Liberty North football get things going early, overwhelms Ray-Pec for 42-14 victory
Liberty North has lost just four football games over the past two seasons. Three of those losses have come at the hands of Raymore-Peculiar.
It’s a fact that led to a few sleepless nights for Liberty North coach Greg Jones in the lead-up to Friday night’s early-season clash. Jones had yet to defeat the Ray-Pec Panthers in his career, but he was determined to do it this time around.
As it turns out, Jones could have slept soundly: His Liberty North Eagles (2-1) cruised to a dominant 42-14 road victory over reigning Class 6 Missouri champion Ray-Pec (3-1).
“It feels damn good,” Jones said after the victory.
The game was already looking like a mini-mountain to climb for the Panthers heading into the second half, having missed a field goal and given up three TDs to trail 21-0.
But it certainly wasn’t an insurmountable lead. That is until the first play of the second half.
With Liberty North’s kickoff flying out the back of the end zone and Ray-Pec set up on its own 20-yard line, Panthers junior quarterback Zander Dombrowski had hopes of beginning an epic comeback.
Instead, on the very first play of the drive, the Eagles broke through Ray-Pec’s line and forced Dombrowski to get rid of the ball.
His problem? He lobbed it straight into the hands of Liberty North senior cornerback Matthew Hutson, who ran down a wide-open left side of the field for a pick-six and 28-0 lead.
“We held our coverage, and I knew what I had to do,” Hutson said. “They honestly ran what we knew they were going to run, so I knew it was going to be right there.”
And although it was yet another strong offensive showing from the Eagles — who have averaged 38.7 points per game this season — it was the defense that kept Friday night’s game comfortable for Liberty North.
All three of Ray-Pec’s opening drives failed to get past five plays, allowing the Eagles to open up a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
It wasn’t until the seventh minute in the second quarter that Ray-Pec managed to break that mold, embarking on a long 12-play drive down the field.
But when it mattered, the Eagles forced the Panthers’ Dombrowski to scramble backward and out of bounds for a 12-yard loss. That set up a fourth-and-15 on the 34-yard line and a turnover on downs.
Liberty North’s defense is composed of just three seniors. Jones can still see some youth and inexperience in his defensive line but has been impressed by a unit that’s given up 27 total points in its last two games.
“We tell them all the time, you’ve just got to go out and got to execute and got to play physical,” Jones said.
Liberty North’s fourth-down stop was followed by a pair of three-and-outs for either team before the Eagles silenced the home crowd with a minute remaining in the half.
Starting a drive on the 50-yard line, Eagles quarterback Sam Van Dyne hit receiver Dell Rice for a 50-yard touchdown pass. The junior quarterback also threw 59- and 30-yard passes en route to the Eagles’ final two TDs.
“Our receivers came out on fire tonight, and our quarterbacks were throwing the ball well,” Jones said. “It was Air North.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 10:21 PM.