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OP star leaves game with concussion; Liberty surges to 27-22 victory
Not every play that changes the course of a football game is a dramatic, thrilling, stupendous touchdown catch or run. In Friday’s pivotal Liberty-Osbourn Park clash, it was a seemingly innocuous tackle for a 1-yard loss midway through the second quarter.
The play may have saved Liberty’s season, though, because when it was over, OP superstar quarterback-defensive back Dominique Terrell was done for the night with a concussion, and the Eagles’ playoff plans were focused and lucid after a 27-22 come-from-behind triumph in Manassas Park.
Without Terrell, the Yellow Jackets (4-3 overall, 2-2 Cedar Run District) were a shell of their formerly lethal selves, and Liberty (5-2, 2-2) took advantage, overcoming a 16-0 first half deficit with four straight touchdowns in the final three quarters..
Had Terrell never left, the game would have looked a lot different.
“He’s a big play maker. You can’t really replace him,” said Osbourn Park coach Brian Beaty. “We got down, we lost momentum, we weren’t able to stop them.”
Terrell left his imprint like the proverbial shooting star, blazing across the field in a streak of brilliance with two eye-popping touchdowns, and departing just as quickly after tackling Wayne Fleming.
Although he might have been pleased to see Terrell wobble off, Liberty coach Tommy Buzzo couldn't afford to smile.
A week earlier, Liberty sent Battlefield rushing leader Adrian Ingram to the bench with an ankle injury, and watched his replacement, Gerald Khosa, torch LHS for 173 yards and three TDs en route to a comeback win.
“When you play a good team and something goes wrong, and you get down early, you have to fight — keep your focus,” said Buzzo. “Our kids performed their jobs and fought through adversity.”
Besides a 16-0 deficit and the slippery Terrell, Buzzo mentioned adversity in the form of a Derrick Lee fumble near the goal line after a long bomb, and a failure to score on four plays from the 7-yard-line before halftime.
But Liberty did assert control with Terrell out. The Eagles got on the board midway through the second quarter on Corey Lillard’s bruising 12-yard touchdown run, making it 16-8.
After blowing a golden scoring chance before halftime, the Eagles cut their deficit to 16-14 early in the third quarter on Fleming’s 23-yard TD sprint.
The Eagles finally got the lead early in the fourth quarter on Nick Potts’ 8-yard crossing pass to Derrick Lee. Potts later scored on a 20-yard run to put the game out of reach at 27-16.
For Liberty, it was about time the football gods smiled on them. After all, the Eagles played valiantly in a 40-21 loss to first place Battlefield (7-0, 4-0), and appear to be a skilled unit capable of a playoff return after a three-year absence.
“It just took heart,” said Fleming, as talk of the playoffs became relevant again.
Said Buzzo: “You got to figure if we win out, we have a decent chance to make the playoffs. If we lost this and won out, we’d still need help.”
Buzzo knows full well that Fauquier (6-1, 3-1) is his main competition for a Group AAA Division 5 berth. While Liberty finished the tough part of its schedule, Fauquier still has Battlefield, Osbourn Park and Buzzo's Eagles looming...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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