SOLO TACKLE … Archbold’s Carter King brings down Bryan receiver Anthony Weber on Friday night at Golden Bear Stadium.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
BRYAN FRESHMAN … Quarterback Jake Arnold protects the football while being tackled.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
BRYAN (October 17, 2025) – The stage is finally set for the Northwest Ohio Athletic League football championship showdown between Archbold and Liberty Center this coming Friday.
Archbold (8-1, 6-0 NWOAL) overcame a sluggish first half before eventually pulling away with a 37-10 victory over Bryan (2-7, 1-5 NWOAL) at Golden Bears Stadium.
“Hats off to Bryan, they came out and played hard,” said Archbold head coach David Dominique. “You can’t shoot yourself in the foot too many times with discipline, penalties, and turnovers. It was just an ugly half of football.”
The Bluestreaks got off to a quick start on their opening offensive series. Led by junior running back Ryder Ryan, who led all rushers with 142 yards on 13 carries, he gained 23 yards on a nine-play drive that lasted 58 yards with Aranjer Krieger covering the final six yards for the touchdown at the 9:02 mark of the opening quarter. The PAT kick was no good, and it was 6-0.
Bryan would take advantage of an Archbold turnover later in the quarter as Cade Carlin intercepted a Bluestreaks pass at the Archbold 29-yard line.
Freshman quarterback Jake Arnold connected with Jacob Uran for a 25-yard reception dragging a pair of defenders to the Archbold three-yard line. Carlin then scored from three yards out, and Carter Luce added the PAT kick for a 7-6 Bryan lead at the 4:58 mark of the first quarter.
After holding the Golden Bears deep inside their own territory, and were forced to punt, but on the next play, Ryan raced 55 yards for a touchdown, and it was 13-7 in favor of Archbold after one quarter of action.
In the second quarter, Bryan drove all the way to the Archbold five-yard line, but the Bluestreaks would get the ball back on a fumble recovery at the three-yard line.
Archbold quarterback Maddox Pinter, who was 15 of 24 for 248 yards through the air, connected with Anderson Bentley for a 37-yard pass completion to the Bryan 21. Four plays later, Quinn Sauder connected on a 33-yard field goal just before halftime for a 16-7 lead.
A 39-yard field goal by Bryan’s Carter Luce closed the gap to 16-10, but Archbold responded by scoring on its next three possessions.
Pinter connected with Morgan Harris on a 53-yard scoring pass. Collin Short then recovered a Bryan fumble at the Golden Bear 29-yard line, setting up a 10-yard scoring run by Ryan in the third quarter.
The Blue Streaks got their final touchdown as Pinter connected with Krieger, who was wide open on a 66-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter. Krieger finished with six catches for 100 yards.
“I told our players at halftime we needed to play harder and play with a little more pride and play with a little more passion,” said Dominique. “Good teams block out the noise, and we weren’t able to do that this week, and it starts with me.”
Archbold outgained Bryan, 406-185, in total offense. The Bluestreaks rushed for 158 yards and passed for 248 yards. The Golden Bears had 139 yards rushing but mustered just 46 yards through the air.
Arnold was 4 of 7 for 46 yards passing for the Golden Bears. Carlin had 67 yards rushing on 17 carries, and Arnold tallied 62 yards on the ground on 15 carries.
“I thought we answered the call, and we challenged our kids to be more physical this week, and it showed on the field,” said Bryan head coach Scott Staten.
“We went toe to toe with them for about as long as we could with given our youth and given where we’re at in the program. I’m proud of the way our kids fought, and I’m proud of the way they continue to push through in that game.
“We get to the second half, and we saw it last year with us only having four seniors. Now we do have more seniors here, but when you look at who we are playing. We got young freshmen playing against juniors and seniors.”
“The only thing we can hope is that our young guys are getting this game experience the hard way, and it leads them into the off-season to get better,” added Staten.
Bryan closes out its regular season Friday night when it hosts Delta in the NWOAL finale for both teams.
The stakes now become much higher for the Bluestreaks when they face unbeaten and Division 5 No. 1-ranked Liberty Center (9-0, 6-0 NWOAL) for the outright league championship in Archbold.
Archbold will be seeking its first NWOAL crown since 2021, while Liberty Center looks for its third consecutive league title in the battle of NWOAL unbeatens.
“Obviously, they’re (Liberty Center) one of the best programs in all of the state,” said the Archbold mentor. “Our guys have set themselves up for an opportunity for a shot at a league title against a very good opponent.
“We know that our preparation and our focus have to go much better in order to have a chance against a team like that.”
AHS 13 3 14 7-37
BHS 7 0 3 0 –10
A – Krieger 6-yd run (kick failed)
B – Carlin 3-yd run (Luce kick)
A – Ryan 55-yd run (Sauder kick)
A – Sauder 33-yd field goal
B – Luce 39-yd field goal
A – Harris 53-yd pass from Pinter (Sauder kick)
A – Ryan 10-yd run (Sauder kick)
A – Krieger 66-yd pass from Pinter (Sauder kick)