Olentangy Liberty has won four straight football games and climbed to No. 6 in the Columbus Dispatch's central Ohio Top 10 poll heading into Week 8.

The Patriots (4-3) visit Hilliard Bradley (5-2) on Friday, Oct. 9, in an Ohio Capital Conference matchup at Olentangy Liberty High School.

Liberty opened the season 0-3 with losses to St. Edward, Glenville and Gahanna Lincoln. The Lincoln loss came in overtime, 14-13, on Sept. 4. Four wins later, the Patriots sit seventh in the OHSAA Division I, Region 3 computer ratings at 12.6643. The top 12 teams in each region qualify for the playoffs when final ratings are released Oct. 25.

Liberty is also 2-0 in the OCC Central Division.

The streak's latest chapter came Oct. 2, when junior kicker Evan Fowler drilled a 25-yard field goal with two seconds left to beat Upper Arlington 13-12, according to cleveland.com.

Senior running back Grayson Davis, committed to Columbia University, carried 20 times for 101 yards. Max Ford opened the scoring with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

"We've got great kids, we've got tough kids … who are super coachable," head coach John Sansbury said after the win. He said the team practices two-minute drills and late-game situations twice a week.

Senior quarterback Alex Leonard, the younger brother of Andrew Leonard, who led Liberty to the 2024 Division I state championship, said the team's focus on responding to adversity paid off against Upper Arlington.

Hilliard Bradley brings a 5-2 record and sits fourth in Division I, Region 2 with a 13.4429 computer rating. The Jaguars won their own close game Oct. 2, edging Hilliard Davidson 13-10 in overtime, according to the Dispatch's Week 7 scoreboard. Bradley and Liberty compete in different OHSAA regions, so the game does not pit direct playoff rivals against each other.

Sansbury, now in his fourth year leading the program, told the Delaware Gazette on Aug. 11 that he expected a demanding schedule. "We have one of the toughest schedules in Ohio, and we like that," he said at the time.

After Bradley, the Patriots host Hilliard Davidson on Oct. 16 and close the regular season at home Oct. 23 against Olentangy Orange, the defending Division I state champion. Playoff qualifiers are announced Oct. 25, with first-round games set for Oct. 30.