Patrick Fallon/Special to the Liberty TribuneLiberty High’s Katro Keels tries to run through a tackle in the Blue Jays’ game with Columbia Hickman on Friday, Aug. 29, at Columbia Hickman High. The Blue Jays beat the Kewpies 34-10.
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FOOTBALL: Jays coming home to face Raymore-Peculiar
Blue Jays answer some questions in season-opening road win
By Kevin Goodwin
Liberty High went into its football season opener at Columbia Hickman with a truckload of questions.
How would the Blue Jays react to their new coach Joel Wells? Would they be proficient with their new offense? How would Liberty handle its new defense under new defensive coordinator Andy Sims?
Liberty is preparing for its home opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, against Raymore-Peculiar knowing it’s going in the right direction.
The Blue Jays played a near-flawless second half against the Kewpies in a 34-10 victory in Columbia on Friday, Aug. 29, scoring 27 points in the third quarter.
“It’s certainly a lot easier to prepare for a home opener after getting a win,” Wells said. “You ask a lot out of kids and for them to see some good results from their hard work is great to see. Hopefully, we can build on it and continue to build from it.”
The Blue Jays will face a solid test in the Panthers, who beat Liberty 27-24 at William Jewell last season.
Raymore-Peculiar beat Truman 42-8 in its season opener at Truman on Aug. 29. Quarterback Cameron Coffman completed 6 of 9 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Brett Houchen rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
Houchen rushed for 94 yards on 23 carries in the Panthers’ win against the Blue Jays last season.
“I know they are a good football team that is returning a lot of players from last season’s team,” Wells said. “They are very physical and they will challenge us at the line of scrimmage. They will go press man-to-man coverage on us. It’s a big challenge because they will hit us and hit us hard.”
But the Blue Jays certainly weren’t soft against the Kewpies, especially in the second half. Liberty allowed 274 yards of offense to Hickman in the first half, but just 39 yards after that, dismantling the Kewpies’ spread attack.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays’ offense awoke with four touchdowns. Quarterback Jimmy Smelcer completed 13 of 23 passes for 233 yards with three touchdown passes. The Blue Jays rushed for 205 yards, with seven rushers getting at least 14 yards.
“I was proud of how resilient the kids were,” Wells said. “We hung on defensively in the first half and then we turned the tide after halftime. We hung on and finally got the momentum and turned the game around. That’s a good sign for a team playing in its first game.”
Sports writer Kevin Goodwin can be reached at 389-6652 or kgoodwin@npgco.com.
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How would the Blue Jays react to their new coach Joel Wells? Would they be proficient with their new offense? How would Liberty handle its new defense under new defensive coordinator Andy Sims?
Liberty is preparing for its home opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, against Raymore-Peculiar knowing it’s going in the right direction.
The Blue Jays played a near-flawless second half against the Kewpies in a 34-10 victory in Columbia on Friday, Aug. 29, scoring 27 points in the third quarter.
“It’s certainly a lot easier to prepare for a home opener after getting a win,” Wells said. “You ask a lot out of kids and for them to see some good results from their hard work is great to see. Hopefully, we can build on it and continue to build from it.”
The Blue Jays will face a solid test in the Panthers, who beat Liberty 27-24 at William Jewell last season.
Raymore-Peculiar beat Truman 42-8 in its season opener at Truman on Aug. 29. Quarterback Cameron Coffman completed 6 of 9 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Brett Houchen rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
Houchen rushed for 94 yards on 23 carries in the Panthers’ win against the Blue Jays last season.
“I know they are a good football team that is returning a lot of players from last season’s team,” Wells said. “They are very physical and they will challenge us at the line of scrimmage. They will go press man-to-man coverage on us. It’s a big challenge because they will hit us and hit us hard.”
But the Blue Jays certainly weren’t soft against the Kewpies, especially in the second half. Liberty allowed 274 yards of offense to Hickman in the first half, but just 39 yards after that, dismantling the Kewpies’ spread attack.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays’ offense awoke with four touchdowns. Quarterback Jimmy Smelcer completed 13 of 23 passes for 233 yards with three touchdown passes. The Blue Jays rushed for 205 yards, with seven rushers getting at least 14 yards.
“I was proud of how resilient the kids were,” Wells said. “We hung on defensively in the first half and then we turned the tide after halftime. We hung on and finally got the momentum and turned the game around. That’s a good sign for a team playing in its first game.”
Sports writer Kevin Goodwin can be reached at 389-6652 or kgoodwin@npgco.com.