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Panthers host Knights tonight
Teams play for pride, not playoffs
RaekwonMcMillan
Freshman Panther defender Raekwon McMillan made a good impression during his first season. He is among the younger Panthers who will return next season looking for a better run in Region 2A-AAAA. - photo by Phgoto by Patty Leon

Liberty County High School will play for pride tonight when the Panthers host the Evans Knights at Donell Woods Stadium.

Both teams are out of playoff contention after Glynn downed the Panthers 26-22 last week and the Knights lost 30-0 to the Lakeside Panthers.

"We are just playing for pride right now and trying to send out our seniors on a winning note," Panther coach Kirk Warner said. "We fought through adversity and things just didn’t go our way this year as they did in the past. I’m proud of them and we just need to go out and we have one more business trip and that is going to be Friday and I think they are approaching it that way. I told them that everybody always remembers their last game and I want the seniors to have a good memory."

Liberty is 2-7 overall and 1-4 in its first season in Region 2A-AAAA. The Knights are 5-4 overall and 2-3 in Region 2B-AAAA. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

Moving up a classification and into a new region meant adjustments were necessary, Warner said, but added he felt most of the teams in 2A-AAAA were comparable to the programs the Panthers faced in Region 3-AAA.

"But you have to do your research and anytime you are not familiar with a team, I guess it can cause some problems," he said. "We just had some breaks that didn’t go our way all season long and we can just chalk it up to that."

Warner said Evans runs a spread offense, noting the Knights have good receivers, an outstanding quarterback and are comparable to Wayne County.

"As far as personnel and that type of thing, they are a pretty good challenge for us," he said.

With 18 seniors, nine of whom were key starters, playing their last game tonight, Warner has big shoes to fill next season.

"But we have good group coming back also so we are just trying to fill in the holes," Warner said. "We have to continue to get stronger in the weight room and we will start back the Monday after Thanksgiving break and go from there. The season never ends."

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