WOLFFORTH – It’s a cliché as old as organized sports has been around. It was legendary college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant who said it most bluntly, “offense sells tickets, defense wins championships.”
While it may be the second game of the regular season, Lubbock-Cooper Liberty’s defensive unit could be a force to be reckoned with.
Facing off against Frenship last Friday at Peoples Bank Stadium, the Patriots compiled 11 sacks and three turnovers before handing the hosting Tigers a lopsided 44-13 decision on Friday at Peoples Bank Stadium.
Liberty yielded 342 passing yards, but blanketed Frenship’s ground game. By game’s end, the Tigers finished with -50 rushing yards and coughed up two fumbles. All throughout the night, the Patriots’ defensive lineman – notably senior Isaac Rodriguez and junior Rylan Thomas – made Frenship junior quarterback James Ordonez uncomfortable all throughout the night.
Thomas, who amassed seven quarterback sacks, gave credit to the guys behind him.
“The secondary and linebackers were covering long enough for us to get home,” said Thomas. “We worked as a team and got pressure. One of us would beat them, then the other one was right there to clean it up every time. It’s fun to get after the quarterback, knowing that he’s probably not going to be able to throw it, and (my teammates) were going to be on their guys if he does.”
For Rodriguez, who tallied three sacks and two fumble recoveries, the foundation of the Patriots’ victory came from studying tape.
“It was shown on film that they were going to have a vertical set,” Rodriguez said. “So, we practiced with (assistant coach Cory Lynch) by bending the edge and just working on that. We were playing the pass, since they’re an 80 percent pass team. It came down to watching film at the end of the day.”
Liberty head coach Joe Sexton knew that his team had to keep Frenship’s prolific offense in check.
“It was page one of our gameplan,” Sexton said. “We wanted to keep that high-powered offense they have over there on the sideline. We believed that if we could keep them off of the field, that would give us a little bit better of a chance. With just a three-man front, sometimes it’s hard to get pressure and you don’t want to blitz these guys, because they’ll screen you to death. So, being able to get pressure with those front three was awesome. We couldn’t have drawn it up any better than that.”
On offense, Liberty senior running back Talon Wilcox racked up 167 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Of the 38 overall attempts, the Patriots racked up 233 yards on the ground.
Liberty junior quarterback Cy Leach was 12-of-19 for 129 yards and one touchdown.
The Patriots improved to 2-0 and will now gear up for a showdown of a home opener against Midland Greenwood, scheduled for 7 p.m. next Friday at Patriot Stadium at First United Liberty Park in Woodrow. The Rangers (2-0) defeated Lubbock-Cooper, 25-15, last Friday at Pirate Stadium at First United Park in Woodrow.
“We have to get over (the win against Frenship),” Sexton said. “I always think about when Texas Tech beat Texas back in 2008. Then, Tech got into trouble after that. So, we’re going to do everything we can. That’s part of our job as coaches, to make sure we get them ready to play next week.”
According to Frenship head coach Jay Northcutt, the Tiger’s home opener proved to be a hard lesson.
“You always learn more from times where you don’t succeed,” said Northcutt, following the game. “We didn’t handle adversity well. I don’t know if we handled our emotions very well at times. Until you get into that situation, sometimes you don’t really know how you’re going to respond. Hopefully, we can build upon that lesson.”
“My hat’s off to Liberty,” Northcutt added. “They have a good team. I think their speed overwhelmed us. They had a great game plan. They ran the clock. They got us behind the chains on offense. We never really got into a good rhythm. They got us to where we were trying to throw the ball down the field almost every play, and we weren’t good in protection.”
Frenship dipped down to 1-1 and will look to rebound against Abilene Wylie, set for 7 p.m. next Friday at Peoples Bank Stadium. The Bulldogs (1-1) overwhelmed Lubbock Monterey, 49-3, last Friday at Lowrey Field at PlainsCapital Park in Lubbock.
Northcutt believes that his team will bounce back.
“These guys are resilient out here,” said Northcutt. “This loss hurts, and I know this means a lot of these kids. We’re going to get back at it, watch film, get back out there, and have a good week.”
Liberty chewed up the clock to start the game, finishing off a 14-play, 70-yard drive with a 22 field goal from junior kicker Randen Schlumpf. At the 4:05 mark of the initial period, the Patriots held a 3-0 lead.
Frenship took the lead early in the second quarter, when junior Noah Gonzles scored off of a one-yard touchdown run with 10:31 on the clock. The kick missed the mark, giving the Tigers a three-point advantage at 6-3.
The Patriots responded with a 17-point run. The burst started with Schlumpf splitting the uprights from 33 yards out at the 7:25 mark, continued with a nine-yard touchdown connection between Leach and junior Jamison Gonzalez with 2:57 left until half, and finished with a one-yard Wilcox touchdown plunge with 29 seconds remaining until intermission.
Before heading into the locker room, Frenship drove down the field and got within scoring range. However, an intentional grounding call prevented the Tigers from chipping away at their deficit.
Penalties also hampered Frenship, as the Tigers surrendered 102 yards by way of yellow laundry.
Liberty picked up where they left off in the second half, stopping a Frenship drive off three sacks and Rodriguez’s first fumble recovery. By this stage of the game, Rodriguez and Thomas were challenging one another on who would have the most sacks and turnovers.
“It was a friendly competition,” Rodriguez said. “That’s kind of what you need on a team like this. That’s kind of what we need, is building off of each other’s leadership.”
Rodriguez praised his teammate.
“Rylan’s an incredibly hard worker,” said Rodriguez. “When we were getting those sacks back and forth, we were congratulating each other.”
Sexton tipped his cap to Thomas and his defensive players.
“I love me some Rylan Thomas, and I love me some defense,” Sexton said. “Those guys get to the football, and that’s just effort. We don’t really talk about coaching effort, because these guys bring it on their own. We were concerned with how fast (Frenship’s pace) would be. Coach Northcutt and his staff do such a great job. So, I’m really happy with this win.”
The Patriots then finished off a 10-play, 67-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown dive from Wilcox with 2:19 left in the third quarter.
With 9:43 left in the game, junior running back Zach Ferris scored a one-yard touchdown run for Frenship. The score was set up by a 29-yard pass from Ordonez to senior wideout Maddux Archibald. As senior kicker Tristan Llanas’ kick sailed true, the Tigers cut down the Liberty lead down to 27-13.
“We have a pretty good receiving core,” Northcutt said. “(Archibald) has really progressed, and he’s a big kid that will go up and get it for you. We have (Gonzales) and (senior receiver) Zade McClure, and we also have (senior running back) Isaiah Gilliam. We have (senior) Javier Jiminez, who moved here from Clovis, playing a few different spots. We just have to figure out a better way to get on the ball and buy (Ordonez) some time. We have to figure out how to run the ball better, especially with a light box.”
Ordonez did go 20-of-30 for 342 yards. McClure led the Tigers in receiving by hualing in four passes for 114 yards, followed by Gilliam’s three receptions for 76 yards. Maddux Archibald reeled in two catches for 36 yards, followed by junior Payton Archibald’s two catches for 35 yards.
Liberty then proceeded to pull away. With 6:53 remaining, Gonzalez ran into the endzone untouched for an eight-yard touchdown run. Gonzalez ended the night with 58 rushing yards on nine carries, and reeled in five catches and one touchdown for 56 yards.
Schlumpf added with the ensuing PAT and a 38-yard field goal with 3:32 on the clock. The successful boot was made possible by an interception by senior defensive back Camren Colley.
Wilcox put the exclamation mark on the Patriot victory with a 37-yard touchdown run with 1:47 left to play.
Senior wideout Pierce Fioroni had three catches for 32 yards, alongside junior teammate JJ Thompson’s two catches and 32 yards. Senior defensive back Luke Livingston picked up seven tackles, followed by teammate Chris Shepherd’s five tackles.
Photo gallery by Chase Seabolt:
