NON-CONFERENCE Leopards go to 3-0; Campbell the victim

Dania Gillam scored two touchdowns in a 41-7 win over the Red Devils.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- Dania Gillam scored two touchdowns and the Liberty High defense held its opponent to only a touchdown for the third straight week, as the Leopards easily outdistanced the Campbell Memorial Red Devils, 41-7, in a non-conference game Friday night.
"I wasn't real pleased with our play in the first half as there were too many mental errors. Our defense sets the tone for us and we were athletic enough to make plays, but offensively we are still growing and mental errors can be costly," Leopard coach Jeff Whittaker said.
"With three games under our belt now we are getting better. That improvement must continue, however, each and every week."
Punt return
The Leopards (3-0) didn't need an offensive play to get on the board first as their defense held the Red Devils (1-2) on their very first offensive series, and when Robert Hightower fielded Lonnie McQueen's punt, he took the ball the distance from 68 yards out for an early 7-0 Leopard advantage.
Chris Harden, who had 65 yards on the night, raced into the end zone from 6 yards out just four seconds into the second stanza and after the placement failed, Liberty led 13-0.
The score remained that way until under a minute to play in the half when Donovan Fletcher picked off an errant McQueen aerial, racing 77 yards for the score. With Hightower's conversion run, Liberty increased their lead to 21-0.
John Humphrey's ensuing kickoff then bounced off a Red Devil defender and was recovered by Ryan Gillum, giving the Leopards one last scoring opportunity before intermission.
After quarterback David Ferrell's pass was incomplete on first down, Dania Gillam scored the first of his two touchdowns just 18 seconds later on a 43-yard run as Liberty scored twice with under a minute to play for 27-0 halftime advantage.
Midway through the third quarter, Gillam's one-yard touchdown scamper and a successful Humphrey placement increased the Liberty lead to 34-0.
Dominique Lucky, who had 219 yards rushing last week in the Red Devils' 34-28, overtime victory against Girard, then broke loose for a 58-yard run that took the ball to the Leopard 1 yard-line.
Hymes tallies
That set up Tee Hymes' dash into the endzone and when Ryan Lopez added the placement, the Red Devils cut the Liberty lead to 34-7 while averting the shutout in the process.
Ryan Gillum then rounded out the scoring on the night with a 17-yard touchdown scamper at the 1:27 mark of the third quarter for a 41-7 Liberty advantage.
"[Robert] Hightower with a punt return touchdown and [Donovan] Fletcher with a touchdown on an interception did an excellent job of shifting the momentum our way," Whittaker said. "Add to that the nice job that [John] Humphrey did with the kicking game and you can see why we are pleased with those portions of our game."
The Leopards held a 254-207 rushing advantage with Campbell's Lucky posting a game-high 110 yards on the ground.
Dania Gillam had a team-high 74 yards for the Leopards.
Neither team could manage a passing yard. The Leopards were 0-for-7 through the air and the Red Devils were 0-for-2 with an interception.