Mavericks bounce back, beat Raiders
James Monroe (33) vs. Liberty Raleigh (14)
Written: Oct 23, 2015
By CAM HUFFMAN
for the Daily Telegraph
LINDSIDE — The scoreboard told of a comfortable three-score victory for Class AA No. 5 James Monroe on homecoming at the H.E. Comer Jr. Sports Complex Friday night. The look of relief on head coach John Mustain’s face following the game, told a much different tale.
The Mavericks (7-1) scored two late touchdowns to hold off No. 13 Liberty (5-3), bouncing back from their first loss of the season, a last-second defeat at the hands of Class AAA No. 10 Princeton, with a 33-14 win.
“That (Liberty) team is unbelievable,” said Mustain, breathing a sigh of relief. “I thought our kids played great. It’s hard at this level when you face a team with a good passing attack, but our defense won the game for us.”
James Monroe wasn’t exactly in the best position midway through the fourth quarter.
Liberty had cut an early Mustang advantage to just six points, 20-14 and the Raiders were poised to get the ball back with a chance to take the lead as the Mavericks faced a fourth-and-13 from the Raiders’ 24-yard line.
That’s when quarterback Evan Beasley decided it was time to make a play.
The junior was flushed from the pocket by a Liberty rush, but he avoided tacklers long enough to find Connor Boothe standing all by himself wide open in the end zone. Beasley delivered a strike that put his team ahead 26-14 with 5:47 to play, and Liberty couldn’t respond.
“That’s one of the good things about Evan,” said Mustain, whose daughter, Megan, was crowned Homecoming queen at halftime.
“He has the ability to scramble. They got him a few times, but we had to keep putting the ball in his hands and let him make things happen.”
The Raiders stalled on downs on their next possession and then had to sell out to try to stop the run with the Mavericks content on eating clock.
When Beasley broke past the line on a third-and-9 from his own 36, there was nothing but green grass ahead of him and he outran the secondary to put the exclamation point on a 19-point victory.
The late dramatics didn’t seem as though they would even me necessary as James Monroe appeared to take control in the second quarter. After a scoreless opening frame — which wasn’t a surprise from two of the area’s top defenses — Devin Johnson put the home team on the board with a 65-yard run down the sidelines as the crowd erupted.
A little more than 4 minutes later, it was another big play that gave the Mavericks some breathing room.
This time it was Tyler Moore, who’s been used mainly as a receiver this season, who took a handoff and outran the defense. His 89-yard run put his team up 14-0.
“When Grant’s out there, so many people key on him,” said Mustain. “Kids are kids, and sometimes when he’s not out there, they may be thinking they can ease up. But those guys have done a good job for us.”
Liberty, though, didn’t go away. The Raiders turned to the passing game, and Hunter Wright found Deontae Acord on a 44-yard strike to close the gap to one score with 1:50 before halftime.
The Mavericks, though, got a big kick return from Colton Bradley to give them some great field position, and they took advantage by driving down the field and scoring on a 5-yard Beasley run just before the half.
The 20-6 advantage held up for most of the third quarter, but when Wright found Acord for a second touchdown, this one from 8-yards out, and then ran in the 2-point conversion, it was suddenly a six-point game heading into the final quarter.
Liberty’s best chance to take the lead came when Jacob Bailey intercepted an ill-advised Beasley pass, leaving his team just 52 yards from a go-ahead score, but the Raiders were turned away and Beasley atoned for the mistake by putting the game on ice.
“He’s been doing that all year long for us,” said Mustain. “I don’t know what else I can say about him.”
James Monroe ended the game with 357 yards rushing, the bulk of it on three big plays.
Wright threw for 257 yards for the Raiders, but Liberty rushed for just 47 yards on 25 carries, making itself one-dimensional late.
“We were really worried about their running game,” said Mustain. “But I think they saw we were doing a pretty good job with that and had to go to the pass. They’ve got a potent passing attack, and that’s why I’m so proud of that defense to hold them to 14 points.”
James Monroe will be at Bluefield next week, while Liberty will play at Shady Spring.
At H.E. Comer Jr. Sports Complex
Liberty...........................0 6 8 0 — 14
James Monroe..............0 20 0 13 — 33
Second Quarter
JM - Devon Johnson 65 run (Lance Wilson kick), 7:58
JM - Tyler Moore 89 run (Wilson kick), 3:45
L - Willie Acord 44 pass from Hunter Wright (run failed), 1:49
JM - Evan Beasley 6 run (kick failed), 0:25
Third Quarter
L - Acord 8 pass from Wright (Wright run), 1:25
Fourth Quarter
JM - Conner Boothe 24 pass from Beasley (kick blocked), 5:47
JM - Beasley 65 run (Wilson kick), 1:48
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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING — L, Christian Whtitaker 21-48, Hunter Wright 7-17. JM, Grant Mohler 12-46, Evan Beasley 16-130, Devon Johnson 10-89, Tyler Moore 1-89.
PASSING — L, Wright 24-39-258-2 TD-2 intc. JM, Beasley 4-15-72-1 TD-1 intc.
RECEIVING – L, Jacob Bailey 14-132, Whittaker 1-(-3), Willie Acord 6-104, Tyler Mullens 3-25. JM, Conner Boothe 2-54, Tyler Moore 1-12, Mohler 1-6.
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TEAM STATISTICS
First downs L 16, JM 11. Rushes L 28-65, JM 39-354. Passing comp-att L 24-39, JM 4-15. Passing yards JM 72, L 258. Penalties L 8-57, JM 7-60. Fumbles, none.
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