This game was one of the most hyped up affairs in recent memory for the 806 scene, and it should’ve been since both teams were ranked and undefeated, heading into one of the biggest matchups of the season as 8-0 Estacado faced off against 7-0 Liberty Friday night on Woodrow Road.
The first quarter started with a bang as Talon Wilcox took the first play of the game for a 67-yard Touchdown run to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead and after a three-and -out from Estacado, the Patriots scored on a eight yard pass from Cy Leach to Koleman Hendrix to stretch their lead to 14-0.
On Estacado’s third drive, Gary Brooks Jr. went 80 yards on a great run to cut the Patriots lead to 14-6 after a blocked extra point. On the ensuing possession, Wilcox went for 73 yards and scored his second rushing touchdown to give Liberty a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second tilt, after another stop for the Liberty defense, Kaiden Joseph went 57 yards up the gut to give the Patriots a 28-6 lead before Jayric Ward led the Matadors on a 90-yard drive that concluded with a touchdown reception from Chrishod Dial that made the game, 28-12 with two minutes left in the half. On the last drive for Liberty before half, Leach hit Pierce Fioroni for a 48-yard touchdown pass to give Liberty a 35-12 lead at the half.
In the third, the Patriots scored onslaught continued with a touchdown reception from Pierce Fioroni, his second of the game and that was immediately followed by a pick-six from Cam Colley to put the game out of reach early in the quarter when they led, 49-13 with 5:53 left in the quarter.
In the last stanza, Jayric Ward found Chrishod Dial for their second hookup of the game to cut the Patriots lead to 49-18 early in the period, but then Liberty then scored another rushing touchdown and eventually finished the game with a solid 63-18 win over the Matadors to stay undefeated at 8-0 and 2-0 in district play while Estacado drops to 8-1 on the season and 2-1 in district play with a much needed bye coming in Week 10.
The Patriots rushed for 406 yards on the ground with Wilcox and Joseph both eclipsing 150 yards rushing in the game; they didn’t attempt 10 passes, but Cy Leach threw three touchdown passes, two to Pierce Fioroni and one to Koleman Hendrix. Estacado had some bright spots as Ward played a great game under duress and Dial totaled 151 yards receiving and two touchdown receptions.
Dial becomes the first Estacado Receiver to go over 1,000 receiving yards in a season since 2007. Liberty will take on Levelland next week as they go for the district title Friday in Levelland while, as mentioned earlier, the Matadors will have a bye week before facing Levelland on a big Thursday night game.
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Jasone Pearson
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