Liberty's balanced offense, strong defense too much for Millbrook
Millbrook's Gavin Evosirch (left) and Aidan Haynes stop Liberty's Mason Gay after a seven-yard run in the first quarter of their game Friday at Millbrook. With Gay running for 178 yards on 28 carries, Liberty prevailed 20-14.
Millbrook's Jordan Jackson shakes off a tackle by Liberty's Keegan Shipe in the second quarter of their game Friday at Millbrook High School. The Eagles won 20-14.
WINCHESTER — The Liberty football team spent a lot of time going backward in the first half, but it did a heck of a job to come together and move forward when it needed to the most in the second half Friday night.
Trailing by two points with the ball on their own 39-yard line with 45 seconds left in the third quarter, Liberty's balanced attack embarked on a eight-play drive that featured five runs and three passes to score the game-winning touchdown with 9:15 left on Dylan Bailey's four-yard TD pass to Wyatt Hicks. Freddie Harris' two-point run gave Liberty a 20-14 lead, and the Eagles' defense made that stand up as the final score in Class 4 Northwestern District action.
Liberty (8-0, 5-0 district) was penalized an incredible 13 times for 121 yards in the first half, with most of those penalties coming on the offensive side. But in dropping the Pioneers to 5-3 (3-2), the Eagles controlled the game on both sides of the ball after they took possession at their 39 after a 25-yard punt by Millbrook's Carl Keenan (five attempts, 31.8 yards).
Keenan had to step in with normal punter and star running back Gavin Evosirch (seven carries, 52 yards, TD) missing part of the second quarter and all of the second half with an injury.
"We can't control the environment. We can only control ourselves," said Liberty coach Travis Buzzo when asked what he shared with the team at halftime. "I told them to tune everything out and just play football. Things happen and you get a penalty. You can't dwell on it. You've just got to move on.
"Our O-line played well all night, and our running backs ran hard. We didn't do much different on defense in the second half, but our kids did a better job of being where they needed to be, and we were making plays that way."
Liberty (185 rushing yards, 182 passing yards) had three times as many yards as Millbrook (367-122) and outgained the Pioneers 114-7 over the game's final 12 minutes and 45 seconds.
Millbrook also had three holding penalties and a false start that went a long way toward killing the two drives that took place prior to Liberty's game-winning TD, and Kaden Buza (8 of 17 for 54 yards) was dropped for losses of 5 and 8 yards on the first two plays of the second half after Millbrook started at Liberty's 46 after the Eagles' squib kickoff.
"I thought we played good football on offense in the first half," Millbrook coach Josh Haymore said. "I thought we had good play calls, I thought we had good execution. But we were shooting ourselves in the foot in the second half. We got behind the chains every single drive, and you can't win football games when you do that."
The game-winning drive started with Bailey (16 of 25 for 182 yards and two TDs) connecting with Hicks on an 11-yard pass. Then Liberty turned things over to Mason Gay. The diminutive Gay hit holes hard and picked up 178 yards on 28 carries, including runs of 7, 20 and 4 yards after Hicks' catch.
A 10-yard yard pass to Tre'Von Newman (four catches for 91 yards, including a spectacular 63-yard TD catch in the first half) preceded two more Gay runs to the Millbrook 4. Bailey then connected with Hicks (five receptions for 31 yards) on a perfectly thrown pivot pattern in which he fired low and to the outside near the left pylon where only Hicks could catch it.
"It was a great play call by the coach," Bailey said. "It couldn't have gone better."
Liberty's defense then forced a three-and-out, stuffing regular slot receiver and backup running back Diante Ball (13 carries for 38 yards, one TD), for a one-yard loss on third-and-3 from the Millbrook 35. The Pioneers' defense forced a punt after six plays, but Hicks' only punt of the game went for 48 yards, with the ball rolling more than 15 yards to the Millbrook 13.
Liberty's combination of occasional pressure and consistently strong coverage showed up on the next series, as Millbrook quarterback Buza threw three straight incompletions to prompt another Millbrook punt. Liberty took over the Pioneer 45 with 4:23 left and never gave the ball back, with Harris' 3-yard run on fourth-and-1 from the Pioneer 13 with 1:24 left clinching the win.
Not having Evosirch on the field certainly didn't help Millbrook's offense. (The Pioneers were also without all-district offensive lineman Zach Harrison, who didn't suit up at all on Friday.)
But Ball prevented Millbrook from missing a beat in the first half when Evosirch left for the first time on the last play of the first quarter, rushing six times for 35 yards on Millbrook's 14-play, 65-yard drive that gave it a 14-12 lead with 7:59 left in the second quarter. Ball finished the drive with a six-yard TD run, and Pat Sigler kicked his second extra point.
Evosirch came back for Millbrook's next offensive series, but he would not play again after the half. He had a slight limp on the sideline.
"I thought Diante played really well, and I thought the guy who really played well was Braden George, who came in at slot," Haymore said. "You coach guys up to make sure the backups can handle the job."
Ball's TD marked the second time that Millbrook answered a Liberty TD with one of its own.
The Eagles opened with a 18-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Harris 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal to make it 6-0, then Evosirch capped Millbrook's seven-play, 59-yard drive with a 14-yard TD run to make it 7-6 Pioneers.
White then reached up to grab a ball 40 yards downfield on the second play of Liberty's next possession after getting a couple steps behind the Millbrook defense, then spun toward the Pioneer goal line and went in the rest of the way untouched for a 63-yard score to make it 12-7 (the Eagles failed on two-point tries after their first two TDs).
On Liberty's four drives after White's score, Millbrook forced the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs twice in Pioneers territory. Liberty imploded with seven penalties for 65 yards on its final drive of the first half (one for unsportsmanlike conduct) after getting as close as the Millbrook 25 (the Eagles ended at their own 31). Jordan Jackson (four catches, 36 yards) also intercepted Bailey in the end zone on second-and-8 from the Millbrook 25.
"I thought we defended them better than anyone else," Haymore said. "I thought we did a fantastic job defending them. We made them drive the ball. When you make a team [go on long drives], you can make them make mistakes. They made some mistakes, but we didn't capitalize on them."
Haymore noted that if Millbrook wins its final two games, it will make the playoffs. That task starts next Friday on the road at James Wood.
"We've got to keep our heads up," Buza said. "We've got two more games. We'll watch film and just prepare for James Wood."
- By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI The Winchester Star
- Oct 26, 2019
Millbrook's Gavin Evosirch (left) and Aidan Haynes stop Liberty's Mason Gay after a seven-yard run in the first quarter of their game Friday at Millbrook. With Gay running for 178 yards on 28 carries, Liberty prevailed 20-14.
- Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star
Millbrook's Jordan Jackson shakes off a tackle by Liberty's Keegan Shipe in the second quarter of their game Friday at Millbrook High School. The Eagles won 20-14.
- Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star
WINCHESTER — The Liberty football team spent a lot of time going backward in the first half, but it did a heck of a job to come together and move forward when it needed to the most in the second half Friday night.
Trailing by two points with the ball on their own 39-yard line with 45 seconds left in the third quarter, Liberty's balanced attack embarked on a eight-play drive that featured five runs and three passes to score the game-winning touchdown with 9:15 left on Dylan Bailey's four-yard TD pass to Wyatt Hicks. Freddie Harris' two-point run gave Liberty a 20-14 lead, and the Eagles' defense made that stand up as the final score in Class 4 Northwestern District action.
Liberty (8-0, 5-0 district) was penalized an incredible 13 times for 121 yards in the first half, with most of those penalties coming on the offensive side. But in dropping the Pioneers to 5-3 (3-2), the Eagles controlled the game on both sides of the ball after they took possession at their 39 after a 25-yard punt by Millbrook's Carl Keenan (five attempts, 31.8 yards).
Keenan had to step in with normal punter and star running back Gavin Evosirch (seven carries, 52 yards, TD) missing part of the second quarter and all of the second half with an injury.
"We can't control the environment. We can only control ourselves," said Liberty coach Travis Buzzo when asked what he shared with the team at halftime. "I told them to tune everything out and just play football. Things happen and you get a penalty. You can't dwell on it. You've just got to move on.
"Our O-line played well all night, and our running backs ran hard. We didn't do much different on defense in the second half, but our kids did a better job of being where they needed to be, and we were making plays that way."
Liberty (185 rushing yards, 182 passing yards) had three times as many yards as Millbrook (367-122) and outgained the Pioneers 114-7 over the game's final 12 minutes and 45 seconds.
Millbrook also had three holding penalties and a false start that went a long way toward killing the two drives that took place prior to Liberty's game-winning TD, and Kaden Buza (8 of 17 for 54 yards) was dropped for losses of 5 and 8 yards on the first two plays of the second half after Millbrook started at Liberty's 46 after the Eagles' squib kickoff.
"I thought we played good football on offense in the first half," Millbrook coach Josh Haymore said. "I thought we had good play calls, I thought we had good execution. But we were shooting ourselves in the foot in the second half. We got behind the chains every single drive, and you can't win football games when you do that."
The game-winning drive started with Bailey (16 of 25 for 182 yards and two TDs) connecting with Hicks on an 11-yard pass. Then Liberty turned things over to Mason Gay. The diminutive Gay hit holes hard and picked up 178 yards on 28 carries, including runs of 7, 20 and 4 yards after Hicks' catch.
A 10-yard yard pass to Tre'Von Newman (four catches for 91 yards, including a spectacular 63-yard TD catch in the first half) preceded two more Gay runs to the Millbrook 4. Bailey then connected with Hicks (five receptions for 31 yards) on a perfectly thrown pivot pattern in which he fired low and to the outside near the left pylon where only Hicks could catch it.
"It was a great play call by the coach," Bailey said. "It couldn't have gone better."
Liberty's defense then forced a three-and-out, stuffing regular slot receiver and backup running back Diante Ball (13 carries for 38 yards, one TD), for a one-yard loss on third-and-3 from the Millbrook 35. The Pioneers' defense forced a punt after six plays, but Hicks' only punt of the game went for 48 yards, with the ball rolling more than 15 yards to the Millbrook 13.
Liberty's combination of occasional pressure and consistently strong coverage showed up on the next series, as Millbrook quarterback Buza threw three straight incompletions to prompt another Millbrook punt. Liberty took over the Pioneer 45 with 4:23 left and never gave the ball back, with Harris' 3-yard run on fourth-and-1 from the Pioneer 13 with 1:24 left clinching the win.
Not having Evosirch on the field certainly didn't help Millbrook's offense. (The Pioneers were also without all-district offensive lineman Zach Harrison, who didn't suit up at all on Friday.)
But Ball prevented Millbrook from missing a beat in the first half when Evosirch left for the first time on the last play of the first quarter, rushing six times for 35 yards on Millbrook's 14-play, 65-yard drive that gave it a 14-12 lead with 7:59 left in the second quarter. Ball finished the drive with a six-yard TD run, and Pat Sigler kicked his second extra point.
Evosirch came back for Millbrook's next offensive series, but he would not play again after the half. He had a slight limp on the sideline.
"I thought Diante played really well, and I thought the guy who really played well was Braden George, who came in at slot," Haymore said. "You coach guys up to make sure the backups can handle the job."
Ball's TD marked the second time that Millbrook answered a Liberty TD with one of its own.
The Eagles opened with a 18-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Harris 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal to make it 6-0, then Evosirch capped Millbrook's seven-play, 59-yard drive with a 14-yard TD run to make it 7-6 Pioneers.
White then reached up to grab a ball 40 yards downfield on the second play of Liberty's next possession after getting a couple steps behind the Millbrook defense, then spun toward the Pioneer goal line and went in the rest of the way untouched for a 63-yard score to make it 12-7 (the Eagles failed on two-point tries after their first two TDs).
On Liberty's four drives after White's score, Millbrook forced the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs twice in Pioneers territory. Liberty imploded with seven penalties for 65 yards on its final drive of the first half (one for unsportsmanlike conduct) after getting as close as the Millbrook 25 (the Eagles ended at their own 31). Jordan Jackson (four catches, 36 yards) also intercepted Bailey in the end zone on second-and-8 from the Millbrook 25.
"I thought we defended them better than anyone else," Haymore said. "I thought we did a fantastic job defending them. We made them drive the ball. When you make a team [go on long drives], you can make them make mistakes. They made some mistakes, but we didn't capitalize on them."
Haymore noted that if Millbrook wins its final two games, it will make the playoffs. That task starts next Friday on the road at James Wood.
"We've got to keep our heads up," Buza said. "We've got two more games. We'll watch film and just prepare for James Wood."
