The Liberty County Panthers dominated the Pike County Pirates in the first round of the AAA State Playoffs Friday night. They jumped on their opponents from the start of the game and never looked back, moving on to a 56-10 victory to get to the second round set for next week. 

The Panthers took a 23-3 lead into the locker room at halftime in a game that seemed to be much closer than originally believed. However, Liberty County used a 27-point rally in the third quarter to pull away, making the score 50-3 late in the period. 

Liberty County got three touchdowns from senior Richard LeCounte, two of which came in the first half. The Panthers added a safety in the second quarter and a fumble return touchdown by Alvin Roberts in the third, which sparked their dominating rally. 

This win gives the team 10 for the first time in school history and they will now move on to host the Sonoraville Phoenix, the number three seed out of Region 6. They defeated Franklin County to move on to the second round. 

The Panthers and Phoenix will meet up on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Look for a full recap of this story in Sunday's issue of The Coastal Courier.