According to maxpreps.com the Liberty County football team jumped from No. 238 to No. 192 in the state rankings this week — marking the biggest jump in Class AAAA.
On Friday, the Panthers showed the new ranking is no fluke by winning at Hephzibah, 41-19, to improve their record to 4-1. Liberty County gets another chance
to validate the ranking by hosting Glenn Hills on Friday at Donell Woods Stadium.
The Panthers once again had a balanced offense. Quarterback JJ Grant was 7-of-12 for 173 yards and a touchdown, while Liberty rushed for 301 yards
 as a team. Trentice Williams had four carries for 74 yards, Grant had eight carries for 72 yards, and Andre Haggray netted 60 yards on 15 carries.
Standout linebacker Raekwon McMillan had another stellar offensive game, running for 48 yards on six carries. Backup quarterback Jordan Waters rushed for 35 yards on three carries.
Jeremy Caldwell-Fabergas had four receptions for 138 yards to boost the Panthers offense.
McMillan and Fabergas each scored two touchdowns. Grant and Jacari Roberts each found the end zone once.
Defensively, the Panthers intercepted three Rebel passes for 54 return yards, had four sacks for negative-16 yards and registered 60 total tackles. Panther punter Cory Lazenby only was used once in the game.
Taishon Walls led in tackles with 11, while McMillan notched 10.