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Buzzo's bunch looks primed to end postseason dry spell
Tommy Buzzo hopes three years of frustration are about to end.
Every summer and fall, the Liberty High football coach carefully constructs his Eagle squad with the best athletes southern Fauquier County can muster, and they go out and generally beat you up. Buzzo's six-year record is 51-12, or an average of 8.5 wins a year.
Despite that track record, playoff appearances have been elusive. The Eagles are without a playoff berth in 2005, '06 and '07 despite records of 8-2, 9-1, and 7-3 the last three years.
“The system has taken a huge toll on our football program,” said Buzzo, lamenting a playoff structure that has at times seemed unfair to an LHS team coming off two consecutive second place district finishes.
The simple fact is that the only way to ensure you make the playoffs is to win your district, and the Eagles haven't done that since 2004.
Everything looks pretty set for a playoff run this year.
The Eagles have speed, talent and experience on both sides of the ball, led by University of Virginia-bound inside linebacker Corey Lillard and lineman Kory Gough, who is being recruited by numerous Division I schools. It doesn’t end there. Seniors Ryan Grimes and Damien Dodson have D-I offers, and Derrick Lee is expected to be recruited.
Liberty also has a number of first year starters that could emerge as all-district caliber players, such as junior halfback Wayne Fleming, who was a burst of energy in last Friday's scrimmage win over Massaponax,
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Smashmouth football
Offensively, Liberty has always thrived running the ball and using the whole field to grind down the rival defense. The Eagles have had their share of featured running backs over the years – Justin Carrington, Adrian Hull, A.J. Brown -- and this year is no different. The problem is identifying who it will be, if anyone, as five running backs will share the carries.
Lillard will rotate in at halfback with Fleming and Bryon Williams.
Damien Dodson and Cortez Carter will be the fullbacks.
Of the group, both Lillard and Fleming looked devastating in Friday's scrimmage win over Massaponax. Lillard has never been the featured back, and could assume that role now.
Yet if Lillard is to be rested, it will come on offense, leaving Fleming the chance to break out. “Fleming is a talented kid, a strong kid. I was impressed with the way he ran Friday. We had not seen him under fire. He did a real good job in the open field,” Buzzo said.
Williams is also someone to watch out for; he has breakaway speed. “Williams ran the ball well and blocked well,” Buzzo said. “He’s no bigger than minute. But he could get a lot of time.” Buzzo cautioned that of the team’s halfbacks, Williams “has the farthest to go in mental mistakes. It’s his first varsity season.”
Another running back on Buzzo's radar is Carter, a sophomore who Buzzo says will be an impact player at Liberty sometime before he graduates. Carter is also slated to start at linebacker.
With senior quarterback Nick Potts stepping into the spotlight as the new starter, protecting Potts is a priority.
Buzzo criticized the blocking effort against Massaponax., however his unit looks pretty impressive on paper. On the left side are two 6-foot-7 seniors in left tackle Kory Gough and left guard Ryan Grimes. Jeremiah Kearns is at center, with 320-pound Keith Bywaters at right guard and Shawn Otte at right tackle.
The new quarterback is Potts, who takes over for Wayne Conner. Potts is a departure from past LHS quarterbacks who were smaller and shifty. Potts is not only the tallest Eagle signal caller in recent memory at 6-foot-4, but he has a very strong arm and knows the offense...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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