Edison struggles in regional final loss to Liberty Center

MILLBURY — Edison could not have drawn up a better start. The top-seeded Chargers needed just three plays to score and take a quick lead on No. 2 Liberty Center. But that was the highlight of the night for the Edison offense. The Tigers scored 34 unanswered points from there, and Edison had no answer for the Liberty Center rushing offense. That all led to the Tigers pulling away from Edison, 34-6, in a Division V Region 18 championship game on Friday at Lake High School. "We tried some different things defensively," Edison coach Jim Hall said. "I think they kind of wore us down. We've been able to wear other people down. They did that to us. I thought their depth hurt us because they were able to keep bringing guys on. "You're at this level. You have to find ways, and we weren't able to do it." The Chargers finish the season with a record of 13-1. Edison was ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press state poll. "It's an incredible group," Hall said. "We'll need a little time and distance to realize how special of a season it was and how great these kids are. Obviously, we're disappointed and the kids are hurt. "Whenever it comes to an end, I tell them that's what makes the game special. You only have a little time period to play the game." On the first play of the game, Abe Hermes kept the ball around the outside and scrambled for 59 yards. The next play was similar for Hermes, going for 13 yards and another first down. Bryson Wittmer then rumbled in from eight yards out for the early Edison touchdown. The extra point was no good, but the Chargers led 6-0 just over a minute in. "We executed early," Hall said. They changed some things on defense and we were able to execute what we wanted to on offense. We made a couple big plays and got that first score." The biggest issue for Edison was the AP No. 3-ranked Tigers (14-0) had the immediate answer. After a short run by Waylon Rentz, the LC senior exploded through the line and was off to the races for a 61-yard score. The extra point by Ian Rosebrook gave the Tigers a 7-6 advantage with 9:55 left in the first quarter. Edison looked to respond on its next drive. On third down, Hermes hit Wittmer for a 38-yard first down. Cy Finnen went for nine yards on the next play to bring up second-and-short. But the Chargers were stuffed for no gain twice before a false start pushed Edison back. An incomplete pass by Hermes resulted in a turnover on downs. The Chargers forced a three-and-out, but their offense did the same and a short punt gave Liberty Center good field position. It took the Tigers six plays to go just 38 yards, capped on a two-yard TD keeper by Rentz on the first play of the second quarter. The extra point made it 14-6. "That's a heck of a team," LC coach Casey Mohler said. "They've got some great players and their scheme is tough to stop. First drive, it didn't look real good for us. But I thought our guys kind of settled in and we controlled the line of scrimmage with what we needed to do." Edison again was able to move the ball, using a couple completed passes by Hermes to get near midfield. But, a sack by the Liberty Center defense ruined the drive and the Chargers punted. LC was able to execute its offense well again to push the lead near the end of the half. Garrison Kruse went for 36 yards on first down before the Tigers picked up fresh sets of downs three times on third-down conversions. That allowed Liberty Center to keep the drive alive and guzzle clock. Near the end zone this time, Rentz scored on a one-yard run. The extra point made it 21-6 at halftime. Edison desperately needed a stop to start the second half, but couldn't get it. Instead, the Tigers marched down the field, eating away the clock as they went. LC quarterback Grady Miller picked up eight yards on third-and-6 and a few plays later, Kruse went for 10 yards on fourth-and-2. Liberty Center was able to take more than eight minutes off the clock before Miller scored on a one-yard keeper. That made it 28-6 with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter. "We wanted to control the clock and keep their offense off the field," Mohler said. "We wanted to end drives with points. The score before the half was huge and to come out and score to score to start the second half was just really big." Edison went three-and-out, having possession for just 1:27 of the third quarter. Liberty Center added a one-yard TD carry by Mohler early in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on a dominating performance. Rentz finished with 31 carries for 173 yards while Mohler ran nine times for 85 yards. Liberty Center completed just one pass on the night, by backup quarterback Kaden Kreinbrink in the second quarter. "I think we understood what was coming at us," Hall said. "It was a matter of physically being able to. stop it. Everybody has to be in the right spots. We weren't able to get off blocks. We weren't able to answer some of the things they were doing." Cy Finnen tallied 41 yards on 13 attempts for Edison. Wittmer was hobbled most of the game, finishing with five rushes for 19 yards. Hermes completed 4-of-7 passes for 54 yards and ran nine times for 83 yards. "They were fast and aggressive and attacked up front," Hall said. "We had to match that and I just didn't think we were able to do that tonight." The loss brings an end to the career of 11 Edison seniors including Hermes, Finnen, Grayson Smith, Davin Wendt, Zach Rang, Luke Langhals, and Luke Blatnik. The Chargers won 24 games over the last two seasons after going a combined 12-11 in 2021 and 2022. They also won back-to-back Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division titles. "These kids that are seniors were playing as sophomores," Hall said. "A lot of these kids have played for three years. They've done a lot for our program. I couldn't be prouder of them." Liberty Center 7 14 7 6 — 34Edison 6 0 0 0 — 6 E — Bryson Wittmer 8 run (kick failed)LC — Waylon Rentz 61 run (Ian Rosebrook kick)LC — Rentz 2 run (Rosebrook kick)LC — Rentz 1 run (Rosebrook kick)LC — Grady Miller 1 run (Rosebrook kick)LC — Thomas Mohler 1 run (pass failed)