The Olentangy Liberty football team was blanked 49-0 by defending Division I state champion Cincinnati St. Xavier on Friday night.
The Bombers controlled every facet of the game from start to finish as the host Patriots struggled to even pick up a first down most of the game.
St. Xavier marched right down the field on its first drive, scoring on a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Luke Vrsansky. The Bombers picked up 30 yards on their first play from scrimmage on a pass from Brogan McCaughey to Terrell McFarlin. They converted a fourth and short, then scored a few plays later.
After regaining possession, the Bombers used just four plays to find the end zone again, this time on a 39-yard passing TD from McCaughey to McFarlin on a busted coverage that left him wide open on the right sideline. That put the Bombers up 14-0 with 4:47 left in the first quarter.
St. Xavier got its third score of the night on a 3-yard carry by senior Charles Kellom to put the Bombers up 21-0 with 7:40 left in the second quarter.
Liberty’s Nick Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield, but the Liberty offense could not get the chains moving and only picked up four yards before having to punt the ball away again.
The Bomber offense started from inside their own 10 and moved down the field quickly as they used crossing routes to pick up several chunk plays. McCaughey found receiver Max Klare on a well-placed, 23-yard touch pass right in front of the back pylon to put the Bombers up 28-0 with 3:12 left in the first half.
Liberty punted again on the next possession, but the Patriots were called for kick-catch interference, putting the Bombers at the Patriots’ 40. The Bombers scored a few plays later on a 21-yard passing TD from McCaughey to McFarlin, giving him his third passing TD of the half.
Right before the half, Liberty QB J.J. Siebert got sacked and fumbled the ball into the end zone, and it was picked up the Bombers’ Max Bonner for a defensive TD, putting St. Xavier up 42-0 with 1:03 left.
The Patriots had 29 yards of offense in the first half on 22 plays. The Bombers had 294 total yards of offense in the half, 231 of them coming through the air.
The second half was played with a running clock and neither team really did much. The Patriots did play better than they did in the first half, but still weren’t able to put any points on the board.
St. Xavier’s Joe Nelson returned an interception 67-yards to the house after a few Liberty players tried to dive at his ankles but couldn’t bring him down. That would prove to be the final score of the game, putting the Bombers up 49-0 with 4:33 left.
“We have to get back to work, isn’t that obvious,” Liberty head coach Steve Hale said after the disappointing blowout defeat.
The Patriots are now 1-2, with a win over Glenville and losses to St. Xavier and Steubenville. They host Olentangy Berlin next week.
