Henry County Patriots @ Liberty Crusaders - Week 0

[MSURacer]

Awesome game!

 

As I "kind of" expected, our young guys made some mistakes early on with a couple of turnovers and a slew of penalties, and Liberty's speed and athleticism put a scare into us. We took control midway through the 3rd quarter and never looked back. I loved what I saw from the team in the 2nd half. We were down 26-14, and at that point the team put its foot down and absolutely took over the ball game. Hilliard, Curtis, and Henderson were all impressive and will be very fun to watch this season. The defense made some errors that resulted in a couple of quick strikes for Liberty, but over all that unit did pretty well, especially late in the game. I came away impressed with Dennis Tharpe yet again, and how about sophomore Shontel Thompson laying the wood!? If we can learn how to put together two halves like what we saw in the 2nd half tonight on a consistent basis, we have ourselves a football team.

 

On the flip side, if Liberty gets their own mistakes taken care of, they will go a long way. That is a good, athletic football team. Best of luck to them this season.

[GWAVE1]

This one should be a laugher. We won't be tested until week three of the playoffs.

What happened? Sounds to me it was pretty close for a time. I guess those 7 or 8 D-1 prospects you said you had last year had an off night.

[MSURacer]

This one should be a laugher. We won't be tested until week three of the playoffs.

 

If you predict this again next week, you will be wrong again. Just a heads up.

[FactsOnly]

What happened? Sounds to me it was pretty close for a time. I guess those 7 or 8 D-1 prospects you said you had last year had an off night.

 

I'll field this one, Red Warrior.

 

What happened is as follows: The 2011 State Champion Henry County Patriots came from behind to dismantle a team that was bigger at every position, faster at every position, and for 3 quarters, more motivated at every position.

 

The dismantled Liberty Crusaders lost the last game they will lose this year. They are a physical carbon copy of the Riverside team from Memphis we defeated deep in the playoffs last year (you know, on our walk to The Championship).

Edited August 18, 2012 by FactsOnly

[DHSFB64]

MSURacer'

Awesome game!

 

As I "kind of" expected, our young guys made some mistakes early on with a couple of turnovers and a slew of penalties, and Liberty's speed and athleticism put a scare into us. We took control midway through the 3rd quarter and never looked back. I loved what I saw from the team in the 2nd half. We were down 26-14, and at that point the team put its foot down and absolutely took over the ball game. Hilliard, Curtis, and Henderson were all impressive and will be very fun to watch this season. The defense made some errors that resulted in a couple of quick strikes for Liberty, but over all that unit did pretty well, especially late in the game. I came away impressed with Dennis Tharpe yet again, and how about sophomore Shontel Thompson laying the wood!? If we can learn how to put together two halves like what we saw in the 2nd half tonight on a consistent basis, we have ourselves a football team.

 

On the flip side, if Liberty gets their own mistakes taken care of, they will go a long way. That is a good, athletic football team. Best of luck to them this season.

 

 

Ive told you over and over y'all have the best halftime coach in the business..You simply cant have a better half-time coach than James Counce as a motivator of young men to respond to the challange when behind or in a tough game..none better...I witnessed it while Counce was in Dyersburg...he simply wont let the kids quit or not play as a team ..and will always be there for them off campus as a father figure to never give up

 

Go Big Red

Edited August 18, 2012 by DHSFB64

[dhstennis]

facts only...im not sure if thats a compliment or not...but im gona take it as one...although HC is not as big or fast as last year...still pretty sure u had us at every position on the field...my crusaders failed to score on 2 possessions in the 1st quarter that they should have...penalties were pretty nasty on both sides...liberty never learns...however...after getting the stop on the 1st series after halftime i honestly thought the game might be over...i thought ur young guys would quit...and they didnt...very impressive...HC knows how to finish and liberty doesnt...that was the difference in the game...

 

i honestly thought TECH was gona get dropped by 50 after what i saw at usj and some other things leading into this game...very proud of our linemen...HC wasnt the only team on the field tonight throwin out a bunch of sophomores...great game and congrats the HC...

[RedSwarm10]

It was a fun game to watch. I thought the first half was eerily similar to the Milan scrimmage. But I liked the way we responded later on in the game, and I'm sure every other Patriot fan did as well. When you're a young team on the road in the first game of the season, it takes a lot of guts and will power to come back from two scores down that late in the game and go on to win by 10 points. Speaks volumes for this coaching staff as well (as if there was really any doubt). Storme looked good rushing for 3 touchdowns and also going 4 of 4 passing the ball. And how about Chase Henderson? 6 carries for over 60 yards including the game clinching score. A 10 ypc average in his first varsity game is a pretty dang good sign. Curtis did his thing in a solid 100 yard rushing effort as well. Ben Jelks is proving himself to be a very valuable weapon both running and catching the football. He stepped up big time in James Brooks' absence (will be another big plus when he returns).

 

On defense you had the usual suspect in Dennis Tharpe Jr. racking up 14 tackles. I was impressed with Michael Etheridge and Griffin Wood on the defensive line. And who is this Zach Lax kid? I heard his name called a lot tonight.

 

Over all, it was a solid performance and I enjoyed watching it, but still a long season ahead and a lot of growing to do yet for this team. I look forward to watching it all unfold.

 

GO PATS

[RedSwarm10]

I'll field this one, Red Warrior.

 

What happened is as follows: The 2011 State Champion Henry County Patriots came from behind to dismantle a team that was bigger at every position, faster at every position, and for 3 quarters, more motivated at every position.

 

The dismantled Liberty Crusaders lost the last game they will lose this year. They are a physical carbon copy of the Riverside team from Memphis we defeated deep in the playoffs last year (you know, on our walk to The Championship).

 

They were not bigger and faster at every position. Not even close.

 

We beat a pretty good and very athletic Jackson team tonight, but you're on crack if you think this Liberty team is of the same caliber as 2011 Memphis Ridgeway, no offense. That team had 3 or 4 SEC prospects on it.

 

Time will tell how good Liberty actually is. They certainly don't lack talent, and admittedly I'll be surprised to see another 2nd round playoff exit for them, but your post is hyperbolic. This was two young and talented teams playing in the first game of the season. A ton of mistakes were made on both sides, and we were the ones who were able to regroup and take control. That's what happened.

[RedSwarm10]

facts only...im not sure if thats a compliment or not...but im gona take it as one...although HC is not as big or fast as last year...still pretty sure u had us at every position on the field...my crusaders failed to score on 2 possessions in the 1st quarter that they should have...penalties were pretty nasty on both sides...liberty never learns...however...after getting the stop on the 1st series after halftime i honestly thought the game might be over...i thought ur young guys would quit...and they didnt...very impressive...HC knows how to finish and liberty doesnt...that was the difference in the game...

 

i honestly thought TECH was gona get dropped by 50 after what i saw at usj and some other things leading into this game...very proud of our linemen...HC wasnt the only team on the field tonight throwin out a bunch of sophomores...great game and congrats the HC...

 

You may have failed to score on two possessions that you "should have" scored on, but you also got a humongous break from the refs on your first scoring drive with that phantom pass interference call. Not trying to start anything, but the refs helped you guys out on more than one occasion last night. There was also a blatantly obvious hold that the refs missed on another one of your scoring drives that should have ended that drive because it was 3rd down.

 

But anyway, I enjoyed the game. You guys have a good looking team with some stud athletes. Liberty has the potential to go a long way this year, and I will be pulling for you guys from here on out. Good luck going forward.

[RedSwarm10]

What happened? Sounds to me it was pretty close for a time. I guess those 7 or 8 D-1 prospects you said you had last year had an off night.

 

Wilson Central didn't have an off night.

[FactsOnly]

They were not bigger and faster at every position. Not even close.

 

We beat a pretty good and very athletic Jackson team tonight, but you're on crack if you think this Liberty team is of the same caliber as 2011 Memphis Ridgeway, no offense. That team had 3 or 4 SEC prospects on it.

 

Time will tell how good Liberty actually is. They certainly don't lack talent, and admittedly I'll be surprised to see another 2nd round playoff exit for them, but your post is hyperbolic. This was two young and talented teams playing in the first game of the season. A ton of mistakes were made on both sides, and we were the ones who were able to regroup and take control. That's what happened.

FactsOnly:

 

1 No suggestion was made that Liberty's capabilities compared to Ridgeway's

2 Liberty was bigger than Henry County, as big as Ridgeway

3 Liberty was faster than Henry County

4 Women wear black to look skinnier

5 Suggesting someone takes crack, even when used as a figure of speech, is not cool. It is hyperbolic.

[GWAVE1]

Wilson Central didn't have an off night.

Your absolutely right they did not. I guess I get tired of hearing about how easy of a time HC will have until round 3 o 4 and how many D-1 prospects you have and how other people don't know anything because "I was a coach for 30 years". My comment was directed at one poster not the HC community. I enjoy reading ya'lls posts but that guy sounds like he needs to be on a Dobyns Bennett thread if you know what I mean. Then again, I guess you have to cull your own nuts.

 

One other thing..."Fact"....if you weren't talking about Ridgeway, then who were you talking about when you said "Riverside"?