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Experienced Liberty buries first year Kettle Run, 81-0, in football opener
When David is allowed sling his rock from a distance, Goliath can be taken down and the underdog can win.
When Goliath wears shoulder pads and David must tackle him, the underdog gets run over.
The Kettle Run football team was David without a rock on Friday.
The sophomore-laden Kettle Run squad was clearly overmatched against perennial playoff contender Liberty and, predictably, lost its inaugural game as a program, 81-0.
A team void of seniors after the recent redistricting process in Fauquier County, the Kettle Run Cougars started eight sophomores against Liberty. Less than 90 seconds after kickoff, they trailed 7-0 and then their first possession lasted only 13 seconds, ending with a 3-yard loss and a fumble.
By the end of the first quarter, they trailed 35-0.
“You know going in that you’re really overmatched. It’s a tough psychology thing for your kids,” Kettle Run coach Jeff Lloyd said after the loss in Nokesville. “When you’re out-physical-ed in football, you’re not going to be very successful.”
Conversely, the Liberty Eagles succeeded in nearly all aspects of the game, breaking weak tackles by the Cougars defense and applying relentless pressure to the Cougars offense. That wasn't necessarily of much comfort to Liberty coach Tommy Buzzo, though.
There's often a fine line to straddle in mismatch games like Friday's, with Group AA Kettle Run fielding a team of players who would likely play on Group AAA Liberty's junior varsity team.
“You’ve just got to play. You treat them like every other opponent,” Buzzo said. “I know that they’re all young and they’re a first-year school… but the game’s scheduled and I get paid to coach Liberty High School football and prepare the kids. And that’s what we did tonight. We came out and we played a football game.”
Buzzo used subs for most of the second half, though, after Liberty built a 56-0 lead over the first two quarters. In the first 26 minutes alone, junior Wayne Fleming ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries while senior Cory Lillard ran for 54 yards and two touchdowns on six carries and Damien Dodson ran for 83 yards on two carries. Dodson had a touchdown called back for holding late on a 72-yard run and he also ran an interception 35 yards for a touchdown.
“We didn’t play down to their level; we played up to ours,” Dodson said. “We came out and did what we wanted and got a lot of things accomplished.”
Meanwhile, senior quarterback Nick Potts threw for 121 yards and three touchdowns on 6-for-8 passing, with senior Stefawn Ross making three catches for 32 yards and two touchdowns...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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