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Wind, road trip, no problem for Liberty in region playoff opener
Every play is a cerebral challenge for a linebacker. For Liberty’s Cortez Carter, however, there was only one easy decision to make when he saw a snap sail over William Fleming quarterback Derek Brown’s head into the end zone. Run after the quarterback,. Right now.
Carter ended up falling on Brown’s eventual fumble for a touchdown — an early break that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon as the Eagles rolled to a dominating 35-6 win over Fleming last Saturday in the Northwest Region semifinals in Roanoke.
Two weeks ago, Liberty’s season was at the crossroads as they faced a do-or-die game against Fauquier. Suddenly, it is a raging success.
The No. 3-seeded Eagles (9-2) host No. 4 George Washington-Danville (7-4) Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Northwest Region title game.
If Liberty beats G.W.-Danville, the Eagles advance to the Group AAA Division 4 state semifinals, meaning they're two wins from a state title.
“We had a solid plan on both sides of the ball,” said Liberty coach Tommy Buzzo. “This was our best performance of the year. We stepped up at a critical time. I thought we played well defensively against Fauquier (the week before in a 28-21 win), but we missed some things offensively. We executed better this week.”
The peaking Eagles dominated No. 2-seeded Fleming on both sides of the ball as Nick Potts threw three touchdown passes through a howling wind and the LHS running back posse rumbled 45 times for 208 yards
Although Buzzo declined to compare Fleming to any previous opponents, it did appeared talented Cedar Run District foes Osbourn, Battlefield, FHS and Osbourn Park had Liberty well-prepped for Fleming. One Web site had LHS listed as a five-point favorite, although the game was three hours away at Gainer Field in Roanoke.
Fleming coach Rob Senseney knew his Western Valley District champions weren't sharp. “Liberty did not do anything we did not expect. We just made mistakes and then exacerbated them. We could not put the brakes on when things started going wrong,” Senseney said.
But, he added, “Liberty capitalized on all our mistakes. That’s the sign of a good team.”
Buzzo spent hours reviewing Fleming's strengths and weaknesses. He said one key to the win was the difference in passing approaches.
While Potts went 11 for 19 and delivered short, controlled passes and looked precise, the strong-armed Brown went 5-for-17 and often missed receivers by wide margins...See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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