L-B's defense shuts down Warriors in playoff opener

FINDLAY – Liberty-Benton head coach Scott Garlock came into Friday's Region 18 opener with Fairview expecting one type of game. He didn't get it. "Watching film, we didn't expect that," Garlock said after the Eagles held the Warriors to 144 yards of total offense and shut them out, 37-0. "We were expecting it to be maybe a shootout a little bit. We thought we could score on them, watching film, but we thought they were gonna score right there with us." Liberty-Benton did score, early and often. On the game's first play from scrimmage, Trevin Leib shoveled the ball to Seth Elchert for a 25-yard catch-and-run. On the next play, Zach Elchert – Seth's twin -- ran 40 yards to the end zone. On L-B's next offensive possession, Zach Elchert gashed the Fairview defense for a 39-yard score. "We were spreading the ball out," Zach Elchert said. "It's great that we were spreading the ball out early and that opens up passes for my brother." Meanwhile, the Eagles defense was ferocious, led by end CJ Barbara, who recorded two sacks and four tackles for a loss. "The key to that was, I didn't want to underestimate who I was going against," Barbara said. "I was at film all the time, wanted to know what they were good at, their weaknesses, and I didn't want to leave anything unchecked." The Eagles didn't, holding Fairview quarterback Burke Lowry to 13 of 22 passing for 133 yards, and the Warriors running game to just 33 yards on 12 carries. Fairview punted eight times, and its offense didn't get inside the L-B 20. "We were nervous, the way they threw the ball around," Garlock said of Fairview. "They have a really good quarterback, good receiver, and I'm very, very proud of our coaching staff, and we do have some really good individual players, but it's a team sport, and our defensive team did a great job tonight." The offense did pretty well, too. Zach Elchert ran 19 times for 170 yards, and Seth Elchert had a 64-yard touchdown dash, and seven catches for 76 yards, which included an 11-yard TD in the second quarter. Lieb finished 13 of 18 for 170 yards passing and a TD. Connor Barbara added a 23-yard touchdown, and kicker Garrett Nealis converted a 29-yard field goal. The Eagles led 17-0 after the first quarter and 30-0 at halftime, meaning the entire second half was played with a running clock. L-B players credited that dominance on the work they put in earlier this week. "I think it's practice," CJ Barbara said. "We go hard all the time, we don't underestimate anything, we keep each other up and accountable and we want to go far." L-B (10-1) will be tested next Friday, when it travels to Liberty Center for a second-round game. The Tigers are undefeated – they are the No. 2 seed in Region 18 – and are coming off a 58-6 win over Utica Friday. "We're just gonna go and take our best swing at them," Garlock said. "We know what's coming, we know it's going to be a physical game, I think we've gotten better and more physical as the season's went on, and we know that we're gonna have to bring it."