Olentangy Liberty Patriots
2014 record: 9-3 (6-1)
Fans of Olentangy Liberty were treated to a rather remarkable season in 2014. After cruising past one in-town rival, Olentangy Orange, the Patriots provided arguably one of the season’s most exciting games when they took on their other in-town rival, Olentangy.
The Patriots and Braves took part in a true back-and-forth matchup. While Liberty put the first 14 points on the board, Olentangy scored 21 unanswered, taking their first lead of the game just 36 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Patriots re-tied the game with an Alex Lando pass to Jacob Wiseman shortly after the Braves had taken a lead of their own. Both teams were not done scoring however.
Not by a long shot.
After an Anthony Golden 20-yard touchdown for Olentangy, Liberty’s Lando found Wiseman again, this time for 42 yards, tying the game once more with just 1:10 left in the fourth quarter. Regulation would end with both teams knotted at 28.
The Braves kicked off overtime with possession of the ball but would subsequently throw two straight incompletions forcing a difficult 3rd and 10 situation. Action resumed after a quick time out, and Olentangy quarterback Deeb Haber hit Drew Batt from 20 yards out to put the first points of the overtime on the board.
Trailing 35-28 but with possession on their side of the field, the Patriots took to the air on their first play of the extra period. Lando found senior running back Nicholas Durtschi for 10 yards. Add on a defensive personal foul and Liberty would be set up with a 1st and goal from the 5-yard line.
Lando again found Wiseman for six, seemingly extending the game to another overtime period as the Patriots were just an extra point away from tying the game yet again.
That’s where things got even more exciting for fans. Liberty Head Coach Steve Hale opted to – instead of kicking the extra point – go for the win and left his offense on the field in an attempt to convert a 2-point attempt. However, despite their best effort, the Liberty faithful would not be allowed to erupt in joy as Lando’s pass fell incomplete to Wiseman in the end zone and the Braves held on to defeat their rivals, 35-34.
Even with their bruising early season loss to Olentangy, the Patriots ripped off six consecutive wins, outscoring those opponents by a combined margin of 166-54. Included in those were two shutout victories, one over Westland, 35-0 and another over Hilliard Davidson, 21-0.
Sitting at 7-1, Liberty squared off against perennial powerhouse Dublin Coffman in a late season matchup that would help Coffman secure their fate as regular season Ohio Capital Conference champions. The Shamrocks were too much, too late for the Patriots, defeating Liberty 52-24.
Not to be deterred however, the Patriots ended their season by cruising past Thomas Worthington and set up for a first round home playoff game against Toledo’s Whitmer High School.
Liberty defeated the Panthers, 49-21, to set a date with St. Edward. The eventual State Champions would be too much for the Patriots, ending their outstanding season shorter than they would have liked.
In 2014, Olentangy Liberty was paced by quarterback Alex Lando. The rising senior threw for 2,045 yards, completing 191-of-280 passes for 22 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 75 times for 152 yards and another four touchdowns.
Wiseman finished the season as Lando’s favorite target – accumulating 59 receptions for 641 yards and nine TDs. In all, Lando found seven players for double-digit receptions.
Durtschi led the Patriot backfield, rushing 231 times for 1,254 yards and 12 touchdowns while Wiseman also accrued 392 yards on the ground and an additional eight scores. Durtschi led all Patriot players with his 2,056 total yards in 2014.
In 2015 however, someone else will have to lead the way for the Patriots offensive attack as both Wiseman and Durtschi have since graduated.
Another big loss for the Patriots in 2015 is offensive lineman Hunter Littlejohn, who will be playing for Indiana University next fall. Littlejohn stood at 6-foot-4 and weighed in at over 270 pounds during his senior season for the Patriots and blocked his way to a nod on the AP All-Ohio Second Team in 2014.
With Lando returning under center, the Patriots will have the assurance of a senior signal-caller to help guide their new look offense in 2015.
Rising senior Torre Bower returns as the team’s leading rusher aside from Lando a year ago. Bower ran for just 53 yards during his junior season. The receiving corps will be bolstered by a duo of rising juniors in Andrew Rosi and Brendon White.
While they each finished their sophomore seasons with 21 receptions, Rosi led the two with 305 yards while White led with his five receiving touchdowns.
The Patriots, led by Lando, will kick off their 2015 season taking on both of their in-town rivals in back-to-back games once again. Liberty begins their campaign against Olentangy Orange on Friday, August 28 at 7:30.