Rushing
Michael Chris O.B. totals
Pennix Spinner Blake
Nottoway 26+ 7 156 10 92 274+
@ Northside 13 67 9 22 7 -11 78
@ Appomattox 19 106 15 122 228+
Franklin Co. 22 179 8 84 15 35 328
@ Rustburg 21 261 35 9 15 356+
open
Amherst Co. 55 133
@ Brookville 19 113 107 220+
Jeff. Forest 18 108 11 97 11 64 271
@ St. River 20 181 14 108 7 101 390+
Heritage 11 130 225
1,227
Nelson 11 202 6 90 9 72 367
Gretna 25 227 16 150 17 16 397
passing receiving
O.B. Blake Chris Luck Spinner Dinwiddie
@ Nottoway
@ Northside 3 10 2 85 2 71 1 14
@ Appomattox 91+
Franklin Co. 1 4 0 45 1 45
@ Rustburg 2 6 1 37
open
Amherst Co. 4 6 68
@ Brookville
Jeff. Forest 4 10 1 47 1 25 3 24
@ St. River 2 3 56 2 56
Heritage 3 9 27
Ecker
Nelson 1 4 13 1 13
Gretna 0 2
Rushing TD's
Pennix Spinner Blake
@ Nottoway 26 63, 78 23
@ Northside 9
@ Appomattox 39, 6
Franklin Co. 5 64
@ Rustburg 6, 1, 19, 5, 38 5
Amherst Co. 15 17 1
@ Brookville 7, 6 62
Jeff. Forest 2 15
@ St. River 51 25
Heritage 17
13/179 yds 6/288 7/142
Nelson 64, 61 65 39
(60 punt, 80 KO)
Gretna 2, 35, 4 6, 73 5
also : Mahaffey 4, Tyler Dinwiddie 1, 3
Rec. TD's : Spinner 42 (Appo) Luck 14 & 42 (St. Rivr) & 6 (Herit)
Ecker 13 (Nelson)
special teams TD's : Blake (Nelson) : 60 yd punt return, 80 yd KO return
defensive TD's - none
K Drew Harrison missed 1st 5 FG's of season
xp streaks : 8-8, x, 6-6, x, 8-8, x, 1-1, x 4-4, x = 27/32
x, 6-6, 5-5, x = 38/45
has 1 miss in each of the last 5 games
Soph QB O.B. Blake runs the option
defense led by Sr. middle LB Mike Glass
@ Nottoway 28 - 0
@ Northside 7 - 14 (finished as AA # 1 at 10-0)
@ Appomattox 23 - 28
Franklin Co. 15 - 13
@ Rustburg 48 - 7
open
Amherst Co. 28 - 0 HC
@ Brookville 24 - 7 HC
Jefferson Forest 13 - 14 Sat
@ Staunton River 34 - 7
Heritage (Lynch) 13 - 26 (finished as AA # 6 at 9-1,
----------- lost to Magna Vista 35-18)
233- 116
Nelson Co. 51-19
Gretna 41-34 2000 9-1
Liberty 40, Brookville 19
Rustburg 44, Liberty 17
2001 8-2
Liberty 44, Brookville 20
Liberty 30, Gretna 6 1st Regional title
Graham 56, Liberty 14
IN - Chris Watts, 12 year asst. under 4 different coaches ay Liberty
(Joe Fraley, Ricky Falls and Mike Scharnus from 1987-96 and Scott Abell
for the past two seasons). Was head coach at South Point H.S. (Ohio,
Class A) from 1997-99. Played at Marshall U. in the mid-1980s.
Liberty loses 21 seniors off last year's team that won the Region III
Division 3 championship. Three years ago the Minutemen were 0-10.
OUT - Scott Abell, after 5 years. Posted back-to-back 10-win seasons
and a Regional crown, a factor in Watts' promotion.
100 Liberty Minutemen Drive
Rt. 122 (Longwood Ave) N of Bedford (540) 586-2541
Directions to the Liberty baseball diamond :
From 460, take third Bedford exit. Take left off exit and a right at
the stoplight (intersection of 122 and 221). This will put you on 122
N towards Big Island. Liberty is apporximately 2-3 miles from this
intersection. Take first right into High School parking lot. The field
is located at the back of the parking lot to the left.
Sat., Dec. 7 Grundy vs. Liberty (Bedford) at site TBA
time - 1 or 1:30 admission - $8 (set by the VHSL)
Winner plays in the state finals on Sat., Dec. 14 in Lynchburg at
Liberty University's Williams Stadium at 12:30. Admission : $10.
Next wave of LHS football players get ready for season
Liberty opened the 2002 football season under new coach Chris Watts in style Friday night as the Minuteman took a 28-0 nondistrict victory over Nottoway in Blackstone.
Chris Spinner scored on runs of 63 and 78 yards in the third quarter after Liberty had opened a 14-0 lead. Spinner finished with 156 yards on seven carries.
Michael Pennix had a 26-yard run in the first quarter and O.B. Blake scored on a 23-yard run. Blake finished with 92 yards on 10 carries.
Liberty140140-28
Nottoway0000-0
Lib-Pennix 26 run (Harrison kick)
Lib-Blake 23 run (Harrison kick)
Lib-Spinner 63 run (Harrison kick)
Lib-Spinner 78 run (Harrison kick)
Liberty's chances for victory slip away as Northside's defense grabs two fumbles and scores a second-quarter touchdown.
By RAY COX - THE ROANOKE TIMES
BEDFORD - Thieves took a major portion of the credit for Northside's 14-7 football victory at Liberty on Friday night.
On back-to-back, second-quarter sequences Vikings defenders stripped the football from Liberty ball carriers, once to score a touchdown and the other to prevent one from being scored and record what was in effect a 14-point turnaround. That made the difference as the Vikings beat the mistake-prone Minutemen to improve to 2-0.
The single biggest play of the game came right after Northside had scored its first TD to forge a 7-7 tie. On Liberty's first play after receiving the kickoff, the Minutemen appeared to break a big play when quarterback O.B. Blake, operating from his 29-yard line, dumped the ball over the defense to end Chris Luck. Luck raced into the open field and made haste for the goal line.
Vikings defensive back Dwayne "Pooh" Saunders never gave up on the play and finally ran Luck down. Saunders stripped Luck of the football from behind, catching him at the 5-yard line and batting the football through the end zone for a touchback.
"I know I must have run 60 yards," Saunders said. "I was getting tired and I knew he was, too, so all I was thinking about when I caught him was knocking the ball out of his hands."
Coincidentally, a similar play had occurred the previous possession. During that snap, Vikings defensive end Brandon Holland swatted the ball out of Blake's hands as he tried to run an option play to his right, recovered the loose ball, and rumbled 9 yards into the Liberty end zone.
Strip drills aren't a regular part of the Vikings' practice routine, but Saunders picked up the technique on an independent study project of sorts.
"I learned it watching the NFL on television," he said.
Holland just knew an opportunity when he saw it.
"My arms are so long, I just reached and slapped the ball down as he was going by," Holland said. "Then it bounced so that I could scoop it up. First touchdown I've scored on varsity."
It was a dreadful turn of events for Liberty (1-1), which never seemed to recover. The Minutemen subsequently missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt later in the first half that had the length but not the accuracy.
"It would have been nice to have had some cushion going into halftime, but it didn't work out," said Chris Watts, Liberty's first-year head coach.
Northside got busy defensively after that, holding Liberty to 3 yards and two first downs in the second half. Liberty dominated the first half statistically, outgaining the Vikings 163-66 and holding them to three first downs.
"I think they wore us down," Watts said.
All Northside needed was a 37-yard TD scoot from Saunders with 4:25 left in the third quarter to seal it.
"That's part of our 'Jet' series," Northside coach Jim Hickam said. "With Pooh and Mike Campbell, we have the speed to attack the corners and that's been our most productive play the past two games."
Saunders said he got terrific blocking from fullback Phillip Watkins, end Tyler White, and guard Jon Copper on the play.
"They pushed the defenders to the outside, I cut it up, and when I saw some guys there, went back to the outside and was on my way," Saunders said.
Liberty was not crisp offensively. It had five fumbles, two lost. Blake, a quick and athletic sophomore, went 3-for-10 for 85 yards, 66 of it on the one play to Luck . Blake was intercepted once by Campbell and a second time by Matt Spangler, a defensive back who saw double duty as Northside's quarterback.
"The one thing we always stress to them is not to give up, to play it to the end," Hickam said. "That's what they did. It was a hard-fought victory."
The two strip plays especially.
"I don't even want to think about it," Watts said. "If I do, I'm afraid I might hurt something."
RAY COX can be reached
at 381-1672 or rayc@roanoke.com.
Northside 0 7 7 0 - 14
Liberty 7 0 0 0 - 7
L-Blake 9 run (Harrison kick)
N-Holland 9 fumble return (Chappell kick)
N-Saunders 37 run (Chappell kick)
Team statistics
North Lib
First downs 11 7
Yards rushing 192 78
Passes C-A-I 2-9-0 3-10-2
Yards passing 24 85
Penalties-yards 6-55 5-28
Fumbles-lost 4-3 5-2
Punts-average 4-44.2 5-38.2
Individual statistics
RUSHING - Northside, Saunders 10-98, Campbell 8-22, Watkins 13-67, Spangler 4-15, Myers 1-2. Liberty, Pennix 13-67, Blake 7-(-11), Spinner 9-22, Dinwiddie 1-0.
PASSING - Northside, Spanger 2-9-0-24. Liberty, Blake 3-10-2-88.
RECEIVING -Northside, Campbell 2-24. Liberty, Luck 2-71, Spinner 1-14.
Liberty can't extend win streak
Appomattox County 28, Liberty 23: Quarterback Jon Chavis scored on a 1-yard run with 1:01 remaining to give Appomattox County a nondistrict win in Appomattox.
Michael Pennix scored on a 6-yard run to extend Liberty's lead to 23-6 with 6:47 left in the third quarter, but the Raiders (2-1) scored the final three touchdowns.
Chavis hooked up with Curtis Middleton on a 20-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 23-14 with 4:59 left in the third quarter. T.J. Kelso scored on a 1-yard run with 3:25 left to cut the lead to 23-20.
A Liberty player fumbled the ensuing kickoff, with the Raiders recovering in Liberty territory, leading the Chavis' score.
Pennix ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Quarterback O.B. Blake ran for 122 yards on 15 carries for Liberty (2-1).
Liberty 9 7 7 0 - 23
Appomattox County 6 0 8 14 - 28
L- punt blocked through end zone for safety
L- Pennix 39 run (Harrison kick)
AC- Almond 22 run (kick failed)
L- Spinner 42 pass from Blake (Harrison kick)
L- Pennix 6 run (Harrison kick)
AC- Middleton 20 pass from Chavis (Kelso run)
AC- Kelso 1 run (kick failed)
AC- Chavis 1 run (Kelso run)
Sep 14, 2002 Liberty coach Chris Watts would probably be one. Appomattox quarterback Jonathan Chavis scored on an improbable play, capping an improbable comeback, as the Raiders beat the Minutemen 28-23 at Appomattox. On fourth-and-goal from the Liberty one-inch line, Chavis took the ball to the right for the quarterback sneak and got stuffed. He then bounced back off the line, turned left and waltzed into the end zone with just 61 ticks left on the clock, giving the raiders their second win in three games this season. "We felt like we really got in on the two previous plays," said Appomattox coach Larry Kidd. On second and third down from the one, Liberty stopped a quarterback sneak and tailback dive. "But the officials really like to give the guy a chance to churn it out, especially on the goal line. We've just got to quit giving up big plays." It was a night of big plays on both sides of the ball. Liberty nearly came back in the final seconds of the game, as sophomore quarterback O.B. Blake hit on passes of 41 and nine yards, getting the ball down to the Appomattox 28 yard line. But Blake's final two heaves into the end zone were knocked away to preserve the win for Appomattox. "Everything we did at the end of the game was wrong," said Watts, who is 1-2 in his first year at Liberty. The game started out just the opposite for the Minutemen, who appeared to be hitting on all cylinders in the early going, amassing a 9-0 lead three minutes and 17 seconds into the game, thanks to a muffed punt that led to a safety, and a 40-yard scoring burst by Michael Pennix. But the Raiders refused to go away, and Appomattox cut the lead to 9-6 on a 22-yard touchdown run by Devin Almond. The Minutemen scored again just before the half on a 41-yard strike from Blake to Chris Spinner, and Liberty seemed in control of the game with a 16-6 halftime lead. "We came out in the first half and played uninspired," said Kidd. "Liberty came out ready to play, and they're a good ball club. Chris had a good game plan and they played hard. We've got to do a better job of getting mentally prepared earlier in the week." Liberty came out of the locker room at the end of the half, looking to put away Appomattox for good, as the Minutemen ate up nearly five-and-a-half minutes on an eight-play, 67-yard drive, capped by a 6-yard touchdown run by Pennix, who finished the night with 19 carries for 105 yards, giving the visitors a 23-6 lead. Once again, though, Appomattox answered, as Kidd opened up his mind, and his offense, by airing the ball out. It took Chavis three passes and barely two minutes to pull the Raiders to 23-14. Chavis hit Curtis Middleton with a 20-yard scoring strike and running back TJ Kelso ran in the two-point conversion. "We can throw the ball," said Kidd. "I've grown and matured as a coach. I'm kind of old school. I like to grind it out. But my coaching staff has been working on me, and we put in some stuff this summer, because we've got some good receivers out there." Early in the fourth, Liberty was looking to put Appomattox out of its misery, as Drew Harrison lined up for a 30-yard field goal after another long drive by the Minutemen. But the kick sailed just wide, and the wheels seemed to come off of the young Liberty squad. "We were loose almost the whole game, but then we got tight," said Watts. "We started worrying about making mistakes, and when you worry about making mistakes, that's when you make them." After a couple of failed series for both teams, Kelso returned a punt 70 yards for the Raiders, setting the ball up at the Liberty 15. But when Tyler Dinwiddie intercepted an Ed Robinson half back pass in the end zone, it seemed as if Liberty had gotten out of a jam. It hadn't. Going three-and-out, the Minutemen were forced to punt, but Harrison's offering was blocked by Lynell Troxler, and Appomattox recovered at the 21. This time, the Raiders made Liberty pay, as Kelso eventually pounded the ball in from a yard out, cutting the Liberty advantage to 23-20. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Liberty was prepared for the on-sides kick. What it got was a deep kick, and Blake hustled to get back in position in time to field it. He didn't make it, and the ball clanked off of his helmet and into the waiting arms of the Raiders' Kevin Allen, setting up Chavis' late-game score. "Every conceivable thing that could happen, happened," said Watts, whose team will host Franklin County next week. Meanwhile, Kidd will hope his players are better mentally prepared to travel to Brookville next week.
Kicker Drew Harrison redeems himself after three misses as the Minutemen hand the Eagles their first loss of the season.
By CHRIS EDWARDS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
BEDFORD - It was redemption all around for Drew Harrison and the Liberty Minutemen.
After missing two field goals and an extra point, Harrison scraped a 37-yarder through the uprights with 1:27 remaining to give the Minutemen a 15-13 win over previously unbeaten Franklin County in nondistrict play Friday night.
Junior tailback Michael Pennix led Liberty with 179 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He also intercepted Franklin County's Daniel Brooks in the final minute to seal the win for Liberty.
After two disappointing losses to Northside and Appomattox, first-year coach Chris Watts was looking for a big win to give Liberty a fresh start for district play. He got it behind a strong defensive effort and a little good fortune for his young kicker.
"We hadn't missed an extra point all year. It hadn't even been close. We had missed three field goals. They had been pretty kicks but they were just a little off," said Watts, whose team improves to 2-2.
"He stepped up when he had to. It wasn't pretty, but it got through. You weren't going to take a lot of pictures of it."
Watts said he never wavered on his decision to kick, despite the 0-for-5 performance from Harrison on the season to that point.
"He made a 52-yarder in practice this week ... a pretty one. He's got the ability, but you know how kickers are," Watts said.
The Liberty defense was unwavering in its pursuit of Eagles tailback LeBryan Patterson. Despite having 165 yards on 20 carries, Patterson broke from the defensive swarm just twice - on touchdown runs of 44 and 79 yards.
Franklin County (3-1) didn't earn its initial first down until 47 seconds remained in the first half.
"I knew that they were a good football team coming in, especially defensively. I watched them against Northside and I thought they did one great job," Franklin County coach Billy Miles said. "I thought Northside was fortunate to win that ball game. I thought Liberty played extremely tough and physical and took it to our football team.
"We never really had enough good field position in the first half to run the offense. It doesn't really work when you are starting from your own 10, 15 and 20."
After trailing 7-6 at the half, Liberty's Chris Spinner broke for a 64-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to put the Minutemen up 12-7. Spinner finished with 84 yards on eight carries.
Patterson added his second touchdown for FC on its next possession to give the Eagles a 13-12 lead.
All along, Watts felt like his team put in the effort to get the job done.
"We worked very hard all week on where they were going to be, and they were there," said Watts. "All we had to do is make the plays and we did tonight."
Franklin County0 7 6 0 - 13
Liberty0 6 6 3 - 15
Scoring summary
FC-Patterson 79 run (Evans kick)
L-Pennix 5 run (kick failed)
L-Spinner 64 run (run failed)
FC-Patterson 44 run (pass failed)
L-Harrison FG 37
Team statistics
FC Liberty
First downs3 13
Yards Rushing26-195 51-328
Passes C-A-I3-12-2 1-5-0
Yards passing38 45
Penalties-Yards5-37 4-35
Fumbles-Lost0-0 1-1
Punts-Avg.8-31 5-39
Individual statistics
RUSHING-Franklin County, Brooks 3-16, Patterson 20-165, Huff 3-14. Liberty, Dinwiddie 3-28, Blake 15-35, Pennix 22-179, Spinner 8-84, Hodges 1-(-3), Glass 2-5.
PASSING-Franklin County, Brooks 1-6-1 24, Bowles 2-6-1 14. Liberty, Spinner 0-1-0 0, Blake 1-4-0 45.
RECEIVING-Franklin County, Preston 1-24, Hodges 1-6, DuPui 1-8. Liberty, Luck 1-45.
Sep 21, 2002 Coming off back-to-back setbacks that seemed all but sealed in their favor, the Minutemen finally got the break they needed to pull out a late triumph. By beating the Eagles (3-1) for the third straight season, Liberty improved to 2-2 under first-year coach Chris Watts. "This was a huge victory," Watts said. "I told the team I'd give those two losses to Northside and Appomattox in exchange for this win. It gets us back even going into (Seminole) District play." Earlier, Harrison had missed an extra point and two field goal attempts - the second from a sharp angle from 25 yards out near the end of the third quarter that was blocked after holder Tyler Dinwiddie mishandled the snap. But Harrison came through with the game on the line to turn from scapegoat to hero in seconds. "He stepped up when he had to," Watts said. "It wasn't pretty, but it counted. We hadn't missed an extra point all year, but tonight (Harrison) looked like he'd never kicked before." Liberty dominated its guests in most every aspect of the game, but couldn't dampen the spirits of the Eagles, who brought an army of red-clad fans and a band that played almost continuously until the end. Aside from two breakaway touchdown runs by LeBryan Patterson - from 81 yards in the second quarter and 44 yards in the third - the Minutemen held the Eagles to just four first downs while picking up 13 themselves. Patterson's first touchdown came on the Eagles' first play after they recovered a fumble by Michael Pennix (23 carries, 186 yards) on their own 19. Pennix made up for the mistake by capping Liberty's 80-yard drive in the final two minutes of the first half by ducking across the goal line for a five-yard score. Senior tight end Chris Luck set up that score for the Minutemen by making a spectacular catch of a deep pass lofted down the left sideline by sophomore quarterback O.B. Blake. Though that was his only completion of the game on three attempts, Blake ran Liberty's offense effectively, pitching to Pennix and scrambling for 40 yards himself. Liberty captured its first lead, 12-7, midway through the third quarter when Chris Spinner cut through the left side of the line and sprinted into the secondary before crashing over an Franklin County defender into the end zone for a 64-yard touchdown. But Patterson, facing third and inches just two minutes later, burst through the line and tallied his second TD uncontested for a 13-12 advantage late in the third. After Harrison's go-ahead field goal, Pennix, in on his first defensive play of the game, leaped to intercept a pass from Eagles second-string quarterback Daniel Brooks at Liberty's 41, clinching the win with 58 seconds left. "The coach told us to backpedal and look for the deep pass," Pennix said. "I looked up and saw it and went up and grabbed it." Stephen Toler had ended the first half by intercepting a deep pass from Franklin County starting quarterback Daniel Bowles. "They had two big offensive plays against us, but we had two big defensive plays against them," senior linebacker Mike Glass said. "Our team is gelling; we're finally getting it together. We're going to surprise some people in the district; we're ready for Rustburg next week." Contact Ted Allen at tallen@newsadvance.com or (434) 385-5554.
Liberty 48, Rustburg 7: Senior running back Michael Pennix rushed for five touchdowns as the Minutemen opened Seminole District play with the rout of Red Devils in Rustburg.
Rustburg (1-4, 0-1) broke on top 7-0. Liberty (3-2, 1-0) led 14-7 at halftime and put the game away with a 28-point third quarter.
Liberty 7 7 28 6 - 48
Rustburg 7 0 0 0 - 7
R-Crabtree 34 pass (kick good)
L-Pennix 6 run (Harrison kick)
L-Pennix 1 run (Harrison)
L-Pennix 19 run (Harrison kick)
L-Blake 5 run (Harrison kick)
L-Pennix 5 run (Harrison kick)
L-Pennix 38 run (Harrison kick)
L-Mahaffey 4 run (kick failed)
Sep 28, 2002 The Liberty football team is no tropical storm, but it wreaked quite a bit of havoc itself.
The Minutemen dogged Rustburg quarterback David Freeman all night long and Michael Pennix had a huge night, carrying the football for Liberty as it pummeled the Red Devils 48-7 Friday night.
"This is his first year starting," said Liberty coach Chris Watts of his tailback. "He had a good game. He's always had the talent; there were just other guys in line in front of him. Now he's taking his turn."
Pennix toted the rock 21 times for a total of 261 yards and five touchdowns. The Liberty ground game, which amassed 408 yards, kept the new-look Rustburg offense off the field for most of the second half.
After jumping out to a 7-0 lead on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Freeman to Brandon Crabtree, the wheels came off for the Red Devils, who fell to 1-4 with the loss.
"I'm really not sure what happened," said a stunned Mike Scharnus after the game. "I really don't know what took place. We missed some tackles. We had some turnovers. Things just snowballed from there."
A new spread offense, put into effect, by the Rustburg staff earlier in the week, certainly caught the Minutemen napping, but they adjusted quickly.
"I have to give Rustburg credit," said Watts. "They came out with a new offensive set and we were caught by surprise. They had some injuries and they felt that the best way to beat us was to spread us out, and it worked.
"But our defensive line had a good game, and our defensive ends got a good pass rush. That was the difference in the game, really."
Freeman, just a sophomore, ended the night 4-11 for 55 yards. He didn't have any interceptions, but he did have seven rushes for minus 28 yards and three fumbles.
The ground game wasn't any better for the Red Devils, as their leading rusher was fullback Chris Carter, who had 53 yards on three carries. The team totaled just 36 yards on the ground as a hole, with three players rushing for negative yardage.
"We just put in that offense this week, and we decided to go with it," said Scharnus.
"I think we're going to stay with it.
"We've just got to try to get better at it."
Meanwhile, Watts' sophomore quarterback O.B. Blake seems to get more comfortable with the offense each week, running the option with a daring abandon that leaves many in the stands breathless.
"He's always going wide open," said Watts. "He does a great job. He's just a great athlete."
Blake finished the night with just nine carries for 15 yards and a score, but he made good decisions and, for the most part, protected the football. He was 2-6 passing for 37 yards and an interception.
Meanwhile, the Minutemen had nine different players carry the ball, and Glen Mehaffey picked up the final score for Liberty on a three-yard jaunt in the fourth.
Things don't get any better for the Red Devils next week, as they travel to Amherst to take on the Lancers, and then follow that up with a home game against Brookville.
The Minutemen will have an open date next week before hosting Amherst in two weeks.
Liberty 28, Amherst County 0: Michael Pennix ran for 55 yards and a touchdown as the Minutemen scored a Seminole District victory in Bedford.
Quarterback O.B. Blake ran for touchdown and completed four of six pass attempts for 68 yards. On defense, Blake intercepted a pass.
Mike Glass was the defensive leader and recovered a fumble for Liberty (4-2, 2-0). Nathan Bryant also recovered a fumble.
Chris Spinner and Tyler Dinwiddie also ran for touchdowns.
Amherst County fell to 4-3, 1-2.
Amherst County 0 0 0 0 - 0
Liberty14 7 0 7 - 28
L-Chris 17 run (Harrison kick)
L-Pennix 15 run (Harrison kick)
L-Blake 1 run (Harrison kick)
L-Dinwiddie 1 run (Harrison kick)
Oct 12, 2002 "It was a different feeling (coaching against the team he led last year)," Abell said. "I give them credit; their coaches have kept the kids in line and are doing a good job of getting them ready to play football." Granted excellent field position, the Minutemen (4-2, 2-0 Seminole District), opened the contest with two quick scoring drives. Tyler Dinwiddie's 30-yard return of the opening kickoff allowed Liberty to start its first possession on Amherst's 45. Following two third-down conversions, the first on a quick pass from Blake to Dinwiddie, Chris Spinner plowed through a hole in the left of Amherst's line for an 18-yard touchdown. The Lancers went three-and-out on their first drive and the Minutemen got the ball back at midfield after Chris Parrish's 27-yard punt. Seven plays later, Michael Pennix burst through the right of the line practically untouched for a 16-yard TD scamper. By the time the night was over, all four of Liberty's starting backs had scored a touchdown as Blake and Dinwiddie each added 1-yard plunges. "They were just a better football team than we were tonight," Abell said. "They're doing what they do better than we're doing what we do. They're clicking on all cylinders now and we're not." Liberty only outgained Amherst 206-123 from scrimmage, but had a key 48-yard punt return from O.B. Blake down to the Lancers' 4 that set up his 1-yard dive on the last play of the first half. Drew Harrison's third extra-point kick extended the Minutemen's lead to 21-0. "I got a block (on the punt return), made a juke, saw a hole and I took it," Blake said. "That was the big play of the game because it got us up 21-0 before halftime," Liberty first-year coach Chris Watts said. The Minutemen's defense, meanwhile, used aggressive pursuit to shut the Lancers down. "They flew to the football and were more physical than we were," Abell said. Liberty defensive coordinator Stewart Grant said it was easier than usual to prepare for Amherst, with Abell now coaching the Lancers. "Their offense is what we've been running so our kids were familiar with it and knew how to defend it," he said. "Our defense played very disciplined football. Mike Glass was all over the field tonight and Nathan Bryant took away their fullback all night long." Amherst quarterback Pierre Tinsley struggled to get much of anything going and was replaced by fellow freshman Marcus Rose in the fourth quarter. "Marcus Rose is our JV quarterback and we just put him in because Pierre had lost all confidence," Abell said. "We're young," he added. "We played some kids who were playing JV two or three weeks ago and they're trying to learn a new system. So we're trying to catch up to speed with a new football team. We'll keep fighting." Many of the Minutemen were motivated to defeat their former coach's new team. "We were asking for this all season and it finally came to us and we took advantage of it," Blake said. "We practiced well all week and I knew we were going to win." Watts, who inherited the team from Abell, was sympathetic to his situation. "They have had some attrition and they're trying to learn a new system," Watts said. "Scott (Abell) brings a different philosophy and he's trying to get the team running the way he wants it to go." He was pleased with the decisive victory, though Liberty's offense stalled at times. "I got a little conservative and they made some defensive adjustments and shut us down a little bit," Watts said. "We couldn't get any one guy established so we spread it around as much as we could." Liberty travels to face Brookville next week while Amherst (4-3, 1-2) is idle. Contact Ted Allen at tallen@newsadvance.com or (434) 385-5554.
Liberty 24, Brookville 7: Michael Pennix rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Minutemen to a Seminole District win.
O.B. Blake ran for 107 yards and a touchdown for Liberty (5-2, 3-0). Drew Harrison kicked a 35-yard field goal and added three extra points.
Samir Ghriri ran for 71 yards and a touchdown for Brookville (5-3, 2-2).
Liberty 7 3 7 7-24
Brookville 0 0 0 7- 7
Lib-Pennix 7 run (Harrison kick)
Lib-FG Harrison 35
Lib-Pennix 6 run (Harrison kick)
Brk-Ghriri 8 run (Briceland kick)
Lib-Blake 62 run (Harrison kick)
Oct 19, 2002 "They beat us last year on our homecoming night and this year we got a little revenge by shutting them down on their homecoming night," Liberty senior linebacker Mike Glass said. The Minutemen (5-2, 3-0 Seminole) took control of the contest early and beat the Bees 24-7 to stay in the hunt for the Seminole District title. "Our defensive line had a great game and we took it to them tonight," Glass said. "We're going to be district champions again, for the third year in a row." Brookville (5-3, 2-2) won the pregame coin toss, but elected to defer to the second half, putting their defense to the test first. The decision backfired in a matter of two minutes. After Chris Spinner returned the kickoff to the Liberty 39, the Minutemen needed only five plays to complete their first scoring drive. Blake connected with Spinner for a short pass before faking handoffs up the middle and keeping the ball twice outside for gains of 12 and 25 yards to Brookville's 15. Michael Pennix (19 carries, 113 yards) took it from there, scoring the first of his two touchdowns on the second time he touched the ball. "We've been able to do that all year so far," Liberty coach Chris Watts said of the Minutemen's ability to strike quickly. "Our defense really stepped up when we needed it to and we never really gave them a chance to get back in the game." Spinner gave the Minutemen excellent field position early in the second quarter by returning a Ricky Read punt 21 yards to Liberty's 32. After picking up one first down, Brookville's defense held and the Minutemen settled for a 35-yard field goal by Drew Harrison for a 10-0 advantage. The Bees got into position to cut the deficit at the end of the first half after driving 60 yards in six plays, sparked by a 22-yard end run by Samir Ghriri. But, facing first-and-goal from the Minutemen 10, Brookville quarterback Alex Staton was sacked by Liberty's Nathan Bryant. Following two incomplete passes, Corey Snyder's 32-yard field goal fell short. "Our whole plan was to throw the ball to open the running game," Staton said. "When we got the ball down to their 10, but couldn't put it into the end zone, that hurt us. Samir (Ghriri) was getting stuffed; their defensive line was real quick and they were clogging up the holes." "He's a tough kid," Brookville coach Glenn Jenkins said of Ghriri, who finished with 19 carries for 71 yards. "I don't know how he's been able to take so much punishment. We've got to do a better job up front on our offensive line." Both teams went three-and-out on their first possessions of the second half before Liberty was able to capitalize on a costly special teams miscue by Brookville. The longsnap to Read on a fourth-down punt attempt sailed over his head and he smothered the ball at his own 6-yard line. "It's disappointing," Jenkins said. "We felt we had a good week of practice (but) when you make those kind of mistakes, they're going to take advantage of it and it's hard to overcome." Pennix took it in two plays later to put the Minutemen up 17-0, all but sealing the victory. "I had a little fumblitis at first," Pennix said, referring to two fumbles, one of which he recovered himself. "But the coach told me to keep my head up and run the ball hard and O.B. (Blake) kept giving it to me. "This is a big game for us," he added. "Everybody has been doubting us, but we came to play." Jenkins gave the Minutemen credit for rebuilding their offensive and defensive lines after losing so many starters to graduation last year. "They're tough up front; they're big, physical and well-coached," he said. "They won the battle up front and established the line of scrimmage. "It's frustrating," he added. "We'd get a little bit going and then go backwards. We're going to rebound." Watts was expecting Blake would have to throw more, but Liberty played conservatively after taking control. "We came out with the idea that we'd throw at first, but once we got the lead, we didn't want to do anything that would hurt us," he said. The Bees scored their only touchdown on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Staton rolled left and completed a 25-yard pass under pressure to Trent Adams before hooking up with William Brooks down to the Minutemen 8. Ghriri took it from there, scurrying into the end zone to trim Liberty's lead to 17-7. But any hopes the Bees had of staging a late comeback disappeared two plays later when Blake faked a handoff up the middle that fooled the entire Brookville defensive line while he rolled outside and sprinted beyond the defensive secondary up the left sideline for a 62-yard score. "That was an option read and he kept on the read," Watts said. "We had handed off to the fullback on that play all game." "We missed an assignment," Jenkins said. "It was nothing we weren't ready for; we just didn't play it right." Staton defended the Bees' defense. "They have a quick quarterback and a quick running back and Blake hid the ball so well, we didn't know when he had it or when he had handed it off," he said. Contact Ted Allen at tallen@newsadvance.com or (434) 385-5554.
Touchdown passes of 30 and 40 yards and five Liberty turnovers carry Forest to a Seminole District victory.
By CHRIS EDWARDS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
BEDFORD - Muddy field conditions at Liberty gave Jefferson Forest and coach Terry Smith an extra day to think about a three-game losing streak.
Saturday night, on improved turf, the Cavaliers stopped their slide.
Jefferson Forest capitalized on two big pass plays in the first half and hung on through a late-game Minutemen march for a 14-13 victory in a Seminole District/Bedford County battle.
"We were five minutes away [Friday] and they called [us] on the bus," Smith said. "We went back, put on our gear and practiced. We put on our gear, went for 15 minutes, calmed them down and came back the next day.
"It's just great. They've got a good football team, they're much better than I thought they were. I knew this was a rival and everybody comes to fight. They turned it over ... we turned it over. That's what happens in a rival game. You get situations like that and you just have to make the best of it."
The Cavaliers made the best of five Liberty turnovers. The Minutemen fumbled the ball away three times in the second half. Junior running back Chris Spinner scored on a 15-yard run with 1:45 remaining to cut a 14-7 JF lead. Kicker Drew Harrison missed the extra point, however, and Liberty couldn't recover an onside kick.
"If you put the ball on the ground five times against a team that's got some talent, you aren't going to win," Liberty coach Chris Watts said.
"There's no field problems out here to blame it on. We just didn't hang on to the football."
Forest (5-3, 2-2) raced to an early 6-0 lead when senior quarterback Ben Paziale threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jon Hamlett.
After a Liberty fumble, running back Quincy Freeman tossed a halfback option 40 yards to Jay Spinner for a touchdown. A two-point conversion gave the Cavs a 14-0 advantage. Freeman led the Cavaliers with 22 carries for 89 yards.
A strong effort by running backs Michael Pennix and Spinner kept Liberty in the game. Pennix finished with 108 yards on 18 carries. Spinner had 11 carries for 97 yards for Liberty (5-3, 3-1). Watts and the Minutemen, however, couldn't escape the turnovers and missed opportunities in the Forest end of the field - even on a dry night.
"Since they are 15 minutes away, we had the luxury [of postponing the game]. If we had somebody traveling a long ways, we wouldn't have had a choice," Watts said.
"Here we could give ourselves the chance to play on a decent football field and have a decent game. But with the fumbles, I guess we should have just played in the rain."
Jefferson Forest6 8 0 0-14
Liberty0 7 0 6-13
JF-Hamlett 30 pass from Paziale (kick failed)
JF-Spinner 40 pass from Freeman (Freeman pass from Paziale)
L-Pennnix 2 run (Harrison kick)
L-Spinner 15 run (kick failed)
Jeff. Forest Liberty
First downs8 16
Yards Rushing40-112 41-271
Passes C-A3-10-1 4-10-1
Yards-Passing79 49
Penalties-Yards3-25 1-15
Fumbles-Lost1-1 5-4
Punts-Avg.6-35 4-32.5
Individual statistics
RUSHING-Jefferson Forest, Spinner 1-0, Paziale 8-2, Lloyd 9-21, Freeman 22-89. Liberty, Blake 11-64, Spinner 11-97, Pennix 18-108, Collins, Fulwider 1-2
PASSING-Jefferson Forest, Freeman 1-1-0 40, Paziale 2-9-1 39. Liberty, Blake 4-10-1 47.
RECEIVING-Jefferson Forest, Spinner 1-40, Hamlett 2-39. Liberty, Spinner 1-25, Dinwiddie 3-24.
Five fumbles costly for Minutemen Liberty 34, Staunton River 7:
Two of O.B. Blake's three pass attempts went for touchdowns as he led the Minutemen to a Seminole District win over the host Golden Eagles in Moneta.
Blake completed passes of 14 and 42 yards to tight end Chris Luck for touchdowns in the third quarter. Blake also scored on a 25-yard run in the fourth and Chris Spinner had a 51-yard touchdown run. Tyler Dinwiddie added a 3-yard scoring run for Liberty (6-3, 4-1).
Blake finished with 101 yards rushing on seven carries and 2-of-3 passing for 56 yards. Spinner had 108 yards rushing on 14 touches, and Michael Pennix racked up 189 yards on 20 carries for the Minutemen.
Craig Oliver scored the lone touchdown for Staunton River (1-8, 0-5) on a 1-yard carry in the opening period. Jamar Nicholls posted 48 yards rushing and 53 yards in the air for the Golden Eagles.
Liberty 0 7 13 14 - 34
Staunton River 7 0 0 0 - 7
SR-Oliver 13 run (Nicholls kick)
L-Dinwiddie 3 run (Harrison kick)
L-Luck 14 pass Blake (kick failed)
L-Luck 42 pass from Blake (Harrison kick)
L-Spinner 51 run (Harrison kick)
L-Blake 25 run (Harrison kick)
MONETA-Liberty scored 34 unanswered points, 27 of which came in the second half as the Minutemen defeated Staunton River 34-7. Liberty had 393 yards rushing and quarterback O.B. Blake completed two of the three passes he attempted both of which went for touchdowns to Chris Luck. Luck finished the night with 2 receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
Blake also had 101 yards rushing on seven attempts, including a 25-yard touchdown run. Chris Spinner had 108 yards rushing on 14 carries and Michael Pennix 181 yards rushing on 20 carries for Liberty. Jamar Nichols led the Eagles with 48 rushing yards on 16 carries. The Eagles only score came off of 12 yard Craig Oliver run in the first quarter.
Liberty improved to 6-3 and 4-1 in the Seminole District. The Minutemen can win a share of the Seminole District with a win over visiting Heritage (8-1,5-0) next week. Staunton River falls to 1-8 and 0-5.
Heritage 26, Liberty 13: The Pioneers finished undefeated in the Seminole District with a win over the Minutemen in Bedford.
Michael Gainey gained 141 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown, and Justin Meeks scored two touchdowns for Heritage (9-1, 6-0).
O.B. Blake passed for 106 yards and a touchdown and scored on a 17-yard run for Liberty (6-4, 4-2).
Heritage 8 12 0 6 - 26
Liberty 7 0 6 0 - 13
H-30 pass to Alexander (Meeks run)
L-Luck 6 pass from Blake (Harrison kick)
H-Penn 70 pass from Meeks (run failed)
H-Gainey 1 run (run failed)
L-Blake 17 run (kick failed)
H-Meeks 1 run (pass failed)
Heritage is No. 1 with 26-13 win over Liberty O.B. Blake scores four touchdowns, and Michael Pennix runs for 202 yards and two TDs for Liberty.
By CHRIS EDWARDS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
BEDFORD - By the middle of the third quarter, Liberty linebacker Mike Glass had found a solitary place on the sideline. His fellow Minutemen were methodically finishing a 51-19 pounding of Nelson County in a Region III Division 3 semifinal Friday night.
The announcement of Gretna's 46-14 win over Brookville got Glass thinking ahead a game - and possibly two for a potential state semifinal rematch against Graham. Liberty is set to play host to Gretna next week.
"We played [Gretna] last year and beat them," Glass said. "We're going to look in there and try not to go in there overconfident and try to get a big 'W' there, too."
Running back Page Hayes had 181 yards on 37 carries for Nelson County (7-4), but he was unable to rip off any big runs like he did last week in a six-touchdown effort against Fluvanna.
"We're real confident about our defense," Glass said. "I think we've played well all year and we've gotten to the point where we think we can stop anybody.
"Teams will come out and run the middle the first two plays of the game and we'll never see it again. We like that. It's a real confidence booster right there."
Liberty (7-4) showed confidence from its first possession, when Drew Harrison notched a 23-yard field goal.
Minutemen running back Michael Pennix had apparently fumbled on the Governors 36 on the next Liberty possession. The officials initially signaled a Nelson County recovery but reversed their call. Liberty quarterback O.B. Blake ran 39 yards on the next play for a touchdown and a 9-0 lead.
Nelson County coach Bill League scrambled to midfield and vehemently protested the call, forcing one of two unsportsmanlike-conduct incidents for the Governors.
"They have a good ball team," League said. "They played well, and we didn't. We didn't play bad. They have a good ball team.
"They didn't do anything we didn't expect - offensively or defensively."
Blake led Liberty with four touchdowns - one rushing, one passing, one on a kickoff return and one on a punt return. Pennix had 11 carries for 202 yards and two touchdowns while Chris Spinner added 90 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
"All year long with the young kids we have we've had to play on emotion," Liberty coach Chris Watts said. "Sometimes emotions bring us low and we have to fight through it. Tonight, and in the games we've done well in, we've come out and put it to people early."
Nelson County senior center Michael Carwile was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to Bedford Regional Medical Center after a collision in the second quarter. League said that Carwile was responsive and moving when he left the field.
Nelson County 0 6 0 13 - 19
Liberty 9 21 14 7 - 51
L-FG, Harrison 23
L-Blake 39 run (kick failed)
L-Erker 13 pass from Blake (Harrison kick)
N-Page 1 run (pass failed)
L-Pennix 64 run (Harrison kick)
L-Blake 60 punt return (Harrison kick)
L-Spinner 65 run (Harrison kick)
L-Pennix 61 run (Harrison kick)
N-Page 1 run (kick failed)
L-Blake 80 kickoff return (Harrison kick)
N-Lawhorn 60 pass from Tyree (Webb kick)
Team statistics
NC Lib
First downs 12 8
Yards rushing 55-242 31-367
Passes C-A-I 5-10-1 1-4-0
Yards passing 101 13
Penalties-yards 9-100 4-35
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-0
Punts-average 4-35 2-33
Individual statistics
RUSHING -- Nelson County, Page 37-181, Robinson 9-49, Simpson 4-6, Tyree 5-6. Liberty, Blake 9-72, Pennix 11-202, Spinner 6-90, Dinwiddie 2-0, Tolley 1-1, Oakley 1-0, Toler 1-2.
PASSING -- Nelson County, Tyree 5-10-1-101. Liberty, Blake 1-4-0-13.
RECEIVING -- Nelson County, Robinson 1-10, Simpson 2-26, Lawhorn 2-65. Liberty, Erker 1-13.
Minutemen beat Nelson, host regional championship game
Michael Pennix rushes for 227 yards and three touchdowns as the Minutemen outlast Gretna.
By JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO - THE ROANOKE TIMES
BEDFORD - At various times Friday night, the numbers 41-34 could have been used to approximate the temperature range, the wind speed, and/or the yardage gained on any one of an assortment of dramatic plays from the line of scrimmage.
Few would have guessed beforehand, however, that 41-34 would be the score of Liberty's victory over Gretna in the Region III Division 3 championship game played at Liberty's field. Extreme weather conditions set the stage for a defensive battle, but the contest turned out to be anything but.
Liberty captured the regional championship for the second straight year, earning the right to meet Grundy in the state semifinals on Dec.7. Grundy advanced by defeating Graham, 21-14.
Liberty and Gretna combined for 11 touchdowns and nearly 800 yards of total offense, as Liberty's potent running game was nearly matched by the passing attack of Gretna quarterback Vicqual Hall. Led by Michael Pennix's 227 rushing yards (and three touchdowns) and Chris Spinner's 150 rushing yards (and two touchdowns), Liberty only attempted two passes in the game.
That was in sharp contrast to the performance of Hall who threw for 279 yards and three scores, completing 18 of 32 passes. Hawks receiver Micheal Oakes caught eight passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns (both of which measured 23 yards).
In the first half, the game resembled a basketball contest, with both teams moving the ball seemingly at will. It appeared that whoever had the ball last would prevail - and that a two-point conversion could be the game's deciding factor. The game was tied at 21 at intermission.
"I told the team at halftime that whoever won the second half was going to the state semifinals," said Liberty's first-year coach Chris Watts.
Resuming the pace set in the first half, Gretna received the second-half kickoff and marched deep into Liberty territory. Liberty's O.B. Blake intercepted Hall in the end zone, but two plays later turned the ball back over to Gretna when his errant pitch was recovered by the Hawks. Gretna's Rico Reynolds immediately scored on a 10-yard run around left end to put the Hawks up 28-21.
After a rare exchange of punts, Liberty put together a 72-yard drive to knot the score with eight seconds left in the third period. Liberty then recovered a Reynolds' fumble on the Gretna 10 and Pennix's third touchdown put the Minutemen ahead to stay. Pennix became the school's all-time rushing leader as a result of his night's efforts.
"I'm very happy we won," Pennix said, "but we go back to practice Monday to get ready for Grundy."
Gretna 7 14 7 6 - 34
Liberty 7 14 7 13 - 41
L-Pennix 2 run (Harrison kick)
G-Reynolds 1 run (Reeves kick)
L-Blake 5 run (Harrison kick)
G-Oakes 23 pass from Hall (Reeves kick)
L-Pennix 35 run (Harrison kick)
G-Hubbard 15 pass from Hall (Reeves kick)
G-Reynolds 10 run (Reeves kick)
L-Spinner 6 run (Harrison kick)
L-Pennix 4 run (Harrison kick)
L-Spinner 73 run (kick blocked)
G-Oakes 23 pass from Hall (kick failed)
Gretna Liberty
First downs 19 16
Yards rushing 110 397
Passes C-A-I 18-32-1 0-2-0
Yards passing 279 0
Penalties-yards 2-10 5-35
Fumbles-lost 2-1 5-2
Punts-average 2-36.5 2-25.0
Individual statistics
RUSHING - Gretna, Hall 20-62, Reynolds 12-48. Liberty, Pennix 25-227, Spinner 16-150, Blake 17-16, Dinwiddie 1-4.
PASSING - Gretna, Hall 18-32-1-279. Liberty, Blake 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING - Gretna, Oakes 8-149, Turner 5-50, Hubbard 3-46, Oliver 1-19, Reynolds 1-15.
Two costly turnovers hurt the Liberty High School football team as they tried to get their second win of the season on Friday night.
Northside scored on the first turnover as Liberty quarterback O.B. Blake fumbled on the nine-yard line. The ball bounced right to defensive end Brandon Holland, who scooped up the ball and went into the end zone to tie the game at 7.
On Liberty's next possession, wide receiver Chris Luck got a pass from Blake near the 30-yard line and was on his way to a 70-yard touchdown when a Viking defender caught him near the goal line and punched the ball free. It rolled out of the end zone for a touchback.
The score remained tied at 7 for much of the rest of the game. Northside picked up the go-ahead score with 4:25 to go in the third quarter.
However, Liberty's offense couldn't get anything going after that and they lost 14-7.
Appomattox scores in last minute to beat Liberty
By Karl Loos / The News & Advance
APPOMATTOX - There are those people who still say that Friday the 13th is a day for strange occurrences.
This story can be found at: http://www.newsadvance.com/news/sports/MGBQ78T236D.html
Saturday, September 21, 2002
Liberty 15, Franklin County 13
Harrison's best comes last
Harrison's late field goal propels Liberty past Franklin Co.
By Ted Allen / The News & Advance
BEDFORD - Drew Harrison's 36-yard field goal, a low line drive with 1 minute, 27 seconds left, lifted Liberty High School's football team to an improbable 15-13 victory over previously undefeated Franklin County, Friday night at home.
This story can be found at: http://www.newsadvance.com/news/sports/moresports/MGB8M0DOD6D.html
Pennix sparks Liberty to lop-sided win over Rustburg
By Karl Loos / The News & Advance
RUSTBURG - Tropical storm Isidore blew through the Gulf of Mexico this week, wreaking quite a bit of havoc.
This story can be found at: http://www.newsadvance.com/news/sports/MGBS8K43N6D.html
Melva Shelor
Anyone that follows Rustburg football knows what the Red Devils like to do. Like most of the teams in the Seminole, they like to pound it out on the ground.
So that is what the Liberty football team (3-2, 1-0) was prepared for on Friday night when they went to Rustburg for their first Seminole District game of the season.
But the Red Devils (1-4, 0-1) came out in a spread offense with the quarterback back in the shotgun and caught the Minutemen off guard. With the Liberty defense on their heels, quarterback David Freeman struck quickly with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Crabtree.
Liberty adjusted on the fly, though, and from that point on the Liberty defense shut down the new Rustburg offense. They held them to around 50 yards of total offense for the rest of the game and didn’t let them score again.
While the Minutemen were shutting down the Rustburg offense, the one thing the Red Devils couldn’t do was tame the Liberty offense, especially Michael Pennix. The senior tailback finished the game with 21 carries for 288 yards and five touchdowns and helped lead Liberty to the 48-7 win.
“Michael has played behind other guys the last couple of years. He is really stepping up to the challenge this year of being the starting tailback. He is one of those backs that the more he gets the ball, the stronger he gets,” said Liberty coach Chris Watts.
Liberty tied the game before the end of the first quarter on a 15-yard run by Pennix. Shortly before the half, they took the lead on another touchdown by Pennix, this one from a yard out.
Up 14-7, Watts admits he was a little uncomfortable because the game reminded him of their loss two weeks ago against Appomattox when Liberty blew a 23-6 lead.
“We felt we were in the same position. We were up 14-7. We took the opening kickoff in the second half and drove it down the field to make it 21-7 (on a 19-yard run by Pennix) and I thought, we’ve been in this position before and lost it. It was going to be interesting to see how they responded this time,” Watts said.
This time, however, the team didn’t give up the lead.
They stopped Rustburg on that next possession and then drove down the field and made it 28-7 when quarterback O.B. Blake scrambled into the end zone from seven yards out.
Rustburg fumbled shortly after that to set Liberty up for their fifth TD of the game. Once again it was Pennix doing the job, carrying the ball in from five yards out to make the score 35-7.
Pennix got into the end zone one more time to make it 42-7 and then Glen Mehaffey finished off the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard run.
Though Pennix had the most notable big night, Watts was pleased he was able to get a lot of different players a chance to carry the ball. Reserve runners, Chris Spinner (35 yards) and Tyler Dinwiddie (45 yards) got their usual carries, but many others got into the game, as well.
“Even though we have a go-to guy in Michael Pennix, it’s good that he’s not the only one we have,” Watts said.
The Minutemen finished with more than 450 yards of total offense, with the large majority of those coming in the rushing game.
Blake finished with a four-for-11 passing night for 37 yards.
“We would have liked to have done more in the passing game, but with the memories of Appomattox still fresh, we were less likely to take as many chances. Anyway, they couldn’t stop the running game and until they could, that’s what we were going to go with,” Watts said.
With Pennix’s big night, the offense got a lot of attention, but Watts also pointed to the defense.
“It was 14-7 at the half. The way we were playing, I thought we were going to be battling it out and it would be a touchdown [margin] win. Then it started for us. Our defense played great. We got a good pass rush all night. We got to the quarterback. We played a prevent defense once we saw what they were doing. We were able to stop the run and then drop a lot of people back for the pass. We could do that with the way our line played - Ian Childress, Derek Jones, Chris Luck, Nathan Bryant, C.T. Daniels and Jason Collins,” Watts said.
He also credited the defense on how quickly they adjusted to the change in plans.
“You can make all the adjustment in the world from the sidelines, but if they kids can’t execute, it doesn’t matter. We hadn’t worked on that at all and they were able to adapt. They didn’t panic. They accepted they gave up the one big play and once they realized they could stop them, that is what they did,” Watts said.
Liberty is off this week. They host Amherst on Oct. 11 for their next game.
“I’d rather keep on playing right now then have the break. We are kind of on a roll right now,” Watts said.
The game will mark the return of former Liberty football coach Scott Abell, who left the Minutemen program last winter to become the head coach at Amherst.
“The one thing we are not going to have to worry about this game is our kids being up. They know it’s only one game, but they have been looking forward to this one.”
Liberty spoils return of Amherst coach, 28-0
By Ted Allen / The News & Advance
BEDFORD - In its homecoming game Friday night, Liberty High School's football team spoiled the return of former coach Scott Abell, now in his first year at Amherst, parading past the Lancers 28-0.
This story can be found at: http://www.newsadvance.com/news/sports/MGBEKRA177D.html
Melva Shelor
With the loss of more than 20 players to graduation a year ago and then the resignation of their coach, Scott Abell, who had built the Liberty High School football team to predominance, there were many people who expected the Minutemen to travel down a bumpy road this season.
And they certainly did go through some growing pains at the start of the season with many young players making inexperienced mistakes.
But the potholes they were hitting early on had disappeared in their last two outings with big wins over Franklin County and Rustburg.
Those wins, though big when it comes to the playoff picture, wasn’t the game the team had circled on their calendar. The game everyone had been looking toward was Friday night’s Homecoming game between Liberty and Amherst, now being coached by Abell.
“I told them at the start of the week that my goal was to be 2-0 in the district after the game, whatever motivates them to get to that, I didn’t care. If they wanted to prove a point, they should use that to motivate them or if they didn’t feel like they had a point to prove, then they had the same goal as the rest of us to be 2-0. There was a handful on this team that definitely were motivated by that [Abell’s return], but there were as many that wanted to keep winning,” said Liberty head coach Chris Watts.
Whatever the team’s and individual players’ motivation was, the Minutemen (4-2, 2-0) achieved what they wanted to, getting a shut out over the Lancers, 28-0.
Liberty got off to a quick start.
Tyler Dinwiddie set them up in good field position, returning the opening kickoff to Amherst’s 45-yard line.
With the good field position, it didn’t take Liberty long to get into the end zone.
After a minimal gain on first and second down, quarterback O.B. got Liberty down to the 28 with a pass to Dinwiddie.
Liberty kept grinding it out on the ground, picking up another crucial first down when Michael Pennix picked up just enough for a first down on third and short.
On the next play, Chris Spinner broke through the Amherst defense and carried it the 17 yards for the first score of the game. With the extra point by Drew Harrison, Liberty was up 7-0.
The Liberty defense, which held Amherst to under 100 yards for the game, kept the Lancers moving backwards during their first series and got the ball back at midfield after the Lancers were forced to punt.
As in their first drive, Liberty had to pick up a couple of big first downs before getting into the end zone again.
They faced a third-and-long early in the drive but Blake scrambled around in the backfield before he found Dinwiddie open, getting Liberty down to the 30-yard line.
A little later, they faced a third-and-two, which Pennix picked up easily.
He then helped put Liberty up 14-0 when he got loose for a 15-yard score with 3:44 to go in the first quarter.
With the quick early lead, Watts said he took the conservative approach for much of the rest of the game, which caused the Liberty offense to stall in a lot of instances.
“We scored two quick touchdowns. I wanted to run the time after that and we got a lot more conservative after that so I’ll take the blame for that. But I still have flashbacks [to the Appomattox game where Liberty blew a big lead], so we didn’t change things up much after that. That was my fault,” Watts said.
However, Liberty wasn’t going to need a big offensive night with the defense shutting down Amherst.
By limiting the Lancers on what they could do offensively, the defense kept giving Liberty the ball on a short field.
Liberty started drives on the 22- and 45-yard lines during the second quarter, but could never finish off one of those drives with a score until the final “drive” of the half.
With under a minute to play, Amherst was forced to punt deep in their own territory.
Blake fielded that punt near midfield and returned it to the four-yard line with 30 seconds to go in the half.
Liberty twice tried to punch it in, but got stopped just outside the goal line both times.
Facing a third-and-goal just inches away from the goal line and 2 seconds left on the clock, Watts gave the order for his team to go for it during a time out the Minutemen had called to stop the clock. Needing just a slight surge from his line, Blake pushed his way into the end zone on the sneak. With the extra point, Liberty led 21-0 at the half.
“I never thought about not going for it especially after I went out there [during the timeout] and saw how close it was. I knew if we could get another score at the half, we could put the nail in. Confidence-wise, our kids wanted to score. They didn’t want to settle for a field goal. They also knew what I did. They wanted to put the nail in right there,” Watts said.
Amherst showed a little life at the start of the second half when Mateco Dixon returned the kickoff to the 31-yard line.
With the short field, the Lancers had an opportunity to get back into the game, but a few plays into the drive, quarterback Pierre Tinsley lost his footing while passing the ball, floating the ball up to Blake, who picked the ball off to end Amherst’s only real scoring threat of the night.
Liberty’s final score of the game came midway through the fourth quarter.
They took advantage of good field position, once again. They started the drive on the 34-yard line and on first down, fullback Ron Fulwider carried the ball down to the six. Fulwider got the next carry and got the ball to the one.
Dinwiddie then finished it off, hitting it straight up the middle for the score. With the kick, Liberty was up 28-0 with 4:26 to go.
For Abell, it was a disappointing return to Liberty.
“I can’t really describe my emotions before the game. There was a lot of anxiety and a sense of excitement, but most of all, the biggest feeling I had was that they are the better football team right now and now that it’s over, that’s still the case. We do a lot of the same things, but they do what they do much better than what we do,” he said.
He added that heading into the game, he tried to keep the focus away from his return to Liberty.
“The focus for us was our playing on of the best teams in the area. I tried to not have this week focus on me coming back here. I do have to give their staff a lot of credit. They have kept their kids intuned on what they are trying to do,” Abell said.
Liberty finished the game with 205 yards of total offense, with 133 yards of those coming on the ground. Pennix was the leading rusher with 55 yards.
Blake finished the game completing four of six passes for 68 yards and one interception.
Liberty’s defense not only kept the Lancers out of the end zone, but also to under 100 yards of total offense for the game. Amherst finished with 96 yards of total offense.
“That’s always a goal of ours,” said Watts about the shutout. “Their offense puts a lot of emphasis on the quarterback reading the defense. If he doesn’t make the right reads, it leaves our guys open to make some big hits. Nathan Bryant, Derek Jones, Mike Glass and Ian Childress did that,” Watts said.
Liberty has a big game this week, taking on Brookville.
“Every week I’ve said the same thing, ‘This is our biggest game so far this season,’ but playoff-wise this is a big game. If we win this, it puts us in a good position for the playoffs and we still will have a chance to win another district championship. They are a Division III school [like Liberty] and are ahead of us in the standings right now. We could make a big step with a win over them.”
Liberty gets past Brookville, stays in district race
By Ted Allen / The News & Advance
BROOKVILLE - Quick playmaking ability by sophomore quarterback O.B. Blake and a stingy defense allowed Liberty High's football team to deliver a fitting payback, Friday night at Brookville.
This story can be found at: http://www.newsadvance.com/news/sports/MGBXVHN2H7D.html
Sunday, October 27, 2002
Jefferson Forest 14, Liberty 13
Cavaliers swipe road victory
Melva Shelor The Jefferson Forest football team had to wait a day, but they eventually snared a big district win, 14-13, over one of their biggest rivals, Liberty, on Saturday night.
Originally scheduled for Friday night, the game was postponed late that afternoon when a deluge of rain put the Liberty field under water.
“We got to about the Goode store when we found out,” said Jefferson Forest coach Terry Smith. “The kids were pretty upset because they were ready to play. When we got back to the school, we had them put on their full pads and practice, just to calm them down.”
Part of the reason the JF team wanted to get back on to the field was to erase the memories of the nightmarish game they had played the previous week against Rustburg. The Cavaliers eliminated their chance at a district title and hurt, though they did not erase, their bid to get into the playoffs with a 14-6 to the Red Devils.
They were also playing Liberty, a team that had beaten them two years in a row, and one making their own bid for a district title this year.
The Cavaliers didn’t have a problem harnessing the emotion they didn’t get to use on Friday and saved it for Saturday night, while Liberty started the game flat and it cost them.
“When a team comes out flat, it ultimately comes back to the coach,” said Liberty coach Chris Watts. “I take responsibility for it. I had gotten accustomed to us not coming out flat. Maybe I got too complacent because everyone said to me all week, you won’t have to worry about getting them up for Forest. It hadn’t been a problem all season.”
The first two Liberty possessions ended in punts, with only one first down gained during the two.
Forest couldn’t move the ball on its first possession, but got its offense moving after Bobby Erker’s second punt of the game came up short, putting the Cavalier offense on the 41-yard line.
Quincy Freeman, off a sweep, picked up six yards on first down. Fullback Stevie Ray Lloyd then got them close to the first-down marker with a run up the middle. Quarterback Ben Parziale picked up the third-and-short with a sneak.
The Jefferson Forest offense didn’t go anywhere on its next two plays and faced a third-and-long. The Liberty defense, though, then gave up the big play.
Parziale hooked up with Jon Hamlett near the 10-yard line. The 6’5”, 245-pound tight end then lowered his shoulder to run over a couple of Liberty defenders to get into the end zone to give Forest the 6-0 lead with 3:54 to go in the half.
Following the ensuing kickoff and a five-yard pickup on first down by tailback Chris Spinner, Liberty started a pattern that would eventually lead to their downfall.
On second-and-five, tailback Michael Pennix broke through a hole in the defensive line and was nearing midfield when he got caught from behind by the Cavaliers and was stripped of the ball. It was the first of five turnovers (four fumbles and one interception) that Liberty would have for the game.
With the ball at midfield, Jefferson Forest went at Liberty again. They got the ball down to the 37-yard line and was marching when a holding call pushed them back to second-and-long. A pass to Hamlett fell incomplete on second down, setting up a third and long.
A week ago Rustburg had put the dagger in Jefferson Forest’s heart on a halfback pass play and this week, the Cavs used the same trick to do the same to Liberty.
Freeman took the toss in the backfield from Parziale and then unleashed the ball down the field to wide receiver Jay Spinner. Spinner, at first, seemed covered by Liberty defensive back Tyler Dinwiddie, but got the separation he needed at the last second to haul in the pass. With the two-point conversion, Forest was up 14-0 with 11:50 to go in the half.
Liberty’s offense couldn’t get anything going on their next possession and then their defense had to stop another drive by Forest, which they did on a fourth-and-eight on their end of the field.
It was after that and for the rest of the half, that Liberty’s offense finally got some rhythm going.
Taking over on the 23-yard line, Liberty began picking up chunks of yards with sizable runs by Spinner and quarterback O.B. Blake. Blake also connected on a quick out to Dinwiddie during this drive for a 9-yard gain.
Liberty got the ball to first-and-goal at the 9-yard line with a 12-yard option run by Blake.
Pennix picked up a load of steam on first down and was brought down by Freeman close to the goal line. Pennix then carried it in on the next play and with Drew Harrison’s extra point Liberty pulled to within 14-7 with 3:08 to go in the game.
Liberty’s defense held Forest to three and out on their next possession and got the ball back looking for the tying score with 1:55 to go before the half.
Starting on the 35-yard line, Liberty quickly moved the ball past midfield, getting a big pass play from Blake to Spinner, who may have scored if he hadn’t slipped down at the 32-yard line while trying to make a cut past a Forest defender.
Blake kept the Minutemen moving through the air, hooking up with Dinwiddie to get Liberty down to the 21.
Blake lost a couple of yards on the next play when he slipped down in the backfield.
After a Liberty timeout with 49 second left, the Minutemen tried to get the ball into the end zone, but Blake’s pass to Chris Luck was picked off by William Lloyd just outside of the end zone to end the scoring threat.
Forest ran out the clock to carry the 14-7 lead into the half.
Much of the second half was about Liberty turnovers, which stopped them on several drives.
The Minutemen fumbled on their first possession of the second half, which gave Forest the ball on the 37-yard line.
However, they couldn’t make use of the short field and was stopped when Blake intercepted a pass from Parziale.
Liberty gave the ball right back to Forest with another fumble, giving the Cavaliers great field position on the 18-yard line.
However, the Liberty defense got the break they needed when Forest had a bad exchange in the backfield and the Minutemen recovered the fumble.
Having dodged that bullet, Spinner picked up 25 yards on first down and then Blake went another 32 yard to get Liberty to the 28-yard line.
The Cavalier defense stiffened here, though.
After two short gains by Liberty on first and second downs, Forest brought Blake down in the backfield on two straight plays to give the ball back to their offense.
Forest did move the ball out to near midfield, thanks in part to a personal foul penalty by Liberty, but a sack by Mike Glass eventually forced Forest to punt at the start of the fourth quarter.
Liberty again began a game-tying drive, getting big runs by Pennix and Spinner.
They moved the ball down to the 23-yard line before their fourth lost fumble of the game ended that drive.
Both teams traded punts over the next couple of possessions before Liberty got the ball back with 3:27 to go in the game and still needing the game-tying score.
Taking over on the 41-yard line, Pennix picked up 16 yards on first down to get them to the 43-yard line.
Blake scrambled 14 yards on the next play to get them to the 29.
Pennix kept the chains moving forward two plays later with a 10-yard scamper to the 17-yard line.
With just under two minutes to go in the game, Pennix got Liberty down to the 13.
Spinner picked up two yards on the next play to make it third-and-four from the 11 with 1:38 to go in the game.
Spinner then pulled Liberty to within 14-13 as he spun away from Forest tacklers for the 11-yard score.
All the Liberty team needed then to force a possible overtime was the extra point from Drew Harrison. But with a tricky field because of the muddy conditions, the extra point wasn’t a sure bet. However, Liberty got a good snap and hold, but the kick went just inches wide right.
Liberty did attempt an onside kick, but Forest recovered and ran out the clock.
“We hadn’t missed an extra point in several games and we missed this one by just a few inches. But we should have never been in the situation that the extra point mattered. You can’t fumble the ball five times (Liberty recovered one of their own fumbles) and expect to win, at least against any kind of quality opponent. It wasn’t like we were getting hit particularly hard. One time in particular, it was a bad exchange. That’s going to happen in the option offense,” Watts said.
But like most football teams, Forest concentrates in practice on forcing fumbles and it paid off on Friday night.
“We work hard in practice on stripping the ball and gang tackling the ball carrier to give the third guy that comes in on the play a chance to strip the ball. We work on this every day because we know that turnovers can turn around a game,” Smith said.
Jefferson Forest finished with just under 200 yards of total offense for the game, with about 100 of those coming in the rushing game. They were led on the ground by Freeman, who finished with 86 yards.
Liberty finished the game with 277 yards of total offense, with 229 of those coming in the ground game. Pennix led the rushing attack with 85 yards, while Spinner finished with 71. Blake completed four of 11 passes for 48 yards and rushed for 73 yards.
This week Jefferson Forest will try to keep their playoff hopes alive when they host Amherst, while Liberty will try to get back on track at Staunton River.
Melva Shelor
The Heritage football team held off Liberty on Friday night to earn the Seminole District title and end the Minutemen’s two-year reign.
Liberty had won the district title outright two years ago and shared the title last season with Brookville. The Minutemen wanted to make it three straight titles, but had to beat Heritage to force a first-place tie with the Pioneers.
Both teams were already in the playoffs and because of that each team sat out some banged-up key players to hopefully get them well for the start of the playoffs this Friday.
For Heritage, they kept quarterback Craig Ford out for most of the game, as well as running back Kevin Payne. While Liberty, decided to keep their starting middle linebacker Mike Glass, who has an injured Achilles tendon, on the sidelines.
Heritage will go into the Region III, Division 4 playoffs as the second seed and will host William Fleming.
Liberty’s 26-13 loss on Friday scrambled the playoff picture. The loss dropped Liberty into the second seed in Region III, Division III, and with Brookville beating Jefferson Forest, it catapulted the Bees into the first seed. Liberty will host Nelson on Friday night, while Brookville will take on Gretna at home.
The way the game started out like it was going to be a shootout.
The Pioneers got the opening kickoff and returned it to the 39-yard line.
Michael Gainey, who became the starting tailback with Payne on the bench, had a burst up the middle for 11 yards early in the drive to keep the chains moving. Starting quarterback Justin Meeks also connected on a short pass to Pierre Penn to keep the chains moving.
Meeks then scrambled for 10 yards to give Heritage a first-and-10 from the 32.
The drive began to stall after that. Meeks lost a couple on the next play and then Liberty linebacker Chris Spinner knocked down a pass to make it third-and-12 from the 35.
Ford came in for the big third down play and Liberty’s defense came after him. But before they could get to him, Ford unleashed a pass down field to wide receiver Donald Alexander. Alexander hauled it in and ran untouched into the end zone after the Liberty defender covering him slipped down on the play.
Heritage went for the two-point conversion, which gave them a 8-0 lead with 6:29 to go in the first quarter.
Liberty answered almost immediately.
The Liberty offense came onto the field at the 23-yard line after the kickoff.
Liberty quarterback O.B. Blake took the option keep up the middle. He broke free and was brought down on the three-yard line.
On the next play, Liberty was in the end zone when Blake found wide receiver Chris Luck open in the end zone for the score.
Liberty elected for the extra point from Drew Harrison, which made it 8-7 with 4:39 to go in the first quarter.
Liberty’s defense stopped Heritage on their next series got the ball back near midfield.
The Minutemen began moving the ball, picking up a big gain on a shovel pass from Blake to Michael Pennix right up the middle, getting them to the 32.
The drive halted there, though Liberty came within a catch of taking the lead when Spinner dropped a pass in the end zone.
The Heritage offense got re-energized in the second quarter and once again converted on third down to take a 14-7 lead.
After starting the drive on their 12-yard line, Heritage got a big run from Payne to set them up on the 36. However, after a minimal gain on first down, an incomplete pass and a holding call, the Pioneers faced a third-and-long.
Meeks took care of this third down himself. He hooked up with Penn on a pass over the middle. Penn then broke a couple of tackles on his way for the 70-yard score.
Late in the second quarter, Heritage had another chance to get into the end zone. Payne set his team up on the three-yard line with a 37-yard run with under a minute to go in the half.
Liberty stopped them twice at the goal line, but Gainey eventually plowed his way into the end zone to give Heritage the 20-7 win at the half.
Down two scores, Liberty got the ball to start the second half and got themselves back in the game.
With Spinner, Pennix and Steven Toler picking up chunks of yards at a time, Liberty drove the ball. Blake finished off the 10-play drive with a scramble up the middle, breaking several tackles along the way as he scored from the 18. The extra point was blocked by Heritage to make the score 20-13.
Neither team could get another drive going until the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Heritage began moving the ball up the field, aided by a roughing the passer call against Liberty, which set them up at midfield.
Gainey then picked up 15 on first down and then got them to the 20-yard line two plays later.
Needing a defensive stop to keep the game at a touchdown deficit, Liberty got it, forcing a Heritage fumble.
With the momentum from the turnover, Liberty started their own drive and like the previous drive, got help from a defensive penalty when Heritage got called for a 15-yard face mask.
Liberty couldn’t keep the drive going, though. They started to lose momentum when they were called for illegal motion and to force second-and-long. Heritage’s defense eventually forced Liberty to punt when they sacked Blake.
Gainey began to rip up big yards after that. He had a 17-yard run and a 47-yard scamper to get Heritage down to the 15.
Meeks then scrambled to the two and eventually carried it into the end zone with 1:29 to go in the game, sealing the win for Heritage.
“You have to do the little things right against a good football team and we didn’t,” said Liberty coach Chris Watts. “We had key penalties. We dropped passes in the end zone.”
And though they were disappointed with the loss, Watts said his team had proven a lot, especially to their detractors.
“We were written off before the season even began [after losing more than 20 players off of last year’s team] and here we were playing for the district title. I couldn’t be prouder of the kids and we are not done yet. That’s what I told them. We’ve still got football to play,” Watts said.
Liberty finished the game with 252 yards of total offense, with 225 of those coming in the ground game. Blake led the offense with 130 rushing yards off of 11 carries. He completed three of nine passes for 27 yards.
Heritage finished the game with 377 yards of total offense, with 245 of those coming on the ground. Gainey finished the game with 132 rushing yards off of 16 carries. Meeks completed four of nine passes for 102 yards.
As Watts put it, Liberty still has football to be played and will take on 8-3 Nelson on Friday at 7:30.
The Minutemen will be keying on Nelson running back Hayes Page, who for the second time in his career last Friday, threatened to break the Virginia single-game rushing record of 500 yards.
He finished with 445 yards rushing and six touchdowns in Nelson’s 54-33 win over Fluvanna. Last year, he had a 491-yard game.
“He’s good. They give him to him as much as possible. He’s a medium-sized back, with decent speed, but he hits the hole really quick and then runs hard. You don’t have to be particularly fast if you do that,” Watts said.
He said the key will be Liberty’s tackling.
“Especially in the second quarter last week, we had poor tackling. He’s going to get some yards in this game. Our key will be to prevent him from getting the big play,” he said.
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Liberty 51,Nelson County 19
Liberty gives Governors quick exit
Melva Shelor
For a week, the Liberty football team heard a lot about Nelson County running back Hayes Page, especially about his previous outing where he scored six touchdowns and rushed for close to 450 yards. But the Minutemen have quality backs of their own and on Friday night in the Region III, Division III semifinals, it was their show.
While the defense was keeping Page’s impact on the game to a minimum, tailback Michael Pennix and quarterback O.B. Blake took over the spotlight. Pennix averaged more than 18 yards a carry and finished with 202 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Blake had close to 250 yards of total offense, scoring three times with his feet and throwing for another TD. Their third back Chris Spinner also put up the yards. He finished with 112 off of six carries and a touchdown. Nelson could not come close to keeping up with the offense Liberty was putting up and lost 51-19.
“We used him [Page] as a motivating factor. We told them he had rushed for more yards last week then the three of them combined. I also asked Michael, ‘Are you going to let that kid come in here and upstage you? They all responded,” said Liberty coach Chris Watts.
The Minutemen’s win moves them into the regional championship game for the third year in a row. They will play a familiar foe in that game. Last year Liberty beat Gretna to win its first-ever regional championship. This Friday, Liberty will host the Hawks in a rematch of that game. Gretna made the regional championship game by going into Lynchburg and knocking off Brookville, 46-14.
Liberty set the tone early against Nelson, especially on defense, when they kept the Governors from getting much accomplished on their first three series of the game. The Governors went three-and-out on their first series. They did pick up a first down on each of their next two series, but that would be as much as they could get. They never reached midfield on either for those series and were forced to punt after six plays.
The Minutemen on the other hand were moving the ball against Nelson.
They took a 3-0 lead after their first series. Liberty got the ball at midfield for their opening possession and began picking up chunks of yards. Blake opened the drive with an eight-yard run. After a false start on Liberty and a short gain by Chris Spinner, Pennix picked up 21 yards on third-and-five to keep the drive going.
Along with a personal foul on Nelson and a decent run by Spinner, Liberty got the ball down to the 11. The drive stalled soon after that and Drew Harrison came in for the 23-yard field goal.
On their second possession, Liberty started out further back on the field, but it didn’t stop them from going the length of it. The drive began on the 28. They got a big run from Pennix during the drive that almost turned into disaster when he fumbled, but Liberty came away with the ball at the bottom of the pile to set them up on the 39-yard line. Having just missed an opportunity to turn the tide of the game, Nelson gave up their second big play in a row, allowing Blake to run right up the middle for the 39-yard score.
Harrison missed the extra point, making the score 9-0 with 2:40 to go in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, it was Nelson’s turn to fumble the ball, but this time, they couldn’t recover their own as Liberty had earlier. It set the Minutemen up on the 13-yard line. Two plays later Blake threw pass to Bobby Erker, who was running a fade route into the left corner of the end zone. Erker came down with the ball and with the extra point, Liberty led 16-0 with 9:10 to go in the half.
Nelson was finally able to get something going on offense after Liberty’s third score of the night. They took over on the 40 after a decent kickoff return. Page picked up six on first down then fullback Keith Simpson rumbled 31 yards to the 23. The rest of the drive the Governor’s gave the ball to Page, who eventually got in from one-yard out.
Nelson went for two to try to make it one-touchdown game, but couldn’t convert to make the score 16-6 with 7:06 to go in the half.
But if Nelson felt like they were on the verge of getting back into it, Pennix erased those thoughts almost immediately. On the first play from scrimmage from the 37, Pennix went straight up the middle untouched and was off to the races.
With the extra point, Liberty led 23-6, but they weren’t through for the half.
With frustration setting in on the Nelson sidelines, head coach Bill League was flagged for arguing with the referees about a holding call. The two penalties pushed Nelson deep into their own territory and when they were forced to punt, it put Blake in a good position to do something with the ball.
At first Blake, looked like he was going to let the Governors down the punt, but at the last second he grabbed the ball, juked a couple of defenders, picked up a big block from Nathan Bryant and went 60 yards from the score.
There was a moment during that play that did damper the celebration, though. Nelson’s Michael Carwile was injured on the block by Bryant. He suffered minor head and neck injuries and was taken to Bedford Memorial Hospital for precautionary measures. Play was stopped for nearly 30 minutes while the Bedford Rescue Squad attended to Carwile.
Neither team really got back into the flow of the game until the second half.
The first team to get back into it in the second half was Liberty and they put the exclamation point on the game in the first 1:15 of the second half.
On the first play from scrimmage of the second half it was Spinner’s turn to get in on the long touchdowns. He went 65 yards for the score.
After the kickoff, Blake intercepted Nicholas Tyree’s pass. He then handed the ball to Pennix, who broke free again for a 61-yard score, which gave Liberty a 44-6 lead just 75 seconds into the second half.
Nelson did pick up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter when a lot of Liberty’s top players were out of the game.
But Liberty had one more highlight left to come. With 6:48 to go in the game, Blake scored his third running touchdown on a kickoff return, picking up his blocks as he made his way down the field for an 80-yard score.
“He set up his blocks, which some backs can’t do. They just go out and run straight up the field, but he has a feel for it. That’s something you can’t coach and why he is such a good quarterback running the option. He reads the blocks well,” Watts said.
But as much as Blake got noticed on offense, it was his defense at safety that pleased Watts the most.
“Last week against Heritage, we gave up two touchdowns because of poor tackling in the secondary. Maybe they would have still scored, but if we had made those tackles, maybe they would have gotten a penalty or fumbled or something. At least, we could have lined up against them for another play. This week, I told him when Page came through the line and he was going to, he had to tackle, tackle, tackle and he did. He had several solo tackles. You don’t want your safety making all your tackles, but you want him to make the play when he has to.”
For the game, Liberty finished with 409 yards of total offense
Nelson had 320. Page did pick up 181 yards for the game, but a lot of those came after the game had been decided.
The Liberty defense took a lot of pride in stopping Page early.
“Coach told us during the week we were going to have to go out there and play hard. He’s a good running back. He keeps running hard and we knew we were going to have to keep playing hard. This feels really good. People doubted us after we lost 22 seniors last year. Coach told us to keep our heads up and work hard. That’s what we did,” Bryant said after the game.
“The whole defensive line did a great job. C. T. Daniels lined up against an all-region tackle, maybe even all-state, and made a bunch of plays,” Watts said.
Liberty now moves on to Gretna and will see a completely different game plan from the Hawks then what Nelson attempted to do, but it is something the Minutemen have seen before.
“They play the run-and-shoot. They spread the ball out and then run all over the place. Their quarterback [sophomore Vicqual Hall] is the real deal. He gave us fits last year,” Watts said.
The way Hall gave Liberty fits was keeping pressure on the secondary. He threw deep numerous times against the Minutemen, but never connected on the big play. Liberty ended up beating Gretna 30-6.
“Our kids have earned this [chance at another regional championship. We told them last week they’ve worked hard all year, now it’s time to have fun. They’ve been through two-a-days and practice. Everyone else has been through two-a-days and practice, but not everybody gets to do what they are doing now. They need to take advantage of this and be proud of what they’ve accomplished.”
Region III Division 3 final: Liberty 41, Gretna 34
Liberty cuts Hawks off at pass