LIBERTY CENTER, Ohio — Liberty Center may be a small town, but its love for high school football is big. 

What You Need To Know

  • It has been 25 years since the Liberty Center Tigers competed in the OHSAA state championship

  • Katy Benson, an alum of Liberty Center, attended the game in 1998 and eventually joined the high school marching band

  • The Liberty Center football team has triplets on the team 

After 25 years of not making it to the state championship game, the Tigers are back and their community is ready to cheer them on. Liberty Center athletics is one of the highlights of the town. 

When one sport is doing well, the entire community is rooting for the school. It has been more than two decades since the Tigers have competed for a state title, but according to Liberty Center assistant coach Ryan Miller, community members still remember that exciting day 25 years ago. 

“The last few years we’ve been really close in terms of our advancement throughout the tournament, and this year we were fortunate enough to, I guess, get one step farther than what we had before,” said Miller. “And because it was 25 years ago, there’s still a lot of people in the community that remember that.” 

Alumna Katy Benson, who works for the Liberty Center public library, still has pride for her school. 

“I really enjoyed going to school at Liberty,” she said.

She remembers attending the game back in 1998 when she was a kid.

“I remember the long trip because I was younger and then going in. There are so many people and it was really cold as well. Like it is this weekend. And then just being coming back and being excited to watch it on TV again, like the recap and everything. So I remember that,” said Benson.

Although she was only 11 years old when she attended the game, she also still remembers the town’s support for the team.  

“I also remember coming back into town, and it’s still a tradition that we do for all sports, but for big games and stuff. The fire department will come into town and they will have all their sirens and lights going up and the busses will be behind it with the band and the football players just to celebrate their big accomplishment,” said Benson.

From that point on, her love for Liberty Center football grew so much so that she joined the high school marching band. 

“I was in marching band, so I went to every football game and I mean it was a lot of fun. So I enjoyed being in marching band, but one of the best parts was going to football games,” said Benson.

Support from community members like Katy Benson doesn’t go unnoticed by the football team.

“The community has given us a ton of support. They just like to watch us and cheer us on,” said Liberty Center football player Trenton Kruse.

That support motivates them to compete to the best of their ability. 

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