The Liberty County Panthers had to beat South Effingham to have any chance for the postseason — and they did.
Liberty pummeled the Mustangs, 41-17, last Friday in its final home game of the regular season. That means the Panthers will play at 7:30 tonight for postseason seeding as they travel to Augusta to play the Academy of Richmond County.
The Musketeers, 5-4 overall and 3-1 in sub-region 3B-AAAA, are comparable to the Panthers (7-2, 1-2). But the Panthers are hungry and were eager to make the playoffs this year after missing the mark for three years.
Against the Mustangs, the Panthers powered through the rain to gain 389 rushing yards on 44 carries for five touchdowns. Trentice Williams rushed for 162 yards on 14 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Sophomore Jacari Roberts had five carries for 30 yards and two touchdowns, and senior Jordan Moody had four carries for 19 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Holmes scored a touchdown on defense on a 13-yard interception return
Panther quarterback Jordan Waters was 1-of-3 passing for eight yards, which was the  opposite of what this young man did two weeks ago against Wayne County. According to offensive coordinator Ryan Glazer, Waters set a school record against the Yellow Jackets when he went 13 of 27 for 301 passing yards and three touchdowns. Glazer said the Panther offense, as a whole, has the potential to break every team season record this year. The Liberty offense is 52 of 120 for 942 passing yards and nine touchdowns and has rushed for 2,313 yards and 25 touchdowns on 328 carries.
This morning, the Panthers five-star senior linebacker, Raekwon McMillan will be presented with his Under Armour All-American Jersey during a brief ceremony at 8:10 at the high school.
McMillan was chosen last year to play for the 2014 Under Armour All-American High School game, where he said he will formally announce which college he plans to attend. He has repeatedly placed Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State among his top five choices.
Liberty’ s freshman standout, Richard LeCounte, was selected to the East team in the first freshman version of the United States Army All-American Bowl in January in San Antonio, Texas.
BRADWELL
Bradwell Institute will finish out the season by playing Groves at 7:30 tonight in Garden City.
The Tigers should be favored tonight. The Rebels have struggled throughout the season, sitting at 1-8 overall and 0-3 in Region 3-5A. Bradwell had to win two of its last three games to make a playoff spot.
Last Friday, that hope was dashed by the Ware County Gators, who downed the Tigers, 48-0, in Waycross. The Tigers were stymied by the Gators, who held Bradwell to only 71 all-purpose yards. Tiger quarterback LaBaron Anthony was 5-of-7 passing for 18 yards. Bradwell’s offense had 26 carries for minus-7 yards.
Still, a win tonight would give the Tigers a 4-6 overall record and 3-4 region mark, which would be the program’s best record since 2009 and a good showing for first year head coach Adam Carter.
In fact, the Tigers have put up some impressive numbers this season, posting 588 passing yards to date and 1,770 rushing yards. The Tigers have scored 23 rushing touchdowns and two passing TDs.
Anthony leads the ground game with 529 yards. Sammie Clayton is a close second with 513 yards, and Hubert Anderson has 508 yards.
Mike Burnett and Deion Stewart are the top two Tiger receivers with 183 yards on 13 receptions and 159 yards on 15 receptions, respectively.
Isiah Barnes continues to lead the defense with 86 total tackles. Anderson has 69, and Justin Ramsey has 55.
Last year, the Tigers finished the season with a 49-0 win over Groves at home.

FPCA
First Presbyterian Christian Academy will finish out the program’s second season of football with a road game at 7:30 tonight against Fullington Academy in Pinehurst.
The Highlanders are seeking the first win for the program. New head coach Jamie Sharp said that despite their current record, they will leave it all on the football field tonight.