48 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter for the only score in the second half to complete the 38-0 victory and secure the Tigers’ third consecutive OHSSA Division V Regional Championship.

Liberty Center will now travel to Lima next Friday night, November 28^th at 7:00 PM to take on the Indian Lake Lakers in the State Semi-Finals.  The winner will advance to the D5 State Championship game to be played in Canton on Saturday night, December 6^th at 7:30 PM.

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