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Liberty High hopes to make best

of underdog role in playoff game

Now is the time to let it all hang out.

Now that the Liberty High football team has withstood the pressure and met preseason expectations by making the Class 6 playoffs, there should be little pressure on the Blue Jays.

Liberty is the prohibitive underdog as it faces longtime Missouri state high school power Rockhurst at 7 p.m. in a sectional game Friday, Nov. 6, at Rockhurst High. The Blue Jays have only beaten the Hawklets once in their history (1997) and while both teams have an 8-2 record this season, Rockhurst has played the more difficult schedule.

So the Blue Jays are trying to go into the game with a carefree, but focused, attitude. They want to shock the world and believe they have enough weapons to have a chance to do just that.

“We are going to go down there and not hold anything back,” said Liberty coach Joel Wells. “We are excited about the opportunity.  It would have been a disappointing year if we had not made the playoffs and now that we have, we are going to cut it loose and play well.”

Rockhurst’s losses have come to Hutchinson (Kan.) and Mullen (Colo.), both highly-ranked teams in their states. The Hawklets beat Blue Springs, the Class 6 District 8 champions, 17-3, while the Blue Jays were blown out by the Wildcats in the second half in a 51-21 loss.

“Rockhurst is very quick and physical defensively,” Wells said. “They are one of the best, if not the best, defensive teams we’ll face. Our big-play guys will have to make plays for us to win the game. The biggest thing for us will be how we do on first and third down. We aren’t going to convert many third and longs. We need to get ourselves in good position to keep the chains moving.”

None of the Blue Jays playing in the game have playoff experience. The last time Liberty was in the Class 6 playoffs was 2005.

“The biggest thing about playoff football is that you have to value every possession,” Wells said. “It’s kind of like basketball. You have to get a shot every trip down the court. With every possession, you have to score or turn the field position in your favor. If you don’t do that, you aren’t going to be very successful. If you can win in the kicking game, you have a great chance to win a playoff game.”