Perry holds on to win OHSAA Division V state title over Liberty Center: Ohio high school football 2023 rewind

Perry took home its first football state title in program history with a victory over Liberty Center in the 2023 OHSAA Division V state championship game

Perry head coach Bob Gecewich reacts to a play during the 2023 OHSAA Division V state championship game. Perry defeated Liberty Center 21-14 to win its first state title. / Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports

As we get ready for the beginning of the 2024 Ohio high school football season, we wanted to take a look back at 2023 to see how the season ended in each of the state’s seven divisions with a rewind recap of the state championship game.

In this edition, we will take a look at the 2023 OHSAA Division V state championship game, which saw Perry capture its first state title with a 21-14 win over Liberty Center.

Perry 21, Liberty Center 14

Perry scored the final 14 points of the game and made a huge defensive stand in the final minute to defeat Liberty Center 21-14 in the 2023 OHSAA Division V state championship game, giving the Pirates their first football state title in program history.

After the teams played to a 7-7 tie in the first half, Liberty Center took a 14-7 lead with 7:54 left in the third quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass from Landon Amstutz to Colton Kruse.

But less than two minutes later, Brayden Richards hit Luke Sivon with a 37-yard touchdown pass to tie the game for the Pirates. Then it was Richards again just two minutes later who gave Perry a lead with 4:07 left in the third on a 60-yard touchdown run as he was taking snaps at quarterback.

"When I was quarterback, no matter what the play was, I would look at coach and he told me what to do," Richards said. "And that time he told me to run it and ended up being an okay play call." 

Liberty Center took the ball to the Perry 21 on the ensuing possession, but a fumble on 4th-and-1 ended the threat.

The Tigers had one more good chance to tie the game on the final possession, driving to the Perry 27, where they faced a 4th-and-15 with 17 seconds remaining where Amstutz's pass to Kruse fell incomplete.

"For our guys, it's just one more snap, play as hard as you can," Perry head coach Bob Gecewich said. "It's just a matter of - and the Liberty Center kids did the same thing - just digging down and giving it your best, the best that you have. And luckily we came up on the right side of it this go round."

Richards led the Pirates with 124 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries and completed three of his four pass attempts for 61 yards and a score. Walter Moses was 9-of-14 passing for 219 yards and a touchdown.

Sivon caught both touchdown passes for Perry - a 42-yarder in the first quarter from Moses and the 37-yarder from Richards in the third quarter. He finished with seven catches for 139 yards.

(Note: Perry has moved up to Division IV for the 2024 season)

2023 OHSAA Division V state semifinal results

Perry 22, Harvest Prep 8
Liberty Center 14, Germantown Valley View 10

-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh