Mistakes haunt Liberty North in loss

Steve Smith/PrepsKC

By Brian Spano PrepsKC Senior Writer
Posted: September 21, 2012 - 11:40 PM



David Allie knew exactly what his Raytown South Cardinals needed to do. Contain Liberty North running back Antwynn Beavers, and you stand a chance.
 
Sure, Beavers would get his yards, but could the Cardinal defense keep him out of the end zone.
 
Something must have clicked as Raytown South knocked off the Suburban Small Six Conference foe 20-7 Friday night.
 
Not only did the Cardinals (2-2) hold Beavers scoreless, but the defense recovered three of the four fumbles made throughout the course of the game. And these were turnovers that came well within Raytown South’s side of the field.
 
“The first half was by far, without a doubt, the worst half of football we’ve had all year,” Eagles head coach Ken Clemens said. “We haven’t even practiced that bad all year. The fumbles are just ridiculous.”
 
The plan all along was to not let Beavers get outside and run wild on the defense. It worked thanks to the play of linebackers senior Justin Turner and junior Malcolm Bowden
 
“We wanted to stop the outside because we knew he liked to go to the outside,” Turner said of the game plan. “We just contained the outside and made sure we pushed it back in because we had help on the inside.”
 
Bowden heaped credit on the entire defensive squad.
 
“It was a total team effort,” Bowden said. “We knew he was fast. He came out fumbling, and we kept punching at the ball and did what we had to do to stop him.”
 
The Cardinals got on the board first late in the first quarter when Cameron Henderson tried to meander his way to the goal line from the 10-yard line, but coughed up the ball in the end zone. Wide receiver Dyrell Green pounced on it for the score.
 
Ray-South added two quick touchdowns just before halftime. The first came off of a 70-yard run from Sean Allen, and the second a 21-yard run, again Allen.
 
The Eagles (1-3) pulled its defense together and held the Cardinals scoreless in the second half. Its lone score came early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Bryan Sharp hooked up with tight end Brinkley Jolly for a 7-yard strike.
 
The difference in this game was turnovers and defense. North had five in all is negative 15 in turnover ratio on the season, while South turned the ball over just once, and that came late in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided.
 
Allie couldn’t have been prouder of the way his defense came to play.
 
“Beavers is a great back, but our goal was accomplished keeping him out of the end zone,” he said. “The defense played lights out. The team that wins the turnover battle wins the game.”
 
Clemens knew before the game that his team wasn’t ready to play.
 
“Our kids did not show up to play football tonight,” Clemens said. “They were expressionless. They were flat and lackadaisical. They all had the blank stare the whole first half and then came out in the second half and gave up only two first downs but kept fumbling it. It’s unexplainable to me.”