Liberty High School football team defeats Northampton Area High School 34-7

FROM TOM HINKEL

In addition to being very fast, Devon Jones proved to be a clever tactician Friday night.

The Liberty High School speedster returned a bouncing punt 71 yards for a touchdown and the Hurricanes turned in a number of big plays en route to a 34-7 victory over host Northampton in the Lehigh Valley Conference opener for both teams at Al Erdosy Field.

Senior slotback Michael Harris ran 58 yards for a Liberty score and tossed a 7-yard option pass to sophomore wide receiver K.J. Williams for another touchdown.

Senior fullback Stephon Font-Toomer ran 13 yards for a score and senior quarterback Jim McCarthy capped the scoring with an 8-yard TD run.

Liberty coach Dave Brown was satisfied with the win but still sees room for improvement.

"Good teams find ways to win games when they don't play their best," Brown said. "In my mind, you're not supposed to be playing your best football in Week 2."

"It wasn't pretty but we got the win," said Jones, a senior slotback.

Liberty (2-0 overall, 1-0 LVC) was clinging to a 14-7 third-quarter lead when Northampton (0-2, 0-1) punted into Hurricanes territory. The ball bounced several times and nearly came to a stop before Jones scooped it up, found an opening along the left sideline, and raced 71 yards to the end zone.

Tim Kane's PAT extended Liberty's lead to 21-7.

"I waited until the (Northampton) guys closed in before I picked it up," Jones said. "I was fast enough to accelerate and make the play. I saw a couple guys slow down. I caught them sleeping. It was my big chance. I was just trying to make a big play for the team."

"That punt return was huge," Brown said.

The Hurricanes' defense also enjoyed plenty of success as Williams, linebacker Kimani John and safety Anthony Orlando intercepted Konkrete Kids quarterback Patrick Cook.

Liberty took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Harris took a handoff from McCarthy and threw a wobbly pass that settled into the arms of an open Williams.

"None of our passes are pretty," Brown said smiling. "It was pitch-and-catch, basically. I'm used to our passes fluttering and going end-over-end."

Northampton tied it 7-7 on Cook's 67-yard TD pass to running back Brandon Heimbach with 7:45 left in the first half. The rest of the night belonged to the Hurricanes.

"(Liberty) has great team speed," Konkrete Kids coach Bob Steckel said. "We had a couple breakdowns and they took advantage. Our kids played their hardest. I'm proud of the way they battled. If you want to beat a team like Liberty you have to play a perfect game."

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