Liberty romps over Emmaus, 29-22

FROM THE MORNING CALL

To head coach Dave Brown and defensive coordinator George Yasso, it's definitely nerve-racking. For the players, like seniors Jimmy McCarthy and Ahmad McFarland, it's simply exciting.

It all depends on perspective.

Liberty played another tense and entertaining game, this time earning a 29-22 win over Emmaus in a Lehigh Valley Conference contest Friday night at East Penn School District Stadium.

McCarthy again was a dual threat for the Hurricanes. An undersize, speedy quarterback, McCarthy rushed for a game-high 102 yards, including touchdowns covering 14 and 58 yards. He passed for 99 yards, including a 49-yard scoring strike to set the tone.
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His heroics helped the Hurricanes capture their second straight seven-point road victory over a quality opponent — they defeated Parkland 35-28 on Sept. 30 — after back-to-back defeats, including a 42-41 heartbreaker to unbeaten Nazareth.

Liberty is now 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the extremely competitive LVC.

While the veteran coach speaks of angst, the youthful player speaks of enjoyment.

"Every week, it's a grind," said Brown, wiping his forehead for emphasis. "They're all big games and you try not to put extra stress on the players and your staff, but I think they are must-wins. That's the way it is."

McCarthy said with a smile: "Knowing the playoffs are on the line, that makes each week so much fun. You're playing for something, and that's exciting."

Though the Hurricanes controlled most of the action, they were never able to completely put away Emmaus.

After McCarthy's 49-yard touchdown pass to Devon Jones opened the scoring, the Green Hornets responded with a 64-yard drive capped by an Andrew Kerson touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter. Khaleel Artis' two-point conversion run put the home team ahead 8-7.

Liberty reclaimed the lead when McCarthy sprinted to the end zone from 14 yards out midway through the second quarter. He added the two-point conversion run.

The game's biggest sequence came early in the third period. 'Canes linebacker Roger Boone made a diving interception to end a promising Emmaus drive, and on the next play McCarthy raced through the middle for a momentum-turning 58-yard touchdown run.

"They took away our outside run the whole game," McCarthy said. "The defensive tackles pinched down but there was a nice hole there. Barry Temple made a great block and Mike Harris had one downfield, too."

McCarthy got the glory but fullback Stephon Font-Toomer did most of the damage in the middle of the field. His 84 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries loosened up an Emmaus defense designed to stop Liberty's speedsters on the perimeter.

Jones broke free several times, adding 78 yards as the Hurricanes rolled up 259 rush yards overall.

"It's pick your poison," Brown said. "Sure, we'd like to get outside and go 60, 70 yards with one of our scatbacks, but we'll surely take four yards at a pop. We knew it would come down to the guys in the trenches."

Defensively, Liberty limited Artis, the Green Hornets' top offensive threat, to 65 yards — and just 25 after a 40-yard run on his first attempt. McFarland led the Hurricanes with two sacks, one tackle behind the line of scrimmage and a forced fumble.

"Sacks are hard to come by," McFarland said, "so it feels pretty good. I was hustling my butt off and I got to the quarterback. But No. 1 [Artis] was definitely our focus. We did a pretty good job on him."

Liberty likely gets a break from the "grind" against winless Dieruff next week before meeting Easton and city rivals Freedom and Bethlehem Catholic.

"The back-to-back wins on the road," Brown said, "I couldn't be prouder of our guys."

Emmaus fell to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the LVC. Kerson passed for 185 yards in the losing effort.

"Every week is like a playoff game," Green Hornets coach Joe Bottiglieri said. "Next up is Easton and it's another game we need to win."

Michael Blouse is a freelance writer.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-liberty-emmaus-football1007-20111007,0,6511067.story