Liberty-Benton returns strong defense

FINDLAY — In Week 3 of the 2025 football season, on September 5 to be exact, Liberty-Benton will begin defense of its 2024 Blanchard Valley Conference football championship.The operative word there is "defense."Liberty-Benton allowed the fewest yards rushing (855), fewest yards passing (802) and fewest points (96) in going 8-0 in BVC games last season. Those are the cold, hard facts. So is the fact that most of the players who put up those kind of numbers –and a bunch of their backups – are back looking to do it again."Everybody's back but one," L-B coach Scott Garlock said of an Eagles' defense that returns 10 of 11 starters on that side of the ball."We have a great group of seniors who bring a lot of playing experience, and a lot of leadership."Two BVC Players of the Year – Austin Collert and CJ Barbara – headline L-B's defensive deployment.Collert, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior linebacker, had 83 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and was the BVC Defensive Player of the Year as well as third-team all-Ohio. Barbara, a 6-4, 225-pound senior defensive end, had 64 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and was the BVC Defensive Lineman of the Year and honorable mention all-state.Will Granger, a 6-3, 270-pound senior who was all-league on both sides of the ball also returns on the defensive front, along with Austin Berger (6-2, 290, sr.) and Maddyx Vermillion (5-10, 210, sr.).Back at linebacker with Collert will be Zach Elchert (6-3, 205, sr.) and juniors Asher Norman (6-0, 175), Grayson Wages (6-0, 160) and Braden Bell (5-11, 170). Elchert was the most celebrated of the group, earning first-team all-BVC recognition at linebacker, running back and punter, as well as second-team all-Ohio recognition.Liberty-Benton led the BVC with 18 interceptions last season and that group, led by Seth Elchert (6-3, 195, sr.), Reid Irwin (6-0, 170,sr.) and Connor Barbara also returns intact. Seth Elchert picked off eight passes and was first team all-BVC, Irwin, with four picks, was second team, and Connor Barbara swiped three passes and was third-team.Junior Karson Griffin (5-11, 155) returns at a corner for the Eagles.Liberty-Benton's big senior class includes a number of two- and three-year starters who bring back the kind of experience that any coaching staff can appreciate."It makes things a lot smoother because everybody knows what's expected. They know our standards and they know our schemes," said Garlock, who owns a 102-25 career record over two stints as L-B head coach.Garlock was quick to point out, though, one area of concern."We don't have great depth," he said."We have had some young guys step up to give those guys a break, but we have a lot of guys playing both ways."Offensively, Liberty-Benton will be able to send out an award-winning backfield featuring three returning players of the year. Zach Elchert, who rushed got over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns, returns after being named co-Offensive Player of the Year in all-BVC balloting. Collert and CJ Barbara were players of the year on defense, but bring impressive size and skills to the H-back position.The key change in the L-B backfield will be at quarterback where Connor Barbara replaces Trevin Lieb. Solid and efficient, Lieb was the first-team all-BVC quarterback after completing 125-of-179 passes for 1,826 yards and 22 TDs. He led the league in passing accuracy (69.8 percent), passing efficiency (189.4) and QB rating (128.4)."Quarterback will be a little new to him, but he has playing experience," Garlock said of Connor Barbara, who saw offensive time at fullback and split end last season."(Barbara) brings a running dynamic (183 yards, 2 TDs last season) that we didn't have last year. I think we can be a little more run heavy this year, but we can still go five wide and run our offense. He has proven so far that he has the ability to throw the football. He did a great job in 7-on-7s this summer and we have some talented receivers to get the ball to."Heading up that group of receivers is Seth Elchert, first-team all-BVC and third-team all-Ohio after catching 58 passes for 840 yards and nine touchdowns. Zach Elchert also will split out wide at times, with Irwin and Norman returning as well.Three all-BVC offensive lineman are back, Granger, a first-team pick, and second-teamers CJ Barbara and Isaac Schworm (6-1, 235, sr.). Vermillion and Berger will see time up front as well, and Robert Lawrence, a 6-2, 220-pound senior who was injured in a 2024 scrimmage, is back at center. Senior Jonas Fredrick (6-1, 215) and sophomore Wyatt Myers (6-1, 220) will rotate in and out of the lineup.A key loss for L-B was Garrett Nealis, who was all-Ohio in soccer and football, where he converted 49-of-49 PAT kicks during the regular season and 8-of-11 field goals.Juniors Nemo Arredondo and Jairo Colina are the top candidates for that job.L-B will be tested right out of the gate, opening the season at home with Ottawa-Glandorf, traveling to Columbus Grove in week 2, and kicking off BVC play Sept 5 with McComb."With our experience, I think we can be a good team," Garlock said."But, man, those first three games …. That's a brutal schedule to start the season but we should learn a lot about ourselves in those the games."