H.S. FOOTBALL: Liberty rolls Milan, 30-8
MILAN – Tyler Turner saw a few disappointed looks among the defensive players’ faces when his team got together to talk after Friday’s game at Milan.
“What I like about my defense is they’re so mad they gave up that one score, but they didn’t get down on their selves,” Turner said. “They bowed their neck and didn’t let them score again.”
Liberty’s improved running and blocking game, though, complemented a third consecutive solid defensive effort as the Crusaders rolled to a 30-8 win at Milan.
The Crusaders are 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Region 7-3A. Milan is 1-2 and 0-1.
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Liberty’s defense impressed a lot of locals by allowing three points to Henry County and none to North Side, but the Crusaders might have benefited most Friday from their offensive line.
“They were a little more physical offensively than we thought,” Milan coach Jeff Morris said of Liberty. “[Against] Henry County, who’s massive up front, they had a tough time. But they’re pretty good up front offensively too.
The Crusaders stopped for a moment after the game to applaud the line, which helped senior Chris Johnson to a landmark night.
“I think we’ve been sort of slacking up front the last two games,” Turner said. “Our offensive line coach coached his brains out this week, we all did, trying to get them guys on the same page as everybody else.”
Blades of grass sticking to Johnson’s jersey and face reflected a busy night, even if everyone hadn’t already seen him carry the ball 40 times for more than 250 yards.
“He’s tough. He wants the ball,” Turner said. “If I ain’t giving it to him, he’s asking for it. He wants that many carries, and I’m going to keep feeding it to him if he keeps on running hard like he has been.”
Johnson keyed a 13-play drive that gave Liberty a 7-0 lead at the start of the second quarter, finishing it with a touchdown plunge.
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He added another four minutes later, aided by the defense forcing a Milan three-and-out and Alec Long hitting D.J. Wilkes for a 24-yard pass from a punt formation.
Milan punted soon after halftime, and Johnson ran right 62 yards for a touchdown and his favorite play of the night. A safety right after that made it 23-0.
Milan’s big crowd had something to cheer for late in the third quarter. Trey Moore bobbled and finally collected a 27-yard touchdown pass from Landon Walker, who Morris said was limited by a minor injury but played the whole game. Spencer Walker ran for two points.
Rodney Castille got open for a 12-yard touchdown pass from Corey Newble for Liberty’s final points. The Crusaders have outscored their opponents 70-11 so far.
“[We] don’t quit on it with a 1-2 record,” Morris said. “We’ve gone down to a couple good football teams, and I think we can still do good things as a team.”
Milan hosts Huntingdon next week and Liberty hosts Wooddale.
Craig Thomas, 425-9634
