Kacey Blunk for Howell County NewsGretchen Creighton Photography for Howell County NewsGretchen Creighton Photography for Howell County NewsGretchen Creighton Photography for Howell County NewsKacey Blunk for Howell County NewsKacey Blunk for Howell County News

Eagles soar past Bobcats 62-16

For the second straight week, the Liberty football squad hung a 60+ burger on their opponents in the first half. This week, they downed the Thayer Bobcats for the first time since 2016. 
It took all of 12 seconds for the Eagles to draw first blood. The first play from scrimmage, Liberty took advantage of Thayer's aggressive defense. Drew Ripko took an outside pitch and instead of running, he launched it deep, to a wide-open Lucas Frazier for the 58-yard touchdown. 
The Bobcat's first drive went nowhere and ended in a punt. Gavin Reese then rushed for a 38-yard score behind a great block from Carter Pruett. 
Kaden Farrell came up with a fumble recovery for the Eagles moments later. The next play, Pruett found Ripko for a 40-yard strike. 
After another Bobcat 3-and-out, Ripko fielded the punt and weaved his way through the Bobcats for a touchdown. 
Eli Moore ended Thayer's next series with a 35-yard pick-six. 
The first quarter didn't end without a great play from the Thayer Bobcat's Colt Gonzales. He came up with an excellent one-handed interception for the Bobcats, ending a promising Eagle drive in the end zone. 
After yet another Bobcat fumble, Liberty's Ripko took a shovel pass 41 yards to the house. 
On their next drive, Liberty shook things up a bit from their typical two quarterback set. Gavin Reese lined up at receiver and hauled in a 42-yard pass from Pruett for the touchdown. 
Pruett found paydirt again with a one-yard plunge on their next series. 
To end the half, Pruett tossed two more touchdowns, one to Kal Acklin and one more to Reese.
Liberty took a commanding 62-0 lead into the half. Ripko was 6-7 on extra points. 
Thayer was able to muster up some points in the second half. The first came on a Dawson Harris 10-yard touchdown pass to Colt Gonzales. Their second score was a Heath Combs two-yard run. Kaden Komm hauled in both two-point conversion passes from Harris to make up the final score 62-16. 
The Eagles, now 3-0, head to "the Hill" to do battle with the always tough Ava Bears for a conference battle of SCA powers. 
Content Paywall Trunction: 
Free

Howell County News

110 W. Main St.,
Willow Springs, MO 65793
417-252-2123

Comment Here