Humphrey has two-sided role in 22-0 victory

The Leopards (11-0) earned the right to play Mentor Lake Catholic.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BROOKLYN -- Liberty High's John Humphrey got a kick out of the Leopards' 22-0 win over Parma Heights Holy Name in the opening round of the Division III, Region 9 playoffs at Brooklyn Stadium.
The senior, who is headed to Purdue to play defensive end next year, kicked three field goals and spearheaded a Liberty defense that pitched a shutout against the 4th-ranked Green Wave.
The win earned Liberty (11-0) a matchup next Friday against top-seed Mentor Lake Catholic, which knocked off Cleveland Benedictine 21-17.
The question
So what was more satisfying for Humphrey?
"Definitely pitching a shutout was more enjoyable," Humphrey said. "The victory was more of a team effort where kicking is more of an individual thing.
"It's more about the team than me."
The Leopards as a team played outstanding defense all night long against a Holy Name team that was known for its smash-mouth offensive game.
Liberty shut down the vaunted rushing attack of Holy Name's Jake Simon and Brian Sofranko. The duo came into the contest with over 2,000 rushing yards combined but were held to 80 yards.
"Our defense was outstanding tonight," said Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker. "We played with a lot of heart and a lot of intensity.
"We played smash-mouth defense against a smash-mouth offense and won."
Holy Name (8-3), which defeated Salem this year in a regular-season game, only mounted two serious threats the entire game but each time Liberty's defense rose to the occasion.
Best effort
The best effort came in the third quarter with Liberty leading 10-0. On fourth and three on the Liberty 38, Jonathan Wells made a great tackle on Sofranko short of the first down marker to stop the Green Wave's last serious threat.
"I'm not so sure that our defense won this game alone," Whittaker said. "Our offense did a good job of moving the ball but we didn't really finish all of our drives.
"Our drive at the start of the third quarter was the biggest of the night."
Liberty held a close 3-0 lead on Humphrey's first quarter, 37-yard field goal at halftime but Liberty got the kickoff and marched 64 yards on 4 plays when Harden found a crease in the middle of the line and raced 50-yards for a score.
Liberty then shut down Holy Name on all six of their possessions in the second half.
The Leopards got the big hit by Wells to thwart one drive and the entire Liberty defensive line made a great play on a fourth down fake punt attempt by the Green Wave.
Humphrey along with teammate Chris Harrison put the game away with a big fourth quarter sack on fourth down. It was Humphrey's second sack of the night.
Field goals
Liberty tacked on two Humphrey field goals of 21 and 22 yards in the second half and put a final touchdown on the board late in the game on a 20-yard touchdown run by Robert Hightower.
Hightower finished the game with 113 yards rushing on 19 carries while Harden had a game-high 127 yards on the ground on 19 touches. Quarterback David Ferrell added 42 rushing yards and was 6-of-13 passing for 74 yards as the Leopards finished with 364 total yards.