In front of Homecoming crowd, Liberty-Eylau dances past Jefferson
TEXARKANA, Texas — Liberty-Eylau celebrated Homecoming in dominant fashion over Jefferson.
The Leopards limited the Bulldogs to 152 yards of total offense — 32 after halftime — and piled up 434 yards during a 56-15 victory at Harris Field Friday.
Marquarius Price ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries for L-E. Imhad Hicks scored a pair of touchdowns on six rushes for 27 yards, and Cal Jones added 76 yards on six totes. Kayden Cooper finished with three catches for 104 yards.
Jones also had an interception, one of four defen
sive takeaways. Jayce Banks recovered two fumbles, and Keenue Shepard returned his interception for a TD.
“I challenged the team at halftime that we needed to play with the same intensity in the second half,” Leopard head coach Dewaski Davis said after his team led 28-7 at intermission. “If we were able to do that, we would send a message that we corrected a lot of the things we wanted to work on after our first game.”
Liberty-Eylau scored on both of its third-quarter drives, marching 78 yards on eight plays and 69 yards on 10 plays. Price had both scores on runs of 18 and 1 yards.
A high snap by the Bulldogs was recovered by Banks at the 1 after a scrum for the loose ball, and Hicks bulled in from the 1 for LibertyEylau. Banks added another fumble recovery to set up J.J. Hampton’s 34-yard scoring pass to Rodrick Galloway with 9:09 remaining.
The Leopards scored in all three aspects during the first half, and Jefferson scored late in the half after L-E built a 28-0 lead.
In the opening possessions the teams struggled to get in sync on offense, and after the Bulldogs’ second punt Chris Lewis fielded the ball at the Jefferson 38. Lewis broke free around the left side and knifed through the Bulldog coverage for his 38-yard punt return TD.
After a third punt by Jefferson, the Leopards drove 62 yards on six plays. Imhad Hicks bulled his way in from the 4, and Jones’ PAT made it 14-0 with 4:29 left in the first quarter.
Liberty-Eylau’s defense forced the fourth punt in as many drives, and after a short kick, the Leopard offense struck again. L-E needed just four plays to cover 43 yards, Price racing in from the 5 to give the home team a 21-0 lead with 1:02 remaining in the first.
“We played hard all the way through and scored in all three phases,” Davis said. “You can’t ask for much more than that. We know if we just take care of ourselves and continue to improve each and every week, we’re going to be where we want to be.”
The ensuing Bulldog drive ended as Jones intercepted a deep pass at the Leopard 49, but Liberty-Eylau punted for the second time in the game.
On the third Jefferson snap, Shepard picked off a pass and brought it back 33 yards for a pick-6 with 6:20 remaining before intermission.
Luke McMullen brought back the ensuing kickoff 69 yards for the Bulldogs, and nine plays later Chris Bowman scored from the 6 with 2:08 left in the second quarter. Bowman also had a 2-yard scoring run midway through the third.
Prior to the game, senior Bryana Block was crowned as Liberty-Eylau Homecoming Queen.