TAC Liberty's fourth quarter nets win

The Leopards scored 21 points in the final period to beat Lakeview 28-7.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- Liberty scored 21 fourth-quarter points, breaking a 7-7 deadlock, as the Leopards cruised past Lakeview 28-7 in Trumbull Athletic Conference action Friday.
The win was the second in a row for coach Jeff Whittaker's squad as it improved to 5-2 and 3-1 in the league.
The Bulldogs, on the other hand, had their modest two-game winning streak snapped, falling to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in conference action.
"This was a tale of two halves for us tonight," Whittaker said. "We finished the game like we should have all season long after struggling on both sides of the ball in the first half.
"They took our trap and sweep away from us so we went more with a pitch game on the perimeter," he added. "Defensively, we had more than one person at the point of attack."
Bulldogs score first
Lakeview took the opening kickoff and it looked as if the Bulldogs were going to run out the clock with the only possession of the first quarter. They covered the 80-yard distance in 8:35, with Matt Nero capping the 16-play drive with a 15-yard scamper into the end zone as the Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead.
As methodical as the Bulldog drive was, that's how quick the Leopard drive began and ended.
After Aaron Logan returned the ensuing kickoff to the Liberty 35-yard line, it took just two plays to knot the score at 7-7 when Brian Jones connected with Marcellus Bowman on a 66-yard scoring strike.
After a scoreless second quarter, the game remained knotted at intermission, but the most revealing statistic of the first half was the fact that the Bulldogs held the ball 18:01 compared to just 5:59 for the host Leopards.
"We made some mistakes in the fourth quarter and you just can't do that against a team like Liberty and expect to win," Lakeview coach Tom Pavlansky said.
"We were able to control the offensive line in the first half, but the second half was a different story," he added. "This was a real battle tonight. Give Liberty credit. They played well."
Took lead for keeps
After a scoreless third period, the Leopards took the lead for good when Mike Marvin scored on a 1-yard run at the 10:55 mark.
When Bradley Fletcher, who has already committed to playing at the University of Iowa next season, scored from 4 yards out, Liberty built a 20-7 lead.
"Lakeview had an excellent game plan and played a great overall game tonight," Fletcher said. "Our offensive line, however, did a great job and that was a big difference for us tonight."
Logan's 32-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:33 remaining in the game iced the win for the Leopards.
"We weren't able to establish the line of scrimmage in the first half, but we did so in the final two quarters and that was the difference in the game for us," Whittaker said. "They had an excellent game plan. Credit our defense, though, for an outstanding job all night."
Liberty's offense rolls
The Leopards had 345 yards of total offense, 183 coming through the air, while the Bulldogs had 193 total offensive yards, all but 58 coming on the ground.
Lakeview's Nero led all rushers with 85 yards on 19 carries. Marvin and Fletcher had 70 and 67 yards, respectively, on the ground for the Leopards.
Jones was 6-of-9 for 183 yards and a touchdown for Liberty, while Corey Huffman connected on 5-of-11 aerial attempts for 58 yards, throwing one interception for the Bulldogs.