Liberty sweeps Discovery in football for city middle school championship
Jacquez Chairs of Liberty runs after an interception
Pride was at stake tonight at Discovery Middle School as the two Madison middle schools settled their rivalry on the football field. The eighth grade game was decided by one point as Liberty came from behind to post a 29-28 win, their first over Discovery in seven years.
Earlier, the seventh grade teams swapped leads throughout the game but Liberty surged ahead late and added a late touchdown for a 25-14 victory.
Liberty Middle eighth grade team stayed undefeated at 6-0 and will play Cedar Ridge next week before going on to the North Alabama championship game where they will play Hartselle or Muscle Shoals.
“It’s just a great night for the Liberty program,” said head coach Michael Harper. “We’re trying to bring Liberty back to where it used to be and this was a great start. We’re going on to the championship game and this is the first time Liberty has been in it.”
Discovery eithth graders started strong putting an early touchdown on the board when Brad Anderson bolted 78 yards on the Panthers first play from scrimmage. The 2-point try was no good. Liberty struck back behind the running of Mikyle Stewart who scored from one yard out after a short drive. Hannah Ernst kicked the extra point for a 7-6 lead. Ernst was a perfect 3 for 3 on extra points and it would prove to be the difference.
The lead was short lived as Discovery’s Brad Anderson took the kickoff back 65 yards for a touchdown.
The teams started playing some defense in the second quarter as Liberty’s Mikail Stewart intercepted a fourth down pass. The Discovery defense had their moments such as when LaBryan Ray sacked Lions quarterback Stewart for a 10 yard loss.
Discovery struck again behind Anderson’s two first down runs. Kyriq McDonald took it in from one yard out to make it 20-7.
Liberty scored on a one yard run by Mikyle Stewart just before halftime.
Liberty has been relying on the Stewart brothers all season, Mikyle at quarterback and Mikail at wide receiver. Mikyle gave Liberty its first lead of the game in the third quarter and Ernst’s extra point made it 21-20.
“They are great athletes and very good kids. They work hard and they have a chemistry between the two of them and they just make plays,” said Harper.
They would need to make some more plays after Discovery surged ahead with a 39-yard run by Brad Anderson who then dived in from a yard out for his second touchdown of the game. A.J. Harris ran in the 2-point conversion for a 28-21 lead.
Liberty then put the ball in the hands of the the Stewart bothers who hooked up for a 25 yard pass and catch. This time it was Torolla Walker who scored the touchdown from 5 yards out after Liberty went for it on fourth down and just did get a first down. Steven Best took the direct snap on the two point conversion and ran it is to give Liberty the lead with 2:00 left in the game.
Liberty then recovered their onside kick and ran out the clock.
“Two teams 5-0 and they played their hearts out,” Harper said. “I have to commend Coach (Brad) Jefferson of Discovery. He is an incredible coach and he has been winning here at Discovery for a long time. I’m honored to get a win against him. It means a lot. We challenged our guys and they really wanted to get the win.”
“We challenged our guys to match their physical play. We knew how big and strong their offensive and defensive lines were. We are not as big as they are but we matched their strength pretty well tonight,” Harper said.
Harper also commended his kicker Hannah Ernst. “Hannah is incredible. She comes out before practice and kicks. She is making 35 yarders in practice. She has got what it takes to perform under pressure.”
LaByron Ray stood out for Discovery and looks to be a player who will advance to play at the next level.
Jefferson addressed both teams after the game and commended them for their effort. “This was smash-mouth football tonight and I want you to know I was impressed with the level of football I saw tonight on both teams,”Jefferson said. He then wished them the best as they move on to their respective high schools.
SEVENTH Grade game
Liberty Middle 25 Discovery Middle 14
Jake Stewart, the son of James Clemens football coach Bill Stewart, threw one touchdown pass and led Liberty to their fifth win of the season against only one loss. Stewart threw a touchdown a pass to Spencer Gilbert in the third quarter.
Devan Atkinson scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to break open a close game.
Atkinson’s first touchdown was a 37 yard run. Liberty rose up again on defense and forced and recovered a fumble. Atkinson scored again from 20 yards out with 3 minutes left.
The Liberty defense made enough plays to preserve the victory as Jacquez Chairs picked off a pass as time expired.
“I’m very proud of the team. A lot of them stepped up as leaders. They worked very hard and put a lot of effort into this game,” coach Michael Harper said.
Discovery has a record now of 4-2. Liberty goes to 5-1. Their only loss was early in the season to Sparkman. The Liberty team has another game next week at Cedar Ridge.
