Liberty makes a statement in 26-7 win over Garces | Sports

“The kids came out and played hard,” Liberty coach Brian Nixon said. His team have won 19 straight games against opponents from Kern County. “I think our defenses were completely gone. I think they were on the pitch throughout the third quarter. There were turnovers and (short) punters, but the defenses left the end zone.

Both teams ranked among the best teams in the central section, with MaxPreps in 5th and Garces in 6th.

But Friday night was Patriots night.

Senior quarterback Carson Woods threw two long touchdown passes in the first half, both-side junior star Jalen Hankins made a big contribution on both sides of the ball and the Rams held out most of the night in the first league games of the two teams. I did.

Woods started off with Team Scrimmage’s second play, connecting with Jason Oliver on a 49-yard touchdown pass and leading 7-0.

“I’m very proud of them,” said Nixon, whose team improved to 4-2. “Overall a good effort from our children. We got out first, jumped fast, and that’s what we wanted to do.

After a subsequent kick-off, Rams (3-3) failed and Hankins recovered at Garces’ 20-yard line. However, Liberty couldn’t move the ball and Rams was given new life, at least temporarily, when Dylan Lynch’s 31-yard field goal attempt failed just left.

Rams quarterback Travis Plug smashed a 39-yard run on the first down and Gallus moved the ball to the Patriots 27. However, the drive stalled and Palmerbank’s 50-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Deon. Williams.

“I think a good way to sum up the first half is to exaggerate,” said Pragji, who has 135 yards of passes and runs. “Excess has led to many mistakes. It gave them too many advantages.

The missed opportunity was one of many opportunities for the Aries on Friday night.

After seven games, Liberty’s Grant Mary Dolls scored a field goal for 41 yards to make it 10-0. This is the first of the Patriots 4-sights scoring drive.

Hankins won 13 games with a 2-yard touchdown and a 59-yard drive early in the second quarter, and after Garces’ punt, Woods joined Austin Pratt for a 57-yard pass. He built the 23-0 lead. The first half remained at 1:26. The platform popped the Garces Defender in play, turned outward, and sprinted down the east sideline for a touchdown.

“Everyone did their job tonight,” said Hankins, who rushed to the top of the game for 89 yards with 20 carries. “I feel like I was able to grow a little more, but it was good. It was fun tonight.

The extra runs were blocked, but another Gallus fumble gave Liberty the ball at the Rams 26. After four games, Lynch scored a 40-yard field goal at 26-0 with seven seconds left in the second quarter.

Garcés’ defense picked up steam in the second half, keeping Liberty just 72 yards from the scrum and doubled down on first down in the final 24 minutes of play.

However, the Patriots’ defense was equally impressive all night long, with some big plays when the team needed them most.

After the Hankins Fumble, Rams drove to the Liberty 4-meter line. Patriots defensive lineman Caleb Trovo hit hard when he interfered with the option play attempted in the fourth and the goal, resulting in a Gallus fumble and a 16-yard loss.

“Our attacks were in half the field throughout the third quarter and most often in the fourth quarter,” Nixon said. “We have been able to overcome some of these things. We were really happy with the way we played.

The Rams finally broke the shutout early in the fourth quarter, with Plugge forging the ground and jumping into the six-yard end zone to reach the game’s final score in just 15 seconds in the fourth quarter.

“If you get the ball out of your hand faster and you don’t have a lot of false starts, you can move the ball,” Pragji said. “And at one point, I think I proved it.

“It’s a solid team. Definitely, but if you give us another chance to get there, I think the score will be tighter.

However, the momentum was short-lived.

Hankins had the second of two sacks when the Rams last won the game, slowing the run down and ending with an interception by teammate Luke Wattenberger.

“Overall I thought I started in the heat but there are things I could fix in the second half,” Hankins said. “We have to start hot and keep that momentum going, but this week we’re really going to fix it and next week will be better.”