Patrick Henry High School (Hamler, Ohio)

Patrick Henry High School is a public high school in Hamler, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Patrick Henry Local Schools district. Their nickname is the Patriots. They are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League.

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

* Boys Baseball - 2008 cite web|url=http://www.ohsaa.org/|title=Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site|accessdate=2006-12-31|author=OHSAA]
* Boys Football – 2005 cite web|url=http://www.ohsaa.org/|title=Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site|accessdate=2006-12-31|author=OHSAA]
* Boys Basketball – 1997 cite web|url=http://www.ohsaa.org/|title=Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site|accessdate=2006-12-31|author=OHSAA] cite web|url=http://www.yappi.com/boysbasketball/D3.html|title=Yappi Sports Basketball D3|accessdate=2007-02-12|author=Yappi]

Northwest Ohio Athletic League Championships

Boys Football- 1996, 1997, 2002¹, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006¹, 2007².

¹- Tied with Delta High School (Ohio) for title.²- Tied with Wauseon High School for title.

Patrick Henry currently holds the record for most consecutive NWOAL titles in football with six.

The Patriots are rivals with the Liberty Center Tigers. This is a fierce county rivalry that dates back to 1970 when Patrick Henry started up football. The series has been back and forth with the Patriots taking every game from 2002 onward, including two games in 2004 (week 4 and in the playoff regional finals). The rivalry really erupted in 1996 when Liberty Center was a football powerhouse. Going into week 5 both schools were 4-0 for the first time ever and playing at Patrick Henry on their homecoming. During an all game down pour the Patriots rallied late from a 20-8 second half deficit to win on a last second missed field goal by Liberty Center 22-20. The next year at Liberty Center both teams were again 4-0 going into the game. There were some estimated 6,000 people at the game to see one of the greatest high school football games in Ohio history. Once again Liberty Center had a commanding second half lead 38-20 but the Patriots made a late rally again. Trailing 44-34 with just over a minute left, Patrick Henry scored to make it 44-40. Patrick Henry then recovered an onside kick and quickly drove down the field. With under 5 seconds to go, Patrick Henry had the ball at the 9 and a pass was broken up in the end zone. The Liberty Center players and fans rushed the field only to be cleared off momentarily because of a defensive pass interference. With no time remaining the Patriots had the ball at the 5 with one chance to score. This time the tables turned and Patrick Henry's attempt was good and the Patriots stormed the field and took over the end zone. Later that year the two teams would meet in a storied playoff game at Findlay Ohio known as the "Snow Bowl." Liberty Center ended up dominating the second half en route to a 44-14 victory and onto a state championship.

The next six games were all taken by Liberty Center up until 2002. From this point on, the Patriots turned the tables in this intense rivalry. The Patriots have won seven in a row including two in 2004.

There's a lot of history and bad blood between the two schools and communities. It has been called the "border war" and the "Henry County Jihad." It's also been said to be the fiercest rivalry in Northwest Ohio.

References

External links

* [http://www.patrickhenry.k12.oh.us/ District Website]