Crescent-News.com - LC rallies to knock off Streaks

BY JASON STEIN
cnsports@crescent-news.com

LIBERTY CENTER - Statistically outplayed and shut down in the first half and trailing by 14 on the scoreboard, Liberty Center scored 21 unanswered points, including two fourth quarter touchdowns in the final 4:41 to knock off Archbold, 21-14. With the win the Tigers are guaranteed a spot in the Division V, Region 18 playoffs and possibly a home game in the first round.

"It shows you that it's a two-half ballgame," said Rex Lingruen, coach of the victorious Tigers. "They won the first half, we came out in the second half and things went our way. There were a few mistakes on both sides of it, we were able to take advantage of them in the second half, and the kids played with a lot of heart. It's a game where I thought both teams left it all on the field."

Liberty was limited to 70 yards of first-half offense and gave up 256 yards to the Streaks, who successfully ran a five-wide shotgun set, at times with a man in motion, for the majority of the first two quarters.

Archbold, scoring on its first possession in the first quarter on a five-play, 70-yard drive, moved the ball effectively but a pair of turnovers cost them opportunities to have a larger lead. One turnover included a fumble on a third-and-goal play from the Liberty 4-yard line when the call was made to put quarterback David Rupp under center instead of in the shotgun set. While the Streaks went right back to the five-wide throughout the rest of the first half, that was not the case in the second half and that, coupled with some gutsy calls, seemed to hurt Archbold, which gained just 91 yards of offense in the final two quarters.

"It's my fault. I was a dumbbell," remarked Archbold's mentor, John Downey. "My players deserve better coaching than that and you would think in 30 years I would know better, that was all on me. Our players gave tremendous effort. I am so disappointed in my performance ... that I can't describe it. Our players played tremendous, they have no one to feel sorry for, it was all on me."

Liberty's comeback began after the Tigers stalled Archbold's opening drive in the second half. With Rupp under center and Jacob Fidler in the backfield, the Streaks went from their own 28 and moved the ball to the Liberty 19. The Tigers' defense held, stuffing Archbold on a third-and-inches and again on a fourth-and-a foot.

From that point on, the ball would only enter Liberty's side of the field for seconds as the Tigers took the momentum and ran with it, racking up 197 yards of second-half offense.

"Fidler's a tremendous ball carrier so put it in his hands," began Lingruen, not surprised that Archbold came out in a formation different from what it was throughout most of the first half. "We figured that they'd be wanting to run the clock down a little bit more. Really they controlled us defensively so they had nothing to worry there and they just wanted to take some time off the clock. We're real fortunate, they take the ball down but we get a great stop. We had a couple nice stops and the momentum changed at that point and high school football is all about momentum. I thought from that point on I thought we controlled the game and the momentum went our way."

Starting at their own 19, Liberty ran the ball six straight times, highlighted by an Andy Speiss 57-yard run which set up an eventual Patrick Brown, 3-yard bootleg for a touchdown.
Speiss finished with a team-high 78 rushing yards.

The Tiger defense stepped up on the next series and broke into the backfield as Fidler went to punt on a fourth-and-24 from his own 16 and instead ran the ball for only a few yards. While the Tigers' offense didn't capitalize on the field position, the defense forced Archbold into a three-and-out followed by a stuff when the Streaks curiously went for it on fourth-and-one from their own 10-yard line.

"I might have done the same thing," began Lingruen on his counterparts' call. "I've been there before. They get the first down and it could be the game so that was definitely a big break for us and I know John, in hindsight, wishes he hadn't done it again but if he gets the first down it's a tremendous play. That happens. I've done it and it's cost us and we've done it and it's been successful too, so you just have to take what you got."

After two runs totaling six yards by Jake Elling, Brown connected with tight end Jordan Seedorf on a 4-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone. Leighton Chambers knocked in the crucial extra point to knot the game at 14-all with 4:41 remaining on the clock.

The Streaks finally went back to their 5-wide set, but it was too late as a pair of penalties against the Streaks and a Tigers' sack from Allen Sharp kept the momentum in Liberty's favor as the LC defense set up its offense for the game-winning drive after forcing Archbold to punt.

"It seemed like there was going to be a lot of pressure on the defense this week with Archbold having such a nice offense and stuff," said Speiss. "We just buckle down when we have to."

Starting at Archbold's 39, Speiss ran for two yards to get the ball to the 37, followed by a Brown to Damian Maes 22-yard pass to move the ball to the 15-yard line with two minutes to play.

Elling ran the ball twice, for a total of three yards, before Speiss took a hand-off from Brown, ran to the right and then cut back to the middle to finish off the 12-yard, game-winning run with 45 seconds to go.

"That play really goes to the coaches," Speiss said of his winning scamper. "All week we've been working on this stuff. It's the same stuff every week. We just knew what we had to do on that play, I knew what was coming, got my pre-snap read and just went with it."

Archbold had a decent chance to tie the game as time ran out, but Rupp's pass from the Liberty 33 fell incomplete as a host of Tiger defenders made sure no one wearing blue and gold would come down with the ball.

Rupp led Archbold with 138 yards on 26 carries and two scores, while throwing for 174 yards on 14-of-26 passing.

ARCHBOLD LIBERTY CENTER
First Downs 18 10
Rushing Yards 33-173 41-234
Passing Yards 174 33
Total Yards 347 267
Passing 14-26-1 3-7-1
Fumbles 1 1
Fumbles Lost 1 0
Penalties 11-75 7-80

Archbold 7 7 0 0 - 14
Liberty Center 0 0 7 14 - 21

Archbold - Rupp 10-yard run (Bontrager kick).
Archbold - Rupp 4-yard run (Bontrager kick).
Liberty Center - Brown 3-yard run (Chambers kick).
Liberty Center - Seedorf 4-yard pass from Brown (Chambers kick).
Liberty Center - Speiss 12-yard run (Chambers kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Archbold - Rupp 26-138; Fidler 10-40; Price 1-(-5). Liberty Center - Speiss 8-78; Elling 23-74; Maes 3-59; Sexton 4-16; Brown 3-7.

PASSING: Archbold - Rupp 14-26-1-174. Liberty Center Brown 3-7-1-33.

RECEIVING: Archbold - Fidler 6-91; Price 3-7; Goering 2-22; Westrick 1-28; Keefer 1-14; Smith 1-12.