Liberty County’s offense left a couple of touchdowns on the field Friday night. The Panthers defense made sure that didn’t matter.

Liberty’s defense smothered Islands’ offense all night long, and the Panthers earned a crucial Region 3-AAA win in a 21-0 victory at Donell Woods Stadium/Kirk Warner Field.

“Our defense has been playing well all year,” Panthers coach Tony Glazer said. “We came out with a sense of urgency on defense. From the opening series, they made a statement. Our mindset all week was shutout, shutout, shutout.”

The Sharks fell to 0-5 on the year and 0-4 in the region. The Panthers improved to 2-3 on the season and evened their region record at 2-2, setting up a key matchup next week in Brooklet against Southeast Bulloch.

Penalties negated two Panthers touchdowns in the first half, and Liberty failed to score on the possessions.

But the defense held the Sharks to 61 total yards of offense, including just 14 yards and one first down in the second half.

No Islands drive crossed midfield – the Sharks had just four plays on Liberty’s side of the 50-yard line, all coming after a second-quarter interception.

Elijah Brown, who had a 29-yard touchdown burst on Liberty’s first drive wiped out on a penalty, scored from 12 yards out to put the Panthers up 7-0.

Christian Hines’ hat trick – sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery – set up the Panthers at the Islands 36 with 29.3 seconds left in the first half. Jah’barri Felix found Julian Gerena in the back right corner of the end zone with 2.9 seconds to go on a 17-yard scoring strike to extend the lead to 14-0.

Brandon Roberts’ 9-yard run with 7:18 to play in the game iced the victory for the Panthers.

For more, see the September 26 edition of the Coastal Courier.