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Liberty's historic playoff run continues
BY Shan Singh Special to the Enterprise
MESQUITE -- Inside the press box during the Frisco Liberty-Rockwall Heath game last week, the Lincoln scouts kept calling Liberty junior running back, Jay Ajayi, a “full-grown man”. Friday night at Memorial Stadium, Ajayi became the full-grown monster for the Tigers.
Ajayi decimated the Tigers defense for 207 rushing yards in a 43-42 double overtime win that gave Liberty just its second playoff win.
In the second overtime session, Ajayi carried the ball 15 yards for a touchdown and brought the Redhawks’ deficit down to a point at 42-41. On the run, though, Ajay was hit late and that drew a personal foul penalty on Lincoln. This resulted in the Redhawks going for a two-point conversion from the half yard line, instead of from three yards out.
“I’m so proud of these kids,” said Galen Zimmerman, Liberty head coach. “They fought through adversity and beat a heck of a team.”
Of Ajayi’s 207 yards, 188 came from the fourth quarter on.
On the final drive in regulation, Ajayi rushed on five of the seven plays, and on the game-winning drive, he touched the ball on both plays, resulting in the necessary 25 yards and the touchdown.
“We go with what the defense gives,” Zimmerman said. “It was just working for [Ajayi] tonight. We kept handing him the ball and he kept on producing.”
Against Heath, Liberty scored on its first four possessions, but that felt light years in the past Friday night. At halftime, Liberty walked into the locker room tied at 14-14.
The second half, though, saw a different act from both offenses.
Following a three-and-out by the Tigers early in the third, the Redhawks covered 71 yards in two plays and went up 21-14. Ajayi broke through the defense first with a 55-yard run, which junior Malcolm Hill followed with a 15-yard touchdown run on a left side sweep.
Lincoln responded instantly when speedy Demarcus Busby ran it in from 2 yards outs. The back-and-forth scoring continued on the next two possessions to knot the game at 28, with1:30 left in regulation.
“We started to believe in what we were doing,” Zimmerman said. “The defenses played well in the first half, but both offenses owned the second half.”
With the roaring fans behind them, the Redhawks started the potential game-winning drive from the 27-yard line. Following the footsteps of Atlas, Ajayi carried the Redhawks on his back and led them down to Lincoln’s 24 yard line for a field goal.
But junior Conner Hint’s attempt was short, sending the game into overtime.
On the first play in overtime, senior Brandon Brotzman found Hill for a 35-yard touchdown strike, putting the Redhawks up 42-35 and placing enormous pressure on the Tigers to score.
The Tigers followed the game’s trend and answered quickly, specifically on the next play when quarterback Don Canyon scored his fourth touchdown of the night.
“I would like for us to win a game where you don’t have to worry all the way down,” Zimmerman said.
Liberty’s worries increased exponentially in the second overtime following a touchdown by the Tigers, who now led 42-35.
Fortunately for Liberty, the “full-grown man” was still able to run for them, leading to a 43-42 victory.
“It just felt like the right time to go for it,” Zimmerson said. “The penalty helped make it more manageable.”
Ajayi scored the conversion and Liberty’s chase for state, in its first playoff appearance, stayed alive.
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