Semifinal Preview: Liberty Hill vs Crosby
There is another undefeated Central Texas team that has entered the semifinal stage of the playoffs and that is Liberty Hill. The Panthers are set to face Crosby at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Green Stadium. The uniqueness of Liberty…
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Continue ReadingThere is another undefeated Central Texas team that has entered the semifinal stage of the playoffs and that is Liberty Hill. The Panthers are set to face Crosby at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Green Stadium.
The uniqueness of Liberty Hill is its reliance on the running game as the sport of football continues to slide towards more of an air raid style offense. In fact, according to MaxPreps, Liberty Hill, as a team, has only thrown the ball 19 times. Instead, the Panthers have relied on senior running backs Blake Simpson and Trey Seward to score.
Speaking of, Simpson has emerged as one of the most elite backs in the state of Texas. He currently has 1,782 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns. Following him is Seward, who has 1,435 yards and 19 touchdowns. Both players have scored 276 points combined this season and, as a team, Liberty Hill has rushed for 5,089 yards and 72 touchdowns. For Simpson, he has been on a hot streak as of late, rushing for 784 yards and 11 touchdowns in the past three games. Against both Rouse and Pioneer, he scored five touchdowns and rushed for nearly 300 yards in each game. For Seward, he has picked up a more supportive role as of late for Simpson but still has had great performances. In the past three games, Seward has rushed for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Still, both of these running backs have the potential to just explode a defense and cause mayhem.
In terms of defense, Liberty Hill also has a solid defense to back up its high-scoring offense. Junior linebacker Andon Thomas leads the way with 138 total tackles on the season, with 86 being solo, and 20 tackles for a loss. He averages 12.5 tackles per game and has five sacks on the season. On top of this, Thomas also has three interceptions on the year for 135 return yards. He has also been responsible for securing two safeties for the Panthers and has scored three touchdowns. In terms of sacks, it is actually junior defensive lineman Lloyd Johnson Jr. who leads with six. Junior defensive back Carter Hudson leads the team with five interceptions on the season with a couple coming from these games in these games in the playoffs.