Liberty topples Panthers
PikeView (6) vs. Liberty (27)
Written: Sep 07, 2012
By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
GARDNER — It didn’t seem to matter where on the field Joey Lacek lined up, or how many carries Hunter Moses got.
The Liberty Raiders had the upper hand from the start Friday night and left PikeView High School with a 27-6 victory over the Panthers, extending the PikeView losing streak to 10 games.
Lacek started at quarterback, completing four of eight passes for 48 yards and running for 52 yards and the Raiders’ first touchdown. He ended at his natural position, receiver, making three catches for 38 yards.
In between he was a force on defense, making at least seven tackles.
Hunter Moses carried the load for PikeView (0-3), rushing 34 times for 129 yards. His final carry, as time expired in the game, was a 2-yard rush for the Panthers’ only points.
“The defense played hard all game,” said Raiders head coach Jeff Alexander. “We made some substitutions there at the end. They went through some tough situations ... and they stood big.”
“Hats off to PikeView. They hung in there, they played pretty solid. They’re better than a lot of people think they are.”
Liberty (2-1), the last team that PikeView beat before their losing streak started, rolled 63 yards on the first series of the game and took the lead when Lacek spun out of a tackle and dashed 30 yards to the goal line.
Their next offensive effort ended on their third play on a fumbled pitch, recovered by PikeView’s Logan McKinney. A rainstorm prior to the game produced soft footing and wet footballs.
Wolfgang Honaker sacked PikeView quarterback Jordan Hardin on fourth down to stop the next drive.
With 5:41 left in the half, a five-yard penalty on Liberty gave PikeView a fourth down and four yards to go. Moses got the play call and ran the ball for three yards before being hauled down into the mud.
Four plays later, Matthew Bailey ran 10 yards to the end zone and Liberty lead 14-0.
PikeView head coach Bobby Wyatt said, “I take a chance ... I made the decision. You live and die by those decisions, and tonight we died by it. Everything was slow [on the play]. It developed too slow.”
He said the missed opportunity snowballed on his team. “I’ve got the kind of team, when things go bad, they fell apart. ... One of these days, something’s going to go right for this bunch.”
Liberty made the score 20-0 with 49 seconds left before halftime, on a 10-yard pass from freshman quarterback Hunter Wright to Josh Brown.
Wright added the Raiders’ final points in the fourth quarter on a churning 9-yard touchdown run.
Alexander was happy with the way his team responded after losing 59-21 to Sissonville last weekend.
“This week we played with a lot of emotion,” the coach said. “Last week we came out flat. ... You can’t beat [anybody] with five turnovers. We were our biggest enemy.”
He said he moved Lacek to receiver because it is “his natural position.” He said Wright got “some reps, some game experience.”
Lacek said, “I had a lot of confidence in Hunter Wright. He played a heck of a game. ... If we win ballgames, I’ll play wherever they want me to.”
Bailey ran 13 times for 63 yards in the game.
The Panthers play their next three games on the road, beginning with a matchup at James Monroe next Friday night. The Raiders swing south again next Friday to play at Mount View.
— Contact Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com
At Gardner
Liberty...................................7 13 0 7 — 27
PikeView.................................0 0 0 6 — 6
First Quarter
L - Joey Lacek 30 run (Josh Brown kick), 7:34
Second Quarter
L - Matthew Bailey 10 run (Brown kick), 4:21
L - Brown 10 pass from Hunter Wright (kick failed), 0:49
Fourth Quarter
L - Wright 9 run (Brown kick), 8:34
PV - Hunter Moses 2 run (no point after attempt), 0:00
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Liberty, Matthew Bailey 13-63, Joey Lacek 4-52, Ryan Moore 7-39, Hunter Wright 4-18, Jake Lacek 1-2, team 1-(-7). PikeView, Hunter Moses 34-129, Jordan Hardin 2-(-15), Joseph Jennings 4-21, Tanner Farley 2-16, Ryan Roberts 1-(-2).
PASSING — Liberty, Joey Lacek 3-7-48 yds-0-0; Hunter Wright 7-9-106-1 TD-0 intc. PikeView, Jordan Hardin 4-10-52-0-0.
RECEIVING — Liberty, Bailey 4-59, Jake Lacek 3-47, Josh Brown 1-10, Joey Lacek 3-38. PikeView, Hunter Moses 2-30, Logan McKInney 2-22.
———
TEAM STATISTICS
L PV
First downs 13 11
Rushes-yards 30-167 43-166
Passing yds. 154 52
Comp-att-intc. 10-16-0 4-10-0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yds. 10-77 4-20
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