Liberty North football gets things going early at home, runs past Park Hill 42-3
Late in the second quarter, with his team leading by 25 points Friday night, senior running back Cayden Arzola showed the Liberty North Eagles’ determination against Park Hill at the Crossley Family Activity Complex.
From all appearances, Arzola was stopped a yard shy of the goal line. Liberty North had two more downs to play with. It didn’t matter to Arzola and the offensive line. They kept fighting and they bulldozed their way into the end zone.
Obviously, the touchdown wasn’t a game changer in Liberty North’s 42-3 victory over Park Hill. It simply demonstrated how hard the Eagles play regardless of the score.
“We put in the work all season in the weight room,” Liberty North junior quarterback Sam Van Dyne said. “He has three guys on him. Everybody pops out and starts pushing. That was big.”
It was the perfect evening for Liberty North’s first home game of the season. They treated the Homecoming crowd to a special night of football.
“North Nation loves us, and we love them,” Liberty North junior safety Eric Henkel said. “It was great. Last year it was sad to see no one here, so it was great running out of the tunnel and seeing 2,000 people standing there watching a game you love to play. It is awesome.”
Liberty North, 4-1, will carry a four-game winning streak into next week’s showdown at Lee’s Summit North. The Broncos are 6-0.
“It is going to be a pretty big game,” Van Dyne said. “Really, it is for the conference championship. It’s just football. You are playing against yourself more than anyone.”
The Eagles made sure they weren’t looking ahead by the way they played the first half against Park Hill. The Trojans entered the game with a 4-1 record.
Right away, Liberty North set the tone. Park Hill received the opening kickoff. After allowing one first down, the Eagles got an interception from Henkel that gave Liberty North the ball at Park Hill’s 28.
“He was flushed out of the pocket,” Henkel said. “He wants to make a play, too. I was in good position to jump a route. The ball was coming, and I said I can catch that one.”
It took the Eagles only four plays to cover the 28 yards. The first touchdown came on a 12-yard run by Arzola.
The Trojans responded with a nice drive that reached Liberty North’s 1. Park Hill couldn’t get in the end zone and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Scotty Robertson.
The rest of the first half belonged to Liberty North. Sophomore Freddie Lavan had a 4-yard run for a touchdown late in the first quarter, making it 14-3
To change things up a bit, Liberty North brought in sophomore backup quarterback Elijah Leonard for the next series, and he guided the Eagles to another touchdown. Leonard eventually scored on an 8-yard run midway through the second quarter.
In their next series, the Eagles showed the potency of their offense. Van Dyne returned. His first play was a beautiful spiral over the middle to junior Tate McGuire that went for 36 yards. Three plays later, Van Dyne hit Lavan for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The extra point made it 28-3, and the Eagles weren’t done scoring in the second quarter.
“I am extremely proud of our kids,” Liberty North coach Greg Jones said. “It is a great group of seniors. We have been at this stadium for five years and we haven’t lost a Homecoming, yet.
“Kids came out and played hard. I’m proud of our staff. I am blessed to have this staff. They work extremely hard for these kids.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 10:07 PM.