The Liberty County Panthers will jump into their region schedule Friday night well rested after a tight and scalding season opener.

The Panthers, 1-0, will host the Windsor Forest Knights, who opened their season last week with a 22-6 win over Brantley County.

Liberty held on for a 21-20 win over rival Bradwell Institute in a game pushed to a Saturday morning kickoff at Donell Woods Stadium/ Kirk Warner Field. Temperatures soared into the upper 90s by game’s end, even EMTs were busy attending to fans affected by the heat.

But the players came through, and Liberty had last week off to recuperate and prepare for the Knights.

Windsor Forest gave up 240 yards rushing to the Herons – the Panthers accumulated 247 yards on the ground in their opener – but the Knights also chalked up more than 300 yards through the air.

Sophomore quarterback Jr Rowland went 12 of 22 for 313 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Jayden Thomas had four catches for 57 yards and senior Dayvon Griffin had two receptions for 95 yards.

Terrell Savage led the Knights with 50 yards on eight carries.

Kickoff Friday is set for 7:30 p.m.