Liberty City (FL) vs. Mesa Eastern (AZ)

“Liberty City Downs Mesa”

Just when you think football is strictly a team sport, the outcome of a game can hinge around some key one-on-one match-ups. Such was the case today, when Florida's Liberty City Warrior Jr. Midgets took on the Mesa Eastern Moccasins from Arizona.

After a hard-hitting and scoreless first quarter, Mesa drove deep into Warrior territory. Spurred by a scintillating 25 yard quarterback sprint around the right side of the L.C. defense, the Moccasins appeared to be in business on the Warriors 8 yard line. But, Liberty City rose to the challenge, stuffing the Moccasin ball carriers on the 9 yard line. After L.C. failed to move the ball, they punted to Mesa. The Moccasins punt return man rolled down the right side lane for forty yards, all the way to the Warriors 10 yard line . But, a pass to the end zone was batted away , and the Warriors took over on their own 11 yard line. After a swing pass was stuffed by the alert Moccasin defense, the stage was set for a one on one mismatch.

“We'd been watching film of the Mocassins game against Manassas and we saw that they were putting nine-in-the-box on defense, “ said Liberty City's Head Coach Luther Campbell. “They were doing the same against us, so we decided to exploit the situation.” That strategy called for isolating a tall Warriors wide receiver up against a smaller Mocassins cornerback, and now was the time to let that strategy roll. The Warrior's quarterback faded to his right and launched a jump ball to his wide-out who grabbed it over the top of the Mocs cornerback, turned , and raced 70 yards for a touchdown. The PAT was no good and the score at the end of the first half stood Warriors 6- Moccasins 0 .

The third quarter was scoreless. Then, with 4:00 left in the game, the Warriors drove deep into Moccasins territory. A handoff to the tailback, followed by a lightning-quick cut to his left and a ten-yard sprint to the open left side, ended with Liberty City's second touchdown. This time, a pass for the one-point PAT was good, and the Warriors upped their margin to 13-0 .

But, the Moccasins never quit. Taking the ensuing kickoff, they pushed forward for a first down on their own 25 before being hurled back to the two yard line . Then the clock, and the Warrior defense, proved too much today for the Moccasins, and the game ended with Liberty City victorious by a score of 13-0.

“We're happy to get this far,” said Coach Campbell . “But we still have a lot of things to do. One of our problems is that our kids are exhausted. What with the hurricane forcing them to commute to other schools, it's been tough meeting the end of term classroom demands and still playing ball. But, we're one game away froma championship now. Last year, we learned a lot from our trip to Pop Warner, maybe this year we can win it all.”

Congratulations to Liberty City on reaching the finals of Super Bowl Week for the second straight year. And congratulations as well to Eastern Mesa who made it all the way to the Jr. Midget finas in their first trip to Disney. Liberty City now goes on to meet the winner of the Palo Alto vs. Cedar Crest Comets game in the finals of Division 1 Jr. Midget play on Saturday at noon at Wide World of Sports.