Liberty going strong, eliminates Mentor Lake
Coach Jeff Whittaker called his team fortunate to win the 17-14 contest.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
SOLON -- The Liberty High football team used a tremendous defensive effort and some nifty running by senior tailback Robert Hightower to advance to the Division III regional final.
The Leopards knocked off top-seeded Mentor Lake Catholic 17-14 and will play Akron Buchtel next Friday for the right to advance to the Div. III state semifinals. Buchtel defeated Aurora, 48-7.
Hightower rushed for 129 yards and scored both Liberty touchdowns, while the Leopards' defense held the high-powered Lake Catholic to two touchdowns.
"We've played pretty good defense all season long, but I was concerned tonight, especially after we turned the ball over twice early in the game," Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker said.
"Mentor Lake is a great football team, and I have so much respect for them," Whittaker said. "We were fortunate to win tonight."
The Leopards trailed 7-3 at halftime but came out and took the lead on their opening drive of the second half.
Big moments
The big play was the touchdown as Hightower took a little flip pass from quarterback David Ferrell and raced 45 yards for the score, breaking several tackles in the process.
"The only thing I was thinking about was getting it into the end zone," Hightower said. "It's a play we've used all season, but it never went that far before."
After the Leopards took the lead, the defense took over and twice stopped the Cougars on fourth down and less than a yard to go.
After the second defensive stand, the Leopards drove 69 yards to put the game away as Hightower and Chris Harden ran the football right up the field.
Hightower scored on a 4-yard run with 4:10 remaining.
Cougars fight
The Cougars weren't finished as senior quarterback Rick Stanzi moved them upfield, hitting on four big pass plays. Then he carried over from the 1 with 2:20 remaining.
John Humphrey fielded the onside kick attempt, and the Leopards ran three downs and punted to the Cougars 21.
But Stanzi was incomplete on four straight passes, and the Leopards ran out the final seconds for the win.
Liberty finished with 286 yards in total offense, 229 of them on the ground, while they held Lake Catholic to 70 yards on the ground. Stanzi passed for 191 yards.
Early fumbles
Liberty didn't help itself early in the contest, fumbling twice in the first quarter. One of those set up Lake Catholic's only score of the half.
The Leopards came out and stopped the Cougars on three-and-out to open the contest, and after Lake's punter Dennis Vaughn boomed a 53-yarder, Liberty started at its own 20-yard line.
On the first play, Ferrell had trouble getting the snap from center, and the ball rolled loose before Nick Spahar recovered at the Leopards' 19.
It took the Cougars seven plays to finally get into the end zone, and fullback Dane Gardner crashed over from the 1 with 6:52 still left in the quarter.
The Leopards started to drive on their second offensive series but again gave up the football as Robert Hightower gave up the ball at the Lake 23, and Dave Jaranovic recovered for the Cougars.
Liberty's defense kept the Cougars out of the end zone for the remainder of the half, and the best the Leopards could do was a 31-yard field goal by Humphrey to cut the lead to 7-3 at intermission.
mollica@vindy.com