Liberty County has a huge challenge Friday when it takes on last year’s Class 2-AA state champion Benedictine in Savannah.
The Panthers (2-1) overpowered McIntosh County Academy 33-0 last Friday at Donell Woods Stadium. Panther quarterback Jaalon Frazier was 9-of-16 passing for 139 yards and a touchdown. Top recruit Richard LeCounte was chosen as Liberty’s player of the game, making three receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown on offense.
Defensively, he made three total tackles, deflected a pass and recovered and returned a fumble for 18 yards. He also returned a kick 42 yards and a touchdown.
Leading the Panthers in rushing for the third straight week was Jacquez Williams. The Wake Forest commit had six carries for 102 yards and a touchdown. Junior Elisha Polite finished with 35 yards and a touchdown.
Jeremiah Gilbert, Traveon Freeman and Jacari Roberts gave the Buccaneers’ passing game a rough night. Each defender had two sacks for a combined loss of 38 yards.
Three games in, the Liberty offense has generated 606 passing yards with five touchdowns and rushed for 574 yards and five touchdowns.
The Cadets come into Friday’s game 1-0 after defeating Greater Atlanta Christian 47-44 in double overtime Aug. 21. Benedictine quarterback Nick Iannone was 9-of-17 passing for 149 yards and one touchdown. The ground game had 300 yards and six touchdowns.
While the Cadets’ offense may be young, their defense is stacked with seniors and juniors. Senior Tru’self Cooper led in tackles against GAC with 15. Junior Chris Harris and senior Dasch Bergmann each had nine tackles.
“We’ve been working on being more consistent on offense,” Panther head coach Kirk Warner said. “It’s going to be a physical game, so we need to be playing team football and nail our assignments on defense.”
Offensive coordinator Ryan Glazer said the Panthers have also worked on staying mentally focused.
“We are working on eliminating mistakes and getting better at what we do,” he said.
The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. at T.A. Wright Stadium.