The Liberty County Panthers football team guaranteed itself a winning season Friday night. Even if the outcome was in doubt almost to the end.
The Panthers held of a resilient Johnson Atomsmashers team to claim a 35-20 win on homecoming for the Panthers. With the win, Liberty improved to 6-1 on the season and 5-1 in Region 3-AAA.
“We didn’t play our best football,” Panthers coach Tony Glazer said. “But we found a way to win. We just have to continue to be more physical.”
Elijah Brown’s 5-yard touchdown run with 1:55 to go in the game sealed the win. The one-play possession started after the Panthers held on fourth down, the third straight fourth-down stop for the defense.
But Johnson’s offense put up 171 yards and held the ball for 15:33 of the first half, leaving the Panthers with a 21-14 lead at the half.
The Atomsmashers recovered a Panthers fumble on the opening kickoff, and quarterback Shamari King found an open Zaevon Gray for a 26-yard touchdown pass on fourth down.
Liberty answered right back, thanks to Elijah Brown. Brown carried on all five plays of the drive, the final one a 6-yard touchdown run and his two-point conversion gave the Panthers an 8-7 lead with 6:09 left in the first quarter.
Brown’s 25-yard TD run with 8:49 left in the first half extended the lead to 15-7, but King capped a 10-play drive that chewed up over 5 minutes with a 29-yard scamper, squirting through the Liberty defense with 3:41 to go in the half.
The Panthers, who had missed a 32-yard field goal earlier, went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 11 on the last play of the half. Jaier Roberts connected with A.J. Garlin on a touchdown pass as the half ended. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the point after try back and the Panthers couldn’t convert, leaving them with a 21-14 lead.
Johnson struck quickly to open the third quarter, as King found Jamauri Johnson for a 66-yard touchdown pass. But kicker Sebastin Zarate slipped on the point after try, and the Panthers kept a 21-20 lead.
“They were very well-prepared. They were making plays,” Glazer said of the Atomsmashers. “They came out hard and played their tails off for four quarters. They can move the ball and the quarterback was elusive. They hadn’t thrown the ball all year and they came out with a game plan to throw the ball.”
But Liberty’s defense began to get stops, and after a second straight hold on fourth down, the Panthers turned a shot field into a touchdown. Roberts ended a five-play, 42-yard drive by hitting a wide open Montavius Johnson for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 3:56 left in the game.
King was 8 of 20 passing for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Johnson piled up 305 yards of offense. The Panthers racked up 313 total yards, as Roberts went 8-of-14 for 104 yards and two scores. Brown ran 26 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns.
The Panthers, winners of four in a row, visit Groves in Garden City on October 10. While the guarantee of a winning season is an accomplishment, Glazer hopes there is more ahead for his team.
“It feels like there is much more work to do,” he said. “When I hear 6-1, I hear opportunity and I think of our next three games in the regular season. The best thing about six wins is you have the opportunity to get seven.”
