Saturday, November 12th, 2022
Cavs can't stop the Tigers
Liberty Center rushes for nearly 300 yards in playoff win over Coldwater
By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Curtis Duerr (7) defends as Liberty Center's Aiden Hammontree is unable to snag a pass in the end zone during Friday's game.
LIMA - Liberty Center's gameplan was simple: force Coldwater to stop its running game.
The Cavaliers could not, and the Tigers ran all night long, handing the Cavaliers a 34-0 loss in the Division V regional football semifinal on Friday night at Spartan Stadium in Lima.
The Tigers (13-0) now face Elmwood in the Region 18 final next Friday at a site to be announced Sunday. Coldwater ends its season at 11-2.
Coldwater struggled on offense. Marcel Blasingame, who came back for the second half of last Friday's win over Huron after fracturing his leg in Week Nine against Versailles, was unable to use his speed to run, held to two carries for a negative four yards.
"When you take away his running, (Liberty Center) can rush with three guys and get some pressure. They took it to us," said Coldwater coach Chip Otten.
Forced to pass, the Tigers defended the passing game well. Blasingame was 6-of-19 for 49 yards and two interceptions.
"I wasn't sure about our matchups on the back end because Coldwater is so athletic. They're great players," said Tigers coach Casey Mohler. "But I thought our guys stepped up and made plays when they had to."
The Tigers finished with 299 yards rushing on 59 carries (5.1 yard per carry average).
"They're stout up front," said Otten. "We're pretty good up front, and they matched us up there and did what they do. They have three pretty good ballcarriers."
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Sam Obringer (53) tries to slow down Liberty Center's Matthew Orr during Friday's Division V regional football semifinal at Lima's Spartan Stadium. Orr scored three touchdowns as the Tigers ended the Cavaliers' season with a 34-0 loss.
Liberty Center got the ball to start the game and started chewing up the yards and the clock. The Tigers only passed twice - with one completion - as Matthew Orr, Colton Kruse and Zane Zeiter controlled the field with the running game. Orr punched in the final eight yards of a 14-play, 77-yard drive to take the lead.
Coldwater, on the other hand, struggled, as Blasingame was sacked on the first play from scrimmage for the Cavaliers, who had to punt on a three-and-out.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Marcel Blasingame is brought down by Liberty Center's Seth Navarre.
The Tigers kept moving the ball on their next possession, but Coldwater's defense stepped up by breaking up a pass play to the end zone on a fourth-and-6 from the Cav 9 to get the ball back. LC, however, allowed just one yard on three plays and forced another punt. Justin Kaup was punting into the wind and managed just a 20-yard boot to put the Tigers at the Cavalier 30. LC kept it on the ground as Orr picked up 20 of the 30 yards before Zeiter ran in the final three yards to make it 14-0 with 3:21 left in the first half.
"That's who we are," said Mohler about his team's running game. "I was nervous if we would be able to run the ball consistently, but my assistant coaches talked me off the ledge a little bit and gave me a bit more confidence."
The Cavaliers gained six yards on the next drive and punted, but the defense held the Tigers, who opted to punt from the Cav 34 in an attempt to pin Coldwater back. The punt went into the end zone with 58 seconds left in the half. Coldwater moved the ball as Blasingame hit Duerr for two big passes before finding Evan Harlamert for a 20-yard pass to get into Tiger territory for the first time. However, on the next play, Blasingame went deep and Zeiter picked off the pass at the 12, then took a knee to run out the final five seconds.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Jack Ebbing (22) is stopped by Liberty Center's Owen Box (back) and Landon Bockelman during Friday's Division V regional semifinal in Lima.
The Cavaliers held the ball for just four minutes in the half and managed 45 yards of offense while the Tigers had 179 yards rushing on 36 carries and 12 yards passing.
Coldwater punted on its first drive of the third quarter. A punt into the wind put the Tigers at their 47, but the running game picked up steam again and the Tigers went 53 on nine plays, with Orr getting his second touchdown of the night on a four-yard burst to make it 21-0.
On the Cavaliers' next possession, Blasingame tried to throw the ball for a short gain under pressure, but Kruse snagged the ball and scampered 28 yards for a pick-six to make it 28-0.
"It starts with our guys up front," said Mohler regarding the defense. "They've been able to contain the quarterbacks and get some pressure. They allowed our (defensive backs) to do what they needed to do."
Coldwater punted on its next possession, putting the Tigers at their 42, but save for one pass attempt, the Tigers covered 58 yards on the ground and took over five minutes off the clock. Orr punched in for another four-yard score to make it 35-0 and started the running clock for the final 10 1/2 minutes.
Kruse led a balanced rushing attack with 101 yards on 18 carries. Orr added 97 yards on 21 rushes with three scores and Zeiter, who only needed to attempt six passes on the night, had 69 yards and a score.
"I'm proud of our guys," said Otten. "Seniors went through a lot of stuff this year. It made it tough on us."
