Minutemen exact revenge on Pioneers

BEDFORD — Three Heritage turnovers in a five-minute period spanning the third and fourth quarters turned the tide in Liberty’s favor in a Seminole District football showdown Friday night.

A fourth four minutes later — Boo Payne’s interception returned 60 yards for a touchdown — put the Minutemen in complete control and they went on to pummel the Pioneers 32-14, payback for a 35-0 loss at City Stadium last fall.

“We finally came out and played four quarters of football,” Payne said of the homecoming triumph that improved Liberty to 5-1, 2-0 in district play.

The Pioneers (2-5, 1-1) had fought back from an early 16-0 deficit to pull themselves into the game, trailing 19-14 with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter.

After recovering a fumble by Liberty quarterback Tyler Bowyer at its own 44, Heritage considered going for it on fourth-and-4 from midfield. But when a delay of game penalty pushed them back into their own territory, the Pioneers opted to punt, leading to the first in a series of miscues that sealed their doom.

A long snap sailed over the head of punter Caleb Choi and Bowyer picked up the loose ball on the run, sprinting the final 25 yards into the end zone for the game-turning touchdown.

Following interceptions by Anthony Reynolds in his own end zone and Thomas Clark, Payne, who scored the game’s first two TDs on receptions from Bowyer, picked off a James Womack pass through the middle early in the fourth quarter that deflected off the hands of intended receiver Chris Phelps.

“It was tipped and it came right to me,” Payne said. “I had the sideline and I just took off. There was a wide open sideline.”

“When he intercepted the ball, I felt pretty good,” Liberty coach Chris Watts added, noting he is never comfortable with any lead. “When I saw him turn the corner, I thought, ‘OK, I’ll be greedy.’ He’s a tremendous athlete.”

Bowyer, nicknamed “Tebow” by Liberty announcer Jeff Steele, showed flashes of Florida’s Heisman Trophy candidate Tim on Liberty’s first two possessions.

Typically a rushing-oriented team, the Minutemen have resorted to the pass more than any time this decade this fall.

On the game’s first play, Bowyer unleashed a bomb over the middle to Kordero Thompson, who shook loose from Pioneers defensive back Lawrence Blake for an extra 25 yards before being dragged down by Eric Coleman at the Heritage 10.

“Kordero Thompson hasn’t played since eighth grade, but he’s made some big plays for us,” Watts said.

Two plays later, Bowyer lofted a pass to Payne, the 6-foot-6 receiver who leaped to gain separation from Phelps and came down with the ball inbounds for a 10-yard TD pass just 52 seconds into the action.

“We went deep on the first play and caught them off guard,” Payne said. “We’re starting to open it up a little more now.”

After recovering a fumble by Heritage receiver O’Shawn Bryant on a short pass play at the Pioneers’ 40, the Minutemen needed only one snap to strike again, with Bowyer connecting with Payne for a 40-yard score after a play-action fake and rolling to his right.

“They bit on the play-action and I was wide open and just sprinted to the end zone,” Payne said.

“Tyler Bowyer did a good job of throwing the football,” Watts added.

It was Heritage’s fifth consecutive setback, starting with an overtime loss to E.C. Glass.

“It’s been a recurring nightmare in all three phases of the game,” Heritage coach Chris Jones said. “It’s definitely not one phase. All three phases haven’t been able to execute. Fumbles, interceptions, penalties — it all goes together. We’ve got a young team and until we can execute better, we’re going to go through some growing pain.”