By Jimmy Kirby
Courier Sports

jkirby@thepccourier.com

POWDERSVILLE — Powdersville used a balanced offensive attack to decisively handle the Liberty Red Devils on Friday night, rolling to a

John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com
Liberty quarterback Austin Hughey, seen here preparing to hand the ball off to Tyler Renaud during the Devils’ game against Pickens earlier this month, will look to lead the Red Devils to a win at home over Landrum this Friday after last week’s loss at Powdersville.

35-7 victory in the first region game of the season for both teams.

[cointent_lockedcontent]The Patriots gained 209 yards on the ground and amassed 211 yards through the air to produce results any coach would be proud of.

Jakobe Bufford scored on runs of one, 12 and seven yards to lead the Patriots’ ground game. He was the leading rusher in the game, as he gained 105 yards on 18 carries. Running mate E.J. Humphrey added 96 yards on only five carries, including a 67-yard run with 8:29 remaining in the contest to prove the final margin of victory for Powdersville.

The Red Devils were decent moving the ball on the ground, gaining 181 yards on 46 carries, but remained one-dimensional. Austin Hughey was just 2-of-6 for 15 yards through the air. Nick Reeves, who returned from injury, saw his first action of the season as well and was 0-for-2 passing on the night.

The first two Red Devil drives of the game started deep in their own territory. They started at their own 19-yard line on their first drive and their own 10-yard line on the second drive of the game. Following a 15-yard punt by Hughey on the Red Devils’ second drive, the Patriots took only two plays to score as Bufford ran for 20 yards on the first play of the series and then scored from one yard out for a 7-0 lead.

The Patriots came right back to score once more after they stopped the Red Devil offense again. This time, quarterback Emery Williams found J.J. Gentile across the middle for a 52-yard strike to put the Patriots up 14-0 to close out the first quarter.

Liberty blew an opportunity to score on its next drive. Eddy Mathis returned the ensuing kickoff 71 yards to the Powdersville 26-yard line. Four plays later, the Red Devils’ drive was going in the wrong direction and stalled at the Patriot 30-yard line.

Powdersville went straight to work and extended its lead to 21-0 with an eight-play, 74-yard drive. Bufford scored from 12 yards out this time. Williams completed key passes to Jack Birchfield for 22 yards and Humphrey for 20 yards on the drive.

The Red Devils finally managed a good drive on their next possession to get on the board with just 25 seconds remaining in the half. Mathis scored from four yards out for the Red Devils. The drive was good for 70 yards and took 16 plays. Tyler Renaud and Hughey had the longest gains on the drive, good for 11 yards each. Hughey also connected with Mathis to move the ball to the 4-yard line before Mathis scored on the next play.

The Red Devils almost missed out on their opportunity, as an errant snap from the shotgun at the 2-yard line cost them a 21-yard loss, but they recovered and were able to put the ball into the end zone anyway.

The Patriots extended their lead to 28-7 on Bufford’s third touchdown run of the night, from seven yards out.

The Red Devils turned the ball over on downs at the Powdersville 12-yard line with a third-quarter drive of their own thanks to a 42-yard run by Cole Murphy.

Renaud led the Red Devils’ rushing attack with 79 yards on 12 carries. Mathis added 72 yards on 18 carries. Murphy added 59 yards on just four carries.

Murphy also had a fine game for the Red Devils on defense as he led the team with nine tackles and one tackle for loss.

The Red Devils will be at home this Friday night to take on the Landrum Cardinals. Liberty coach Kyle Stewart and company will have to see if they can take a page out of the Powdersville handbook and find a balanced offense to take the pressure off of the offensive rushing attack.

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