by YOUTUBE HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
CANTON, OH – The Perry Pirates claimed their first OHSAA Division V State Championship with a trilling 21-14 come from behind victory over the Liberty Center Tigers. Wide Receiver / Quarterback Brayden Richards had a game to remember as he went off in multiple ways. Richards had 61 yards passing with a touchdown, 124 rushing yards with a touchdown, and also caught 2 passes for 46 yards. On defense, he had 8 total tackles to complete his incredible night.
Walter Moses also had a strong game behind center as he threw for 219 yards on 9 of 14 passing with a touchdown pass. Luke Sivon caught 7 passes for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns with 99 yards coming after the catch. Owen McKoon had himself a night, with 12 tackles on defense and 43 receiving yards on offense as he was a presence out there. We cannot forget about Jimmy Ashburn who had a 50 yard catch as well.
For Liberty Center, it was all about Trenton and Colton Kruse. Trenton had 164 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown. Colton had 68 yards on 17 carries. Sadly, their quarterback Landon Amstutz only went 5 of 17 for 37 yards with a touchdown.
The Perry Pirates began with the ball and went on a very nice long and sustainable drive. The big strike coming on a 50-yard pass play from Moses to Ashburn. Shortly after that, they were faced with a 4th and 2 from the Tiger 12-yard line and were stopped when they opted to go for it.
Perry got the ball back quickly however after forcing a three and out, and only took one play to connect on a Moses to Sivon 42-yard pass and catch for six! It was a beautiful launch over the middle in which Moses hit Sivon over the shoulder deep down the middle of the field as he was 5 yards beyond the defensive back trying to cover him. The first quarter ended by that 7-0 score.
Late into the second quarter, the Tigers faced a fourth and 5 when they went for it with their tailback Trenton Kruse who made the gamble pay off with a 33-yard touchdown run. He broke the initial tackle attempt and just took off full speed down the middle of the field. This tied the game at 7 apiece with 2:09 to go in the first half. The drive went 13 plays for 80 yards taking 7:13 off the clock. The game went to half by that same score.
Trenton Cruz sparked Liberty Center to a hot start to begin the second half with a 50-yard run, taking the ball down to the Perry 18-yard line. A few plays later, Landon Amstutz picked the perfect time to complete his first pass of the game, as he hit a wide-open Colton Kruse on a 4-yard swing pass for the score. The drive took 4:06 off the clock over 8 plays for 69 yards.
Perry didn’t blink and went right back to the air attack the next time they touched the ball. They wasted no time and capped it off with a 37-yard touchdown toss from Brayden Richards to Luke Sivon to tie it up at 14 before anyone could blink. They went 80 yards on 5 plays in a little under 2 minutes to tie the game at 14 with 6:03 to go in the third quarter.
Perry retook the lead on their next possession as Brayden Richards again checked in at quarterback and took a draw play 60 yards to the house as no one could touch him on his path to the endzone. Just like that, the Pirates were once again in front 21-14. The third quarter ended by that same score.
Perry survived a thrilling last second drive by the Tigers that came up just shy of scoring, to hold on for the 21-14 victory.
