Liberty to entertain rival JF on Halloween

Thanks to the expanded Division 3 and 4 football playoff format, which qualifies six teams rather than four, Bedford County rivals Liberty and Jefferson Forest both have clinched Region III berths for the first time in the same season in recent history going into tonight’s Seminole District finale in Bedford.

But both teams, which sport identical 6-3 records (3-2 in district play) have plenty to play for — namely securing their No. 3 seeds and taking home-field advantage and momentum into the first round of the playoffs.

“If we win, we can be in position to host a first-round playoff game,” said JF coach Don Rice, whose team clinched its first postseason bid since 1999 with an impressive 38-10 rout last week at Bassett. “We’d be seeded third and play either William Byrd or Rockbridge and there’s a possibility we could get as high as a second seed, depending on what Turner Ashby does.”

Making the playoffs for the first time in Rice’s five seasons at the helm is a sweet reward for the Cavaliers.

“We’ve been banging at the door since I’ve been here,” he said. “Finally, to get in, that’s what our goal was at the beginning of the season. (But) we don’t want to be one and done in the playoffs. Liberty’s in the same boat. They’re playing good football. The winner of this game is going to go a little deeper in the playoffs.”

He’s not letting his players get ahead of themselves.

“Our kids, we’ve been telling them one game at a time all year,” Rice said. “We’re looking at this game as a rivalry. It’s Halloween so Lord knows what could happen in Bedford. They’re one of the better matchups for us for the year and it’s one of the better matchups in our area (tonight).”

At Bassett last Friday, both tailbacks Desmond Goode and Rashad Hall rushed for 100 yards.

“They both had a good game,” Rice said, noting Goode had a 94-yard TD run up the middle called back and Hall was barely tripped up on the next down after gaining 30 yards on the same play. “Everything clicked and worked and the kids executed. When you can rack up more than 400 yards against Bassett, (you’re doing something right).”

This fall, Liberty has experienced greater success out of its passing game than it has in the past 10 seasons with Tyler Bowyer at quarterback and receivers Boo Payne, Kordero Thompson and Anthony Reynolds.

It also has produced on the ground, racking up 253 yards rushing in last week’s 42-26 win at Rustburg last week, with 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior Brandon Sparrow rushing 10 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns in his first significant playing time at fullback, tailback Thomas Clark gaining 100 yards and scoring the first two TDs and fullback Justin Davis adding a 30-yard, second-half touchdown run.

“Brandon … ran the ball hard and he opened up the other backs a little bit, too, which is what our offense is all about,” Liberty coach Chris Watts said. “Justin Davis is doing a good job for us at fullback (and) now that Lavarta Tanner’s getting healthy again, it gives us more options.”

Tanner was the projected starter at fullback this season before injuring his elbow in a loss at Blacksburg and his shoulder in a loss at Brookville.

“We, at one point in time, against Blacksburg, had no fullbacks, because Brandon really wasn’t ready then,” Watts said. “Now, we’ve got three. That’s a good problem to have right there, at the right time. Lavarta’s just now getting back to football contact and getting used to the game again and we expect a lot of big things out of him coming up, too.”