Liberty Crusaders not backing down from Alcoa in bowl

So Liberty football has made it to the BlueCross Bowl for the first time in program history, and the Crusaders have the support of most of Jackson and West Tennessee in bringing a gold ball back to West Tennessee.

The last remaining obstacle standing in the way of that is Alcoa. The program that’s been to the state championship 11 of the past 13 years, and a team whose only loss this year has come to Class 6A power Maryville.

It will be the second consecutive week for Liberty to take on a state power in 3A that many in West Tennessee enjoy cheering against because of the amount of success they have.

But it’s also the second consecutive week Liberty is playing a team where there are no individual leaders statistically.

Like Christ Presbyterian Academy last week, none of Alcoa’s stat leaders are putting up mind-blowing numbers that mean they’re obvious threats for the Crusaders to be concerned about before each snap.

“They have about double as many kids as we do on their team, so they’re probably able to spread the ball around a little more than we need to,” said Liberty head coach Tyler Turner. “But no matter how many kids they have, they do a good job.

“Coach (Gary) Rankin does a great job making that program what we all know it for today, and he’ll tell you he’s not as much a reason for them to have the success they have as the players that get on the field.”

Alcoa does have a Mr. Football winner as receiver Tykee Kellogg won the 3A Back of the Year award, and there are a number of players who are offered or committed for scholarship opportunities at Division I schools.

None of the players at Liberty are worried about Alcoa’s credentials.

“They’re a high school football team just like we are and strap their pads on just like we do,” said receiver Rodney Castille. “There may be a lot of people across the state sleeping on us because we’re from Jackson or because we’re not Alcoa, but teams don’t lose football games because people sleep on them.”

Stephun Bush is one of the youngest players on the Crusaders’ team as a sophomore. But he’s been one of the most effective as he leads the team in tackles from the middle linebacker position with 58 tackles, 32 assists, 10 for loss and eight sacks.

“They’re a good team, and their quarterback is good,” Bush said. “But our quarterback is good too. Having him to try to get to in practice helps us get ready to play against their quarterback, because we haven’t played a quarterback like him.”

Corey Newble is Liberty’s quarterback, and defensive lineman Elijah Harris put some high praise on his teammate.

“Trying to pursue Courtney on the practice field for too long will wear you out, and I think he makes us as a defense really ready for Alcoa,” Harris said. “I think Corey is the best QB in the state – in the nation – so he’s done a lot to help us prepare for this game.”

Newble said it will take a maximum effort from both sides of the ball for Liberty to get the win because Alcoa is a very good team but beatable.

“We can beat them, but we can’t make mistakes,” Newble said. “We’ve been able to come back and beat other teams in the playoffs, but this is the state championship, and we can’t help the other team by making mistakes.

“I’ve got to make good decisions with the ball. We can’t fumble. Defense has got to do its job. We’ve got to be ready to go.”

Brandon Shields, (731) 425-9751