It’s safe to say Liberty North is ready for the regular season to start.
Liberty North, who come into the season as one of the favorites to win the Class 6 championship, wrapped up their preseason at Lee’s Summit on Friday.
The final dress rehearsal was a tune up for what’s to come Week 1 — a showdown with Lee’s Summit North at home.
“It’s kind of tough,” Liberty North quarterback Sam Van Dyne said. “You don’t do any game preparations for jamborees because you’re playing so many teams. … it’s just running the plays you know against different defenses. So it’s good to see what works against (a certain style of defense).”
Liberty North opened its portion of the jamboree on offense against Lee’s Summit. After the Tigers defense got a few stops early, the Eagles used its new-look offensive line to kick start the offense as they established its powerful rushing attack that kept the Lee’s Summit defense on its toes.
After running the ball several times on its opening series, Liberty North went to the air to cap off the drive as sophomore quarterback Tillman Martin connected with Xavier Horn for a 12-yard touchdown.
After getting some rest, Van Dyne went back in with the first team offense and only needed one play as he connected with Horn on a deep post route for a 70-yard touchdown.
Van Dyne said he learned a lot from last year. He says he’s more confident in what he’s doing both on and off the field.
“I’ve definitely got more football smart, in terms of reading defenses and things like that,” he said.
Van Dyne wasn’t the only player who stood out on Friday. Lee’s Summit wide receiver, and Missouri commit, Joshua Manning made a few plays against Liberty North in the teams red zone period. On Lee’s Summit second play from scrimmage, Lee’s Summit quarterback Elijah Martinez threw a dart to Manning for the touchdown.
Lee’s Summit opens its season against Blue Springs South.
Grain Valley also showed some signs of life against two bigger programs. The offense was able to move the ball constantly against Liberty North, arguably one of the most talented teams they’ll see all season.
The night was capped off in a big way as Lee’s Summit’s defensive lineman Osahon Ogbeveon scored a touchdown with a 3-yard run up the middle.
