Titans end state bid, lose to Richland's Liberty Christian

It was an exciting end to a great season for the Odessa-Harrington Titans football team when they lost to Liberty Christian by 30 points Friday November 13.

The Liberty Christian Patriots were able to hold the Titans and prevent them from scoring during the entire first half of the game, while the Patriots themselves scored five touchdowns, all followed by successful two-point conversions.

O-H 0 0 8 22 30

LC 16 24 8 12 60

With a score of 40-0 going into the second half, the Odessa-Harrington team could have easily given up, but the third quarter saw the Titans gain a little ground when Colton Hunt made the first Titan touchdown of the game on a 30-yard run, and Sage Elder ran the ball for the two extra points.

In the fourth quarter, things really shifted as the Titans’ S. Elder was able to score three more touchdowns, the first on a nine-yard run, the second on a 35-yard run and and the third on a one-yard run, as well as running in two of the extra-point attempts.

Offensively, Elder had 29 carries for 224 yards and three TDs. Colton Hunt had 11 carries for 81 yards and one TD, Caleb Behrens nine carries for 25 yards and Dylan Shockley two carries for 13 yards. In the passing game, Hunt was six of 12 for 53 yards and no TDs.

Defensively, the Titans did a great job limiting Liberty Christian’s QB/RB John Lesser to 154 yards on the ground, but his passing game did the most damage, accounting for 172 yards passing and three TDs. Not only is Lesser the QB for Liberty Christian, he is the nation’s leading rusher with over 3,000 yards on the season.

Sage Elder also led the defense with seven tackles, followed by John DeWulf with five and Colby Sooy with four. Colton Hunt, Garrett Gross and Caleb Behrens had two apiece.

The Odessa-Harrington Titans should be proud of themselves for the season they had and for Friday’s game. They didn’t give up, and they played with dignity, heart and respect.

As Sage Elder told The Record, “I had a blast!”

The Titans end their season with an overall 7-4 record (3-1 in league play).