WOLFFORTH — One year after the school opened up its doors, a proverbial on-ramp with an inaugural junior varsity schedule, and plenty of preparations, the Frenship Memorial Panthers finally dipped themselves into the waters of varsity football. For their varsity debut, Memorial was faced with a baptism by fire.
Lubbock-Cooper Liberty knows all about that experience, having debuted their varsity program back in 2024. Two years later, the Patriots are looked upon as a program with high hopes and a team eyeing a potentially deep postseason run.
The Panthers seek to be in that same spot as the Patriots, sooner rather than later.
When both teams squared off on a warm Friday evening within Peoples Bank Stadium, Liberty jumped out to a substantial lead and never looked back to ease past Memorial by way of a 49-14 decision.
The Patriots racked up 439 total yards, which included 250 yards on the ground. Liberty also never had to punt away the football, and never yielded any turnovers.
According to Liberty head coach Joe Sexton, it was about as smooth as smooth could get. However, Sexton knew that there is always room for improvement.
“We kind of put ourselves in some second-and-longs and third-and-longs, but we always came back and overcame whatever mistakes we made,” Sexton said, following the game. “That’s one of those things that we’ve been talking about since last November. We’re going to make mistakes, and we just have to find a way to dig ourselves out of the hole.”
Sexton then tipped his cap to his big men in the trenches.
“We’re not anything unless our offensive and defensive lines lead the way,” said Sexton.
The Patriots discovered a one-two punch in the ground game, as senior running back Talon Wilcox rushed for 107 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. Talon’s younger brother, sophomore running back Brecken Wilcox, picked up 67 yards and two scores on nine carries.
For both brothers, it was an impeccable season debut. Both also credited their offensive linemen.
“It felt amazing to be back on the field, drive the ball down, and score that first touchdown,” Talon said. “It was easy to make cuts off of (the offensive line), and get through the gaps. It was great.”
Brecken echoed his older brother.
“I love behind this giant O-Line,” said Brecken. “They’re like family to me, and I trust them completely. I can trust them, then it’s just getting through a hole, finding someone to hit and making a bounce.”
Liberty junior quarterback Cy Leach was impressive, going 13-of-17 for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Leach also recorded 19 yards on three rushing attempts, along with scoring a two-point conversion in the second quarter.
“It’s just good to get off on the right foot,” Leach said. “We know (Memorial is) young, so we knew we’d be able to just kind of punch it through. But it’s nice to see all of the work pay off, and just be able to execute out there.”
For Frenship Memorial, it was a positive learning experience. Even though the Panthers didn’t strike paydirt until 7:51 left in the game, Memorial moved the ball through the air nicely — picking up 208 passing yards.
Memorial head coach Jason Richards believed that his team, who had not played a varsity game before, fared quite well.
“(Liberty) is a top 10 team, and a program that’s going to make a deep run and is really well coached,” Richards said. “Our focus was fantastic, and our energy was fantastic. Nobody quit playing, and I was really proud of that. We had five defensive starters out since fall camp, and some guys who were on the JV B-team last year making plays. It was the ‘next man up,’ which was fantastic. I think we left 21 points out there, and with that momentum, we could have easily been 42-35 going into the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t, and we have to make those plays.”
For Memorial junior quarterback Trevor Lewis, it felt nice to get the first one out of the way. Lewis went 13-of-31 for 230 yards and one touchdown.
“The nerves are gone,” Lewis said. “There was a little pressure in the beginning, with it being our first real varsity game. Liberty’s a great football team, but we got the ball moving a little bit. I knew we were right there with them.”
Liberty started their third season of operation with a 1-0 record. The Patriots will complete the Wolfforth circuit with a contest against Frenship, set for 7 p.m. next Friday at Peoples Bank Stadium. The Tigers (1-0) soundly defeated Lubbock-Cooper, 50-17, on Friday at Pirate Stadium at First United Park in Woodrow.
Memorial dipped down to 0-1 to begin their inaugural varsity campaign. The Panthers will face West Plains at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon. The Wolves (0-1) battled defending Class 3-A Division II champion Wall in a thriller, before falling to the Hawks via a 42-35 outcome on Friday at at Clayton Weishuhn Field in Wall.
Liberty built up an early lead, due to a three-yard touchdown from Talon Wilcox at the 8:49 mark of the opening stanza. Due to a block by Memorial on the ensuing PAT, the Patriots held a 6-0 lead.
The Patriots stretched the lead in the second quarter, as Leach connected with senior wideout Pierce Fioroni for a 21-yard touchdown with 10:41 on the clock in the second quarter. Leach scored the two-point conversion, providing Liberty with a 14-0 advantage.
“We’ve practiced that play since March,” Leach said of the pass to Fioroni. “It’s all practice, and it’s really easy after that. (On the two-point conversion), I knew I had those two points back, and I had to get in there any way I could.”
Before the break, Leach found Fioroni for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 3:26 to go in the first half. Fioroni reeled in six catches for 80 yards and two scores by the end of the night.
Following the successful PAT from junior kicker Randen Schlumpf, the Patriots took a comfortable 21-0 lead heading into the locker room.
The Patriots continued to put on the points in the third period, which started with a 19-yard touchdown run from Brecken Wilcox at the 9:41 mark. The score resembled the moving ruby scrum, which kept Wilcox churning into the endzone.
With 6:23 to go in the third, Leach found junior wideout Koleman Hendrix in the near corner of the endzone for a 10-yard score. Hendrix finished the game with four receptions for 58 yards and his third quarter score. This extended Liberty’s lead to 35 points.
“It’s so nice to have a guy that big,” Leach said of his 6’6” 225 lbs. receiver. “Even if he’s covered, he’s open. If I’m having some trouble, I can just throw it his way.”
Brecken Wilcox also tacked on another score with 10:01 remaining, rumbling into the endzone from six yards out. Liberty held a 42-0 lead, and allowed their reserves to secure precious playing time.
Memorial, which missed several opportunities earlier in the contest, scored with 7:51 left. The Panthers turned to junior running back Junah Roberts for a three-yard score, following a big pass from Lewis to sophomore wideout Cannon Mecham. Mecham ended his night with 115 yards on four catches.
Following the successful PAT from junior kicker Wesley Allen, the Panthers produced their first varsity touchdown.
“They’re very talented,” Richards said of his playmakers. “These guys showed that they can make a play, you just have to give them a chance. Roberts ran fantastic tonight. Our quarterbacks settled in. It’s everyone’s first varsity start. I’m never going to be okay with a loss, but I’m proud of them.”
Liberty replied, thanks to a 22 yard touchdown run from sophomore quarterback Campbell Sansom with 3:11 left to play. Sansom rushed for 47 yards and his lone score on four carries.
Memorial tallied the final score of the game, scoring with 1:20 to go in the game, as Lewis connected with sophomore receiver Rush Rowell for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Rowell caught four passes for 34 yards.
Junior wideout Luke Bocanegra reeled in two receptions for 59 yards for Memorial.
Following the game, Sexton emphasized improving from Week 1 to Week 2. The one thing he noticed was trimming down the “silly penalties.” The Patriots gave up 59 yards on seven penalties.
“We have to cut out the little, piddly penalties,” Sexton said. “We had a face mask, because we didn’t take two extra steps to put our pads on them. We also had a couple of false start penalties. The little piddly ones are ones that drive coaches crazy.”
According to Lewis, Memorial knows that they need to spend some time in the weight room and continuing practicing.
“We need to gain some size, that’s for sure,” said Lewis. “We need to tighten up our skills. We’re going to trust in this process, and we’ll be right there.”
Photo gallery by Chase Seabolt:
