Lamar knocks off Liberty in Class 2 quarterfinals

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By Riley Bean

Lamar, MO – “A thorn in their side” doesn’t seem like a strong enough metaphor.

On Saturday – for the sixth time in the last seven years – the Lamar Tigers ended MV-BT/Liberty’s season.

Lamar is in a league of their own in Class 2 football in the state of Missouri, and Saturday’s 42-7 victory proved it.  For the second year in a row, Liberty entered their contest with Lamar boasting an impressive 12-0 record.  And for the second year in a row, the Eagles were eliminated by the five-time defending state champs.

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“Honestly, playing Liberty is extremely stressful,” said Lamar coach Scott Bailey.  “The offense that they play and the defense that they play create a lot of stress in practice during the week.  If you were at our practices during the week, I was very loud and very vocal compared to a lot of other weeks because it’s just high-stress playing Coach Acklin.  Playing against Liberty is a high-stress game.”

In the game’s first possession, Lamar missed a 40-yard field goal, shifting the momentum to Liberty early on.  The Eagles were then held to a three-and-out, however, setting up a 42-yard touchdown run for Luke Hardman on the subsequent possession, putting Lamar up 7-0 in the first period.

After Lamar forced yet another Liberty punt, the Tigers used 16 plays to drive 87 yards, ending with a 12-yard touchdown run from Anthony Wilkerson.  But a bad snap on the extra-point try forced yet another missed kick, giving Liberty hope down just 13-0.

Josh Pruett and company led Liberty down the field on the ensuing possession.  Pruett completed 4-6 passes for 65 yards on the drive, setting up running back Marcos Rodriguez to punch it in from the 10-yard line.  The senior Pruett finished 11-22 for 112 yards.

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Liberty closed the gap to 13-7, but Lamar killed all hope just before the half.  The Tigers ate up the clock on an 11-play drive that finished with Hardman scoring another touchdown with just 13.3 seconds in the first half.  They made the two-point conversion, bringing the score to 21-7 at the break.

The Tigers asserted their dominance in the second half.  They didn’t allow another point from the opponent while scoring 21 more points of their own, including two one-yard touchdown runs from junior quarterback Stuart McKarus.

“Earlier in the week, we knew this game was going to be a lot harder competition, so this week’s practice was really intense,” McKarus said.  “They [Liberty] are a very disciplined, physical team.  If they get a couple stops on us, they get momentum if they get stops.  They’re good.”

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McKarus racked up 60 yards on 17 carries and also passed for 48 yards.  The senior Luke Hardman rushed ten times for a team-high 89 yards, and Matt Whyman added 84 yards on 13 carries.  Lamar rushed for 362 yards as a team.

“I can know all the X’s and O’s in the world,” said Coach Bailey, “and believe me, there’re a lot better X’s and O’s coaches that we play against than I am here, but we got kids and we’ve got a lot of them.  We’ve had a good continuous run of them over however many years… So if you want to attribute [our success] to one thing, its lots of really good football-playing kids.”

Lamar is heading off to play Brentwood (11-1) next Saturday in the Class 2 semifinals.  The Tigers have one thing in mind: claiming their sixth-straight state championship.

“There’s nothing else like it,” said McKarus.  “This is amazing.  There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for anybody on this team.”

“Seven more days of football,” Coach Bailey said.  “We try to just look at it like that.  Get to Friday, or today get to Saturday, and earn yourself seven more days.

“I’ve got seniors that have been with me since third grade.  So does coach Acklin.  Them boys have been with him since elementary school.  You just don’t want to see it end.  You want to play until MSHSAA says you can’t play anymore.”

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