LIBERTY —
Call it the trifecta. Call it “huge” like Liberty coach Brian Jones did.
Call it whatever you want, but in Liberty’s 47-32 victory against Jefferson on Friday at Liberty, the Leopards called touchdowns by its offense, defense, and special teams within the first three minutes of the game a 22-0 lead.
“We stress the three phases of the game: offense, defense, and special teams” Jones said. “When you get production out of all three units, it”s huge.”
The Leopards (4-1, 2-0) got started when John Helms returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown with 10:28 left in the first quarter. Following a Jefferson lost fumble on its first play of the following possession, Sherron Walls found the end zone on a 19-yard TD run.
The Liberty scoring blitz was capped by a Danny Markulin 36-yard interception return for a touchdown at the 9:37 mark.
“That was a great feeling to start off the game,” Walls said. “Last week, we started off the game with 19 points in the first quarter but let Labrae come back. Us starting with 22 points, we wanted to keep the intensity up and put our foot down.”
Still, the Falcons (3-2, 1-2) were able to weather the storm after falling behind 34-7 in the second quarter. A pair of touchdowns from Tony Chiacchiero to Jacob Hamilton — from 56 and 15 yards — cut the Liberty lead to 34-20 at halftime.
“We dug a big hole early, but I’m very proud of my kids,” Jefferson coach Jim Henson said. “They didn’t quit fighting all night and it was good to see us cut it back to 14.”
However, the Leopards proved to be too much in the second half. An Asim Pleas 14-yard TD run followed by a Helms 45-yard circus catch for a score extended the lead to 47-20.
And although Jefferson cut the deficit to 15 in the fourth, the Falcons couldn’t handle the large-dosage of Walls. The senior back finished with 208 rushing yards on 40 carries.
“I am [tired], but I’m not. I can go another two quarters,” Walls said. “I’m very hungry. You gotta stay hungry. At the end, I didn’t want to come out. I wanted to get as many yards as I could to put the game away.”
Liberty quarterback Peas did a little bit of everything for Leopards, passing for 68 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 58 yards and a score.
To Jefferson’s credit, the Falcons offense was effective all game, as Chiacchiero racked up 216 passing yards, completing 11 of 20 attempts and 3 touchdowns. But Jefferson was done in by four turnovers, two coming on interceptions by Markulin.
“I read the play, jumped the pass and went for the interception,” he said. “And my team helped me out, too, by getting my blocks.”
Wilaj is a sports writer for the Youngstown Vindicator.
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