The Eagles played a challenging game against the Warrenton Warriors for the first official Friday night lights since COVID-19 took over the stadium. Many Liberty students made the drive to Warrenton and cheered on the team as they defeated Warrenton 28-14. 

“Since last year we didn’t get to go to football games, this game was exciting and it was fun to start remembering the chants,” senior Maddie Ashlock said.

The Eagles started off strong with junior Ethan Weiler scoring the first touchdown of the game with 9:48 left in the first quarter. Warrenton soon stepped up to the challenge, and completed a pass to the end zone. After the touchdown, the Warriors completed a two-point conversion, and took an 8-6 lead going into the second quarter. 

Warrenton built upon this momentum and used it against the Eagles, scoring their next touchdown off a pass interception. This made the score 14-6, but not for long. Weiler ran in another touchdown for the Eagles, and this time they completed the two-point conversion with a quarterback keeper by sophomore Noah Kuehner. The game was tied 14-14 going into the second half with both teams neck-and-neck with each other. 

“First quarter we played selfish and for ourselves. Second quarter we started playing for each other and for the team,” senior Cole Blackstock said. 

The third quarter was scoreless, but many players were injured during this point in the game. Eagles’ starting quarterback, senior Reece Davidson, was sacked on a mid-air throw, which left him out of the majority of the remaining game. Colby Adelsberger and Matt Craig were also some of the starting Eagles who were assisted off the field during this quarter, but both players were able to return to the field after being looked over by the trainer. 

Fourth quarter is when the Eagles took over the momentum of the game. Liberty fought a brutal game, toiling to gain each yard in every play they ran. The defense did an amazing job of getting the ball back so the offense could score. One of the most memorable moments of the game was when senior KJ Lyles held the ball over his head in victory after he recovered a Warrior fumble. This play by Lyles led to the next Eagles touchdown that put Liberty in the lead.

“Second half we really flipped the switch,” senior Zach Burright said. “We needed to play hard and we needed to bring it. We needed to win.” 

The Eagles brought it home with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter by Kuehner and junior Marquise Williams, bringing the score to 28-14. The Eagle’s season started off on the right foot as they earned their first win of the year against the Warriors. 

Liberty travels to Timberland this Friday. Timberland also won their first game of the season with a 24-13 victory at Lafayette.