Battle to the end
Liberty-Eylau survives back-and-forth shootout with Paris
Liberty-Eylau beat the odds Friday at Harris Field. The Leopards were flagged 28 times for 248 yards, and still beat a good Paris team, 52-38.
There was a total of 45 penalties in the game for 434 yards, L-E barely outgaining the officials with 459 yards. Senior quarterbacks Kémon Freeman and Paris’ Quez Allen lived up to billing, combining for 593 yards.
Freeman ran for three touchdowns, but failed to pass for one for the first time this season. His third touchdown with 2:56 left in the game put the contest out of reach. He finished with 166 yards on the ground, while completing 10 of 21 for 157 yards.
Allen had a 69-yard scoring run and passed for two more while completing 13 of 24 for 223 yards.
The 10th-ranked Leopards improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in District 7-4A, D-I. L-E travels to Pittsburg next week for a game that will go a long ways in determining the championship.
In other district games, Pittsburg rallied past North Lamar, and Princeton crushed Quinlan Ford.
L-E also got an outstanding running effort from Lamont Byrd, who scored twice and rushed for 125 yards.
Three Paris turnovers in the first half enabled the Leopards to survive 15 penalties for 118 yards.
A shootout had been predicted and nobody in the stands were disappointed with the 31-31 tie at intermission.
L-E lost 16 yards on the game’s initial possession, and the Wildcats scored in two plays from 43, the score coming on a 33-yard pass from Allen to Ja’Kerion Brown.
It took the Leopards 13 seconds to tie the game, Denzel Green returning the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown.
Paris’ first turnover followed, Triston Brooks recovering a fumble at the Wildcats’ 26. Five plays later Freeman broke free up the middle for a 9-yard TD jaunt with 7:30 left in the first quarter. Turner’s kick made it 14-7.
Fourteen seconds later it was tied again when Paris’ Brown raced 75 yards on a kickoff return for six points.
A 14-play drive by the Leopards ended with another Freeman score, but Paris would fire back to take a 28-21 lead on a 69-yard run by Allen, and a 30-yard pass from Brown to Dren Rollerson.
The see-saw affair continued with L-E tying the game on a 22-yard scoring run by Lamont Byrd.
The two teams exchanged field goals in the final 3:28, Turner’s 25-yarder being the Leopards’ first field goal in several years.
In holding the Wildcats to one score in the second half, L-E’s defense played its best two quarters this season. Allen was sacked three times in the final minutes, twice by junior LaGaryonn Carson.