Central gets past Liberty's ball control violation

Anyone wondering how dangerous Liberty High’s wayward, no-point offense can be needs to look no further than Friday night’s District 4-5A game at Central, where the Patriots gave the Wildcats a scare.

Liberty had the ball for nearly 18 minutes in the first half as it built a two-touchdown lead, but the air came out in the second half. Fueled by Marvin Joseph’s three touchdown runs, Central rallied to defeat the Patriots 35-20.

Joseph finished with 70 yards on eight carries in what amounted to less than three quarters of football. Central (7-1, 2-1) didn’t play offensively until the second quarter.

“Hats off to (Liberty),” Central coach David Simoneaux said. “They ate up so much clock in the first half and we had some discipline and execution issues that put us in some bad situations.”

Liberty (2-6, 0-3) held Central scoreless on its only two possessions in the first half, when it took a 14-0 lead. The Patriots had a chance to return Central’s first touchdown in the third quarter after driving into the Central 10. Central held Liberty on downs and then scored touchdowns the next four times it got the ball.

“We knew we had to keep the ball away from them,” Liberty coach Andy Boone said. “We did that in the first half and we didn’t in the second half. In the third quarter we had a chance to score, and when we couldn’t, the momentum just turned their way.”

Central finished the game with 268 yards of offense, 219 of which came in the second half. Wildcats quarterback Jackson Firmin ran for one touchdown and threw for another to Kylen Thomas, who caught four passes for 64 yards.

Liberty had 231 yards rushing, a figure that was increased by Dedrick Welch and Collin Stephenson with 70 yards each. The Patriots used two quarterbacks, including Brice Preston, who had three completions for 72 yards and a touchdown.

There was no secret about the game plan Liberty employed, but their execution in the first half was impeccable.

The Patriots won the toss and elected to receive the football. They held the ball for the entire first quarter during a 20-play, 80-yard drive. Dedrick Welch closed the series with a three-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter, and Liberty led 6–0.

Among the drive’s key plays, the Patriots converted a fourth-and-4 at their 26, a third-and-13 at their 39 and a fourth-and-6 at the Central 43.

Central finally made its first play at the 11:40 mark of the second quarter. After picking up a first down, the Wildcats stalled and were forced to punt.

From the age of thirteen, Liberty went back to work. The Patriots moved to midfield where quarterback Brice found Preston Welch 10 yards behind the center defense for a 44-yard touchdown. Collin Stephenson’s 2-point run gave Liberty a 14-0 lead.

After the kickoff, Central drove to a first and goal at the Liberty 10, but came away empty after four incomplete passes.

“I really like the way we responded in the second half,” Simoneaux said. “We brought some guys in the second half to keep everyone healthy, but 35 points in a row was a great response.”