Liberty tops Houston for fifth straight victory

After a rough 1-3 start to their season, the Liberty Eagles football team has settled in nicely, winning five contests in a row. With Friday night's 35-14 win against the Houston Tigers, Liberty finished the regular season in second place in the South Central Association. Their lone conference loss was at the hands of state-ranked Ava. 

The game started with a bang for the Eagles. On their second play from scrimmage, Carter Pruett weaved his way through the Tiger defense on his way to a 68-yard touchdown. 

Then, on Houston's first offensive snap, Eli Moore broke through the Tiger's line and sacked the quarterback, causing a fumble. Liberty recovered the ball at the 28 yard line. Houston's defense stood tall, however, and forced an incomplete pass on fourth down to take over possession. 

The game’s next score would happen at the 11:04 mark of the second quarter. Liberty's Gavin Reese found the end zone from seven yards out to extend the Eagle lead to 12-0.

Houston went to work on their next possession, using a heavy dose of the ground game to chew up nearly 6 minutes of the clock. Brady Brookshire capped the drive with a two-yard plunge. Stone Jackson nailed the extra point to pull the Tigers within five, 12-7.

With just 29 seconds remaining in the half, Liberty struck again. This time Adrien Pendegraft found paydirt with a two-yard score. The Pruett to Reese conversion pass pushed the Eagle lead to 20-7.

The second half started with Houston cutting into the lead, on another Brookshire two-yard touchdown run. Momentum really seemed to swing Houston's way when DJ Riley intercepted a Liberty pass. Liberty's defense stepped up, however, and forced a Houston punt. 

With 9:46 remaining in the game, Reese gave the Eagles some breathing room on a 9-yard scamper. Pruett punched in the conversion run, 28-14. 

The Eagles would add one more score on a Pendegraft three-yard run to put the game away. 

The win pushes Liberty's record to 6-3, good enough for the #4 seed in the district tournament. Friday night, they host the #5 seeded Springfield Catholic Fightin' Irish.