Short week doesn’t slow Red Devils

By Clay Counts
Special to The Courier

claycounts21@yahoo.com

GREENVILLE — Hurricane Florence threw a monkey wrench into last week’s high school football schedule, forcing teams into Thursday night games.

But a short week of practice apparently had no lasting ill effects on the Liberty football team, as the Red Devils made a trip across county lines to take on Carolina High School and overcame a tough first quarter to come away with a 38-28 road win.

After taking a big victory over St. Joseph’s the previous week, the Devils looked to grow with a newfound balanced offensive attack striking both on the ground and through the air, and Liberty did just that to improve to 3-2 heading into an off week to prepare for the region schedule.

Liberty kicked off to start Thursday’s game at Carolina and quickly forced a fumble after only three plays to take an early advantage.

The offensive line showed its ability to control the line of scrimmage, with the Red Devils marching down the field on the legs of Clay Lollis — who finished the game with 182 yards on 36 carries — all the way inside the 5-yard line. An eight-yard jet-sweep shovel pass from Carter Smith to Jeremy Cason for a score gave Liberty a 6-0 lead midway through the opening quarter.

Carolina answered with a quick score of its own, however, then added another quick touchdown less than 20 seconds later after a Liberty fumble to stretch its lead to 14-6. Another lost fumble cost the Red Devils again on their ensuing possession, as Carolina tacked on another score to take a 20-6 lead into the second quarter. The Trojans put three touchdowns on the board in a little more than three and a half minutes of game time in the opening quarter.

Liberty coach Kyle Stewart said the short week and uncertainty about when

You must be logged in to view this content.