LUBBOCK — In just their second campaign, the Lubbock Cooper-Liberty football team has its eyes locked on claiming a gold ball for the trophy case. Lubbock Estacado not only wanted to maintain its winning ways, but also sought to send its seniors onto the postseason trail on a high note.
When both forces collided in a District 2-4A Division II contest on the evening before Halloween, circumstances went the way of the younger program.
Lubbock Cooper-Liberty controlled the game from start to finish, outpacing Estacado before acquiring a favorable 49-22 outcome on Thursday evening at Lowrey Field at PlainsCapital Park.
The Patriots had several factors going for them. Those attributes ranged from the strong play of senior quarterback Colton Bichard and a complete performance on offense to corralling Estacado senior standout Cedric Ross and two onside kick recoveries in the second half.
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Liberty also racked up a near half-hour of ball control, amassing 29 minutes and 26 seconds in time of possession.
“Oh, it feels great,” said Bichard, who was 10-of-13 for 268 yards and two touchdowns. “Estacado is a great team. We just came out and executed, especially in the second half.”
Bichard also rushed for 70 yards and two more scores on 12 carries.
While the Patriots didn’t completely shut down Ross, who rushed for 139 yards and two TDs on nine carries while catching three passes for 23 yards and one more score, Liberty prevented the Colorado State commit from taking over the game.
“It’s all about containment,” said junior defensive end Isaac Rodriguez, who recorded six solo tackles and one interception. “(Estacado senior James Bozeman and Ross) are really good players, man. Containing them was a big thing for us. We executed well and got the dub, but we trained hard and came together as a team.”
Liberty head coach Joe Sexton knew that his team had to set the tone, and it was none other than the Patriots’ big offensive line to make that statement. Thanks to the men in the trenches, Liberty accumulated 558 yards of total offense.
“It’s been something that we wanted to do all year long,” Sexton said. “From our first scrimmage, we could tell that our offensive line was going to be a strength. They love to lean on you. Just getting the ball first and putting together an eight, nine play drive, is something that we have and we really take a lot of pride in doing that. (Against Estacado) was no exception.”
Due to the victory, Liberty improved to 8-1 and 3-0 in district. The Patriots gained the inside track on a district title, but will need one more victory to clinch their first gold football in program history.
At 7 p.m. next Friday, Liberty brings Levelland into Patriot Stadium at First United Liberty Park in Woodrow. The Lobos (5-3, 1-1) plays host to Borger on Friday at Lobo Stadium in Levelland.
According to Sexton, the focus is now on taking care of business.
“We’re going to put this one out of our minds really quickly,” he said. “We’re going to have to get back to what we do. We’re going to get ready to come work, getting ready for the Lobos. I believe you’re going to see a lot of the same things (against Estacado).”
Bichard echoed his head coach.
“Levelland is a great team, as well,” said Bichard. “They have bulletin board material, for sure. They’ll be coming at us, but we’ll be ready. We have to leave this game, and go focus on Levelland. Then, we can bring home that gold football.”
Rodriguez knows that he and his teammates need to keep up the strong effort.
“We hold each other accountable,” Rodriguez said. “If you’re not going hard every play, then we’ll get on to you. They say that on good teams, the players lead. We definitely do that, and our captains definitely step up.”
The Matadors ended their regular season with a 3-1 record in district and 7-3 overall. Although its six-game winning streak was snapped, Estacado became the district runner-up and will await their bi-district opponent at a time, date and location to be determined.
Liberty opened the game up with a methodical drive, before junior running back Talon Wilcox struck paydirt from two yards out at the 8:23 mark of the initial period. A little more than three minutes later, Liberty sophomore Rylan Thomas had recovered a Matador fumble before Bichard connected to senior wideout Will Hutson for a 64-yard touchdown strike.
At the end of the first stanza, the Patriots established a 14-0 lead.
Estacado gained its footing midway through the second quarter. Taking advantage of an unnecessary roughness penalty on Liberty, freshman Jay’Ric Ward found Ross in open space. Ross then scored a nine-yard touchdown untouched with 6:52 to go until halftime.
The Matadors went for two, as Vershaunndrick Smith got Estacado within six at 14-8.
The Patriots responded quickly, with Bichard went deep to junior receiver Pierce Fioroni for a 42-yard score with 6:09 to go in the first half. Following the PAT by senior Jackson Gonzalez, Liberty returned to their two-score advantage at 21-8.
“I had (Fioroni) on a post and I just trusted the heck out of him,” said Bichard. “I threw it up there, and he ran right underneath it.”
Before intermission, Liberty picked up a turnover to keep the momentum in their favor. Thomas and senior outside linebacker Joziah Rosales brought pressure to Ward, and forced the ball up into the air. The sequence allowed Rodriguez to scoop the pigskin before it landed harmlessly onto the turf.
“I was matched up with a four-star lineman,” Rodriguez said, recalling the play. “So, I’m running out and we have an outside play. It’s jet. I’m running out, and he kind of beats me out, because he knows I’m pretty fast. I spin back in, I see (Thomas) and (Rosales), and they hit the ball out. I dove for it, hands out.”
“It’s a blessing, man,” continued Rodriguez. “I thank God for giving me the ability to be able to come out here and play every day. It’s great to just show that we’re here to stay.”
At the break, Liberty held its 21-8 lead.
Once both teams returned to the field of play, the Patriots knew that they had to keep the football out of Ross’ hands. Therefore, they went with some deception.
Liberty went for the onside kick and recovered, reeled in by junior Lane Miller. The Patriots respected Ross enough to do some gambling.
“I don’t think that was very brave on my part,” Sexton said. “It was smart on our whole coaching staff. Every game that (Ross) plays in, he is running punts and kickoffs back. It was an effort to keep the ball out of (Ross’) hands. Most of the time, they had the ball on the 50 yard line. If you kick it to him, you know he’s at least going to get there or he’s going to score. He’s just so explosive, and you just can’t give him points like that.”
The Patriots cashed in on the opportunity, with an eight-yard touchdown run from Bichard at the 8:17 mark of the third quarter.
The quarterback ran into a proverbial rugby scrum at the four yard line, before receiving a “tush push” from his line. From there, the pile moved forward four more yards and into the endzone.
Bichard tipped his hat to his big guys.
“They pushed me all the way up there,” Bichard said, recalling the play. “I thought the play was over, but then, I got into the endzone at the end. I’m really thankful for those guys. They really kept us in the game, and they won it for us.”
Liberty held a 28-8 advantage, before the Matadors leaned on its star player once more. Fourteen seconds later, Ross continued to be the one man dynamo for Estacado, striking paydirt from 53 yards out.
However, the failed two-point conversion kept the score at a two-score gap at 28-14.
The Patriots replied with another time consuming drive, as Bichard recorded a one-yard score with 3:57 left in the period. Liberty then began to pull away down the stretch.
Sophomore running back Kaiden Joseph made its presence known, scoring a 23-yard touchdown with 8:17 left and picking up a six-yard score with 5:15 remaining. With time ticking away, the Patriots pushed their lead to 49-14.
Ross scored one final touchdown, which occurred 15 seconds later. Ross found an opening, took to the sideline and sprinted into the endzone for a 45-yard touchdown. The senior also collected the two-point conversion, trimming Liberty’s lead to 49-22.
That score would hold until the final horn.
Complementing Bichard on offense was Joseph and senior wideout Levi Walker. Joseph had 18 carries for 105 yards and two TDs, and Walker caught seven paseses for 151 yards. Wilcox contributed nicely with 91 yards and one trip to the endzone, along with one reception for 11 yards.
On defense, senior Jaxon Thomas recorded five solo stops, followed by four solo tackles each from Rosales, Miller and junior Aeson Huffman. Miller acquired two tackles for a loss, alongside Thomas.
Ward was 6-of-13 for 40 yards, one TD and one INT. Bozeman chipped in with 10 catches for 48 yards.