Liberty County High School’s football coaching staff named Jacquez Williams as the team’s offensive player of the game for their season-opening loss against Effingham on Friday at Donell Woods Stadium.
Williams had 120 of the Panthers 220 rushing yards, averaging 13.3 yards per carry. Williams’ 74-yard run for a touchdown was the Panthers’ lone trip to the end zone in their 35-7 loss.
Williams finished with 117 all-purpose yards.
According to stats on maxpreps.com, sophomore quarterback Jaalon Frazier was 5-of- 8 passing for 32 yards and three interceptions. Frazier wasn’t expected to be the starter, but the Panther coaching staff received notice from the Georgia High School Association earlier Friday regarding the eligibility of incoming transfer Walker Franklin.
He moved to Midway a few months ago from Wayne County, where he played for the Yellow Jackets last season. Described by many as a level-headed kid with an honor-roll grade average, Franklin didn’t get many snaps for Wayne, which had all-around athlete Malique Jackson as its starting quarterback. Jackson is a freshman at Florida State.
Panther head coach Kirk Warner said he thought the issue could be resolved before Friday’s away game at Bradwell Institute. As of Tuesday afternoon, there was no word on whether Franklin would be eligible to play.
Gyri Durant had three receptions for 28 yards, while Jarquel Richardson had one catch for seven yards.
Defensively, sophomore Tucker Lyda had eight total tackles, including one for loss. Calvin Holmes and Tracy White each had seven total tackles, while Brandon Course had six. Joaquim Lemapu, DaShaun Hudson and Jacari Roberts each had five total tackles. Roberts also had two sacks, and Hudson had one sack.
Sam Roberts had two pass deflections, and Michael Guy had one. Lemapu was 1 for 1 on extra-point kicks.
Up next for Liberty is the annual crosstown fight against Bradwell Institute at Olvey Field. It will be the first official game of the season for the Tigers and new head coach Greg Hill.
Advance tickets are available at both high schools for $5. The price goes up to $7 at the gate.
See Friday’s Coastal Courier for a preview of the game.