As Liberty took the field the last two Fridays, the crowd could feel their excitement. They channeled this energy into the game throughout the night. On Aug. 30, Liberty faced off against Iowa City West in a highly anticipated game.
The Trojans scored the first touchdown of the game, but Liberty snapped back with their first touchdown of the night by Landon Bell (he/him), 11. The second touchdown was an accomplished run from Owen Drapeaux (he/him), 12. The high-intensity first quarter ended with the Trojans ahead, 19-14.
As the second quarter progressed, a few more touchdowns were made. Logan Laubenthal (he/him), 11 scored a critical touchdown, thanks to a trick play thrown up by Dallas Miller (he/him), 12. The last two touchdowns were made by Drapeaux and Sutton Koller (he/him), 12. As the second quarter drew to an end, Liberty was beginning to pull away, 35 Lightning, 26 Trojans.
The third quarter kicked off with Drapeaux scoring another touchdown. By the end of the quarter, the Lightning had scored seven more points, and West only six.
After a few more touchdowns by Koller and Miller, the game ended in a Lightning win, 56-45. For the win, Liberty received “The Principal’s Bell” trophy, taking it back.
The next week, the Lightning came ready to take on the City High Little Hawks at Bates Field. The Liberty offense started off strong, with two touchdowns in the first quarter, one by Drapeaux, the other by Koller. Meanwhile, the defense kept the Little Hawks out of their end zone.
During the second quarter, both teams scored twice. Both of Liberty’s touchdowns were made by Koller, for a combined total of 72 yards, leaving the score at 28-14 with Liberty ahead. As the team came back out for the second half of the game, both teams’ defense played well as no points were scored.
The Lightning got right to business in the fourth quarter and scored another 21 points, while the Little Hawks scored only six. Bell and Koller were responsible for these three touchdowns, getting one run and a 70-yard interception. The game with the Lightning winning 49-20. Liberty was awarded the “Zeus” trophy for beating their second crosstown rival.
While the Friday night games are exciting, the work is really put in behind the scenes. Scott Chandler, the new head coach for Liberty Football spoke about his principles when coaching a team.
“I value honesty and integrity and consistency. I think those three things can really help you have a great football team,” Chandler remarked.
Chandler also talked about the impact that Liberty football has had on him.
“It’s really got me ingrained in the community. Now, when I’m just at the grocery store or getting dinner, I’m usually seeing one of my players or another kid from the school,” Chandler explained. “I really like being able to be out in the community and have that neighborly feel.”
One of the most important parts of a team is its players. Chandler discussed the players who have demonstrated his values and impressed him thus far.
“When you look at Reece Rettig, he’s a kid who just really is critical of himself and able to look objectively at ‘how can I get better?’” shared Chandler. “Then, Ethan Barber, who comes to work every day, and you know, he’s a sacrificial guy. [Or] you’ve got guys who work really hard at getting better every day like [Dallas] Miller.”
Reece Rettig (he/him), 11, shared his gameplay strategies.
“My goal is to trust in seniors, but then also lead where you can,” said Rettig. “Just do your job and then the rest will come.”
Rettig also talked about winning against both his cross-town rivals.
“It’s probably the best part of it. You play the sport to win,” said Rettig. “All that playing can be for fun, but when you play, you play to win.”
Rettig did play to win, throwing two touchdown passes in the West game, and four in the City game as a great start to his varsity career. Out of all the touchdowns Rettig threw, Miller caught one during the West game, making the trick play successful by throwing to Laubenthal for a touchdown. Miller expressed later that this was his favorite play of the game.
Miller described the first game through his eyes.
“Everyone did good, but, defense needs to work on some things. Offense needs to work on some things. But that’s just what the first games are for,” Miller stated.
The defense for the Lightning was tough in both the West and City games. Part of that strong defense was Ethan Barber, who made one solo tackle and two assisted tackles in the West game. Barber also got one solo tackle, one assisted tackle and one sack on the quarterback in the City game.
Barber shared how he felt making such big tackles during the games.
“It’s probably one of the best feelings on the field, getting a tackle and being able to hear your name over the speaker,” said Barber.
Barber also expressed his feelings on beating both cross-town rivals.
“It felt great to come out with a win against West, because last year they left a really bad taste in our mouth,” said Barber. “Then the biggest game that I’ve been looking forward to all summer, all last year, was City, just because the rivalry with City is, I think, our biggest rivalry, and I really dislike them.”
The whole football team’s wish came true as the Lightning didn’t only beat one, but two cross-town rivals. Accomplishing this goal of winning both “The Principal’s Bell” trophy and the “Zeus” trophy was rewarding for not only the seniors but everyone who participated. This season’s strong start proves not only the strength of the team, but that Lightning really can strike twice.
