Silence golden for TAC champs

Liberty shut out Brookfield to win the Trumbull Athletic Conference outright.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BROOKFIELD -- There wasn't any celebrating by Liberty High following a 21-0 win over Brookfield that clinched an outright Trumbull Athletic Conference championship for the Leopards Friday night.
Liberty (9-0, 6-0 TAC), the No. 4-ranked team in Division 3, Region 9, walked off the field after quietly shaking hands with the Warriors and headed to the locker room for a quick pep talk before loading onto the buses for a trip back to Liberty.
"I don't know why the kids didn't celebrate," said Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker, who insisted there were no orders given to quash any celebrations.
"I'm not sure they even know we clinched [the championship] outright," Whittaker said. "They get pretty wrapped up in the task at hand.
"They just show up and play hard."
Senior tailback Robert Hightower, who scored two touchdowns in the win, said the team knew what it had just accomplished.
"We don't want to get too big-headed about it," Hightower said. "We just wanted to keep it on the low but we been waiting for this [title] for a long time."
Getting it going
It took the Leopards more than a quarter to get going against a tough Brookfield team that played defense especially strong for most of the game.
Liberty struck quick for two scores in the second quarter because of strong play by its own defense.
After linebacker Tod Rogers intercepted his second pass of the first half and returned it 5 yards to the Brookfield 38, Ryan Gillum raced 38 yards with a pitchout on the second play following the turnover.
John Humphrey kicked the first of his three extra points to give the Leopards a 7-0 lead.
Liberty's dominating defense set up the team's second score by forcing the Warriors to go three-and-out on its next possession.
Hightower took a handoff on the first play following a punt and raced 52 yards untouched.
"I saw a hole and took off," Hightower said. "Our offensive line works so hard to open up holes and it's our job to take advantage of that."
With a 14-0 lead, Liberty's defense did the rest. The Leopards' defense was outstanding, especially in the first half when it limited Brookfield to 23 yards of total offense and minus-4 yards on the ground.
Putting it away
Liberty put the game away when it scored on the first drive of the second half by marching 63 yards on nine plays.
Hightower scored his second TD by catching a pass in the flat from quarterback David Ferrell and racing 9 yards for a score.
Brookfield (4-5, 2-3) tried to get back in the game behind the savvy passing of sophomore quarterback Dave Nehlen.
Nehlen led two drives deep into Liberty territory in the second half but couldn't get the Warriors into the end zone.
Nehlen connected on 13-of-22 passes for 141 yards but Liberty intercepted him three times.
Sophomore receiver A.K Livingston caught five of those passes for 85 yards.
"Our defense was outstanding," Whittaker said. "We were able to totally shut down their screens and draw plays and although we bent some in the second half, I was pleased with the defense."
Hightower led the Leopards with 82 yards on the ground on 10 carries as Liberty gained 202 yards rushing.