Pirates skin Leopards
WACO, Texas—Turnovers are always costly. Liberty-Eylau fell to La Vega at Pirate Stadium Friday Night in Waco, 56-19.
“Well, we played a great program tonight,” LibertyEylau head coach Steve Wells said. “They have a legit shot at winning a Class 4A Div. 1 state championship. Their coaches and players are a class act.”
Cedric Dickerson scored his second touchdown of the night in the third quarter with 3:40 remaining.
Dickerson ended with seven carries for 57 yards and a score.
Elisha Cummings added to the La Vega lead when he scored on a 21-yard run in the third quarter with 8:29 remaining.
Cummings ended the night with five totes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
“We turned the ball over too much early in the game,” Wells said. “We can’t do that against good ball clubs. Like I told our seniors, we have to keep our heads up. We probably played the toughest preseason schedule in Class 4A.
“We have a bye this week and it’s a good time to have a bye for us.”
John Richards led the Pirates offensively with six carries for 92 yards and three touchdowns. Richards also caught one pass for seven yards. Liberty-Eylau fumbled six times, losing three. Richards opened the second half with a 7-yard run for a touchdown for the Pirates with 10:26 in the third.
La Vega edged Liberty-Eylau, 35-12, at the half.
On the following possession, Richards scored on a 59-yard run with 3:21 before intermission.
Talveyion Cooper scored on a 8-yard run for Liberty-Eylau to slice into the Pirates lead before halftime, 28-12.
Dickerson put the Leopards on the board with his 26-yard reception from Isaiah Cross in the second quarter to cut into the Pirates lead, 28-6.
“We’re going to watch film this week and correct some things,” Wells said. “We’ll probably have to pull a few kids up from our junior varsity to add a little depth. We will work hard on some things this week and get ready for Spring Hill the following week.
“Bye week is coming at a great time for us,” Wells said. “I really think we’ll make some noise in district because our non-district schedule was so tough. Hopefully, we’ll get a few kids back from injury, that will help us also.”
Jar’Quae Walton caught a 29-yard pass from Jacob Bryant to begin the second quarter, 28-0, with 11:52 on the clock.
Richards gave La Vega a three score edge on his 17-yard run in the first with 2:26 left.
Josh Hamilton took a fake punt 35 yards for the Pirates second score of the game with 5:57 remaining in the first period.
Demicco Chambliss put the Pirates on the board first with his 49-yard dash to the end zone with 9:47 left in the first quarter.
“We didn’t tackle real well tonight,” Wells said.” We have to do a better job of tackling and correct our turnovers. That’s not a good combination when you’re trying to be successful. The thing about is, our kids didn’t quit. The real season starts in two weeks, What we do from then on, determines how good this team is down the road.”
Liberty-Eylau 0 12 7 0 — 19
La Vega 21 14 21 0 — 56
First Quarter
LV-Demicco Chambliss 49 run (Eric Ramirez kick), 9:47
LV-Josh Hamilton 35 run (Ramirez kick), 5:57 LV-John Richards 17 run (Ramirez kick), 2:26 Second Quarter
LV-Jar’Quae Walton 29 pass from Jacob Bryant (Ramirez kick), 11:52
LE-Cedric DIckerson 26 pass from Isaiah Cross
(kick failed), 7:30
LE-Talveyion Cooper 8 run (2pt no good), 3:41 LV-Richards 59 run (Ramirez kick), 3:21 Third Quarter
LV-Richards 7 run (Ramirez kick), 10:26 LV-Elisha Cummings 21 run (Ramirez kick), 8:29 LE-Dickerson 31 run (Gregorio Aguilar kick), 3:40 LV-Cummings 43 run (Ramirez kick), 1:00
L-E La Vega First Downs 6 12
Yards Rushing 27-162 32-355 Yards Passing 143 36 Passes A-C-I 19-10-0 7-4-0 Fumbles-Lost 6-3 0 Penalties 2-30 4-35 Punts-Avg. 4-40.0 2-26.5 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Liberty-Eylau, Riles 3-7, White 1-1, Alexander 1-2, Dickerson 7-57, Cooper 6-54, Cross 5-25, TEAM 1-(minus 11), Williams 1-1, Henderson 2-26.
La Vega, Walton 8-71, Chambliss 6-68, Hamilton 2-35, Cummings 5-75, Richards 6-92, Bryant 1-0, Tyler 2-5, Williams 2-9.
PASSING—Liberty-Eylau, Cross 3-7-0-30, Cooper 6-11-0-113.
La Vega, Bryant 4-7-0-36.
RECEIVING—Liberty-Eylau, Williams 1-(minus 1), Cross 3-46, Dickerson 2-31, Porche 1-26, Greer 1-32, Butler 1-4, King 1-5.
La Vega, Richards 1-7, Chambliss 1-0, Walton 1-29, Wright 1-0.