By JACOB RUFFO

sports @vindy.com

LIBERTY

Tariq Drake was the center of attention for LaBrae in a 21-0 road victory over Liberty on Friday night.

Drake returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown, caught a 20-yard scoring pass and was tasked with shadowing Liberty standout Dra Rushton on defense.

Rushton ran for 125 yards on 25 carries — including carries of 43, 37 and 15 yards — but Drake made touchdown-saving tackles on each of them as the Vikings shut out the Leopards.

LaBrae (4-2, 3-0 All-American Conference Blue Tier) took over sole possession of first place.

Rushton and Drake went one-on-one throughout the night.

“We put Dra on him all night, just our best player against their best player.” said Liberty head coach Chet Allen. “Things happened how they were. Our kids are taught to play the same way no matter what one player on the opposite side of the field is doing.”

But the Vikings had a little more help. Running backs. Colton Stoneman and Arjay Oliver combined for 90 yards on 28 carries, including a 6-yard touchdown run by Oliver with 10:18 to play in the third quarter.

An untimely fumble at the LaBrae 7-yard line cost Liberty (3-3, 2-1) its best scoring opportunity with seven seconds to play in the first half. Rushton put the Leopards in the shadow of the end zone with his 37-yard run, but the turnover proved costly.

“We told them we have another half to play,” Allen said. “We have to have our hearts beat out of our chests. We just have to go out and take it.”

The grass field was in sloppy condition when the game started and only got worse as the game progressed. The conditions and a wet football were factors in many miscues. Four shotgun snaps went over the head of LaBrae quarterback Carlton Brown, resulting in two turnovers. Liberty receivers dropped five passes.

Several special-teams mistakes by the Leopards also proved costly. Liberty attempted to punt seven times. One ended Drake’s return for a touchdown. On another, the snap said over the head of punter Tobias Brantley, who scrambed after the ball and advanced it out of the end zone to the Leopards’ 6 to set up Oliver’s touchdown on the next play.

Late in the fourth quarter, Brantley slipped and the result was an 8-yard punt.

“I hope the field didn’t affect how we played at all,” Allen said. “That’s a cop-out and I don’t deal with that. It didn’t affect the way we called plays, either. Both teams were playing the same game on the same surface.”

Liberty actually outgained LeBrae, and the Leopards also had more first downs, thanks mainly to Rushton, who has been their top player all season.

“He is a born leader,” Allen said. “He shows up every day and does what we ask him to do day-in and day-out.”

Rushton came up limping after a play early in the fourth quarter.

Allen said he was “fine.” Rushton was unavailable for comment.