Saturday, September 29, 2012
By Steve wilaj
CAMPBELL
With Sherron Walls, Asim Pleas and John Helms, Liberty boasts an offense full of playmakers.
The trio combined for five touchdowns as the Leopards’ beat Campbell Memorial, 44-19, Friday night at John M. Knapick field.
So, Liberty coach Brian Jones, the offense obviously relies on production from its Big Three, right?
“I think if you look at us on paper, that’s probably what you see. But we rely a lot on our front guys,” Jones said. “They do all the work up there for Asim to make plays and for Sherron to run the ball. The body of work that they’ve put together so far has been phenomenal for our success.”
The Leopards were successful once again, as they followed their offensive line to a 28-point first half and an eventual victory to improve their record to 5-1 and 3-0, where they sit atop the All-American Conference National Division.
“They played really hard out there and they did what they’re coached to do,” Jones said. “We’re going to enjoy it for the next 24 hours.”
The Liberty playmakers had it going early, as Pleas ran 16 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
After DaQuan Carter’s punt that put the Red Devils (3-3) inside their 1-yard line, Liberty’s Donte Adams recovered a Brandon Reyes fumble in the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
“I thought that when their kid downed the ball, he was in the end zone,” Campbell coach Mickey Sikora said of the punt. “But high school rules are different than pro rules.”
Jones said the sequence was a momentum shifter.
“It was huge,” he said. “We preach that we want to play field position and win field position. Special teams are crucial to us.”
Liberty got another big play from special teams when Helms returned a punt 69 yards untouched for a score and a 21-0 lead. It was Helms’ second punt return for TD in as many weeks.
The last member of the trio to score was Walls, who finished the first half with a 38-yard TD run in which he hurdled a Red Devils defender before breaking into the Campbell secondary.
While Liberty was sharp, Campbell was just the opposite. In the first half alone, the Red Devils committed three turnovers and four penalties for 30 yards.
“Very disappointing,” Sikora said. “They’re a good football team. When you turn the ball over so much to a good football team, that’s the result you get.”
Liberty scored a touchdown in all three phases of the game—offense, defense and special teams — for the second week in a row. But Jones was most pleased with a particular unit.
“Defense is crucial,” he said. “Our offense is OK, but our defense has to play better than our offense because that’s what’s going to win us games later on in the season.”