Headlines

Western football falls to Liberty in Region 3C semis

The Jefferson District offers a range of offensive schemes, from spreads to single wing to Fluvanna’s throwback Wing-T. But none of them were quite like the Triple-I with which Liberty rolled into—and through—Crozet in Friday night’s Region 3C semifinal.

 

“I had never seen that in person,” said Western Albemarle coach Ed Redmond. “It’s tough to defend that type of offense and they executed at a very high level tonight.”

 

The Minutemen amassed 357 yards and four touchdowns in the ground attack, with three players breaking the century mark. A pair of second half passing touchdowns from Carter Shifflett kept things from getting out of hand, but Liberty (7-5) cruised into an all-Lynchburg-area region final where they’ll face Heritage with a 35-14 win.

 

“We were able to control the clock tonight and put points on the board: that’s our recipe,” said Liberty coach Chris Watts. “It took us a while to get to this point. We were able to beat Brookville with it and win last week at Spotswood. When we can do that, it’s a good deal.”

 

Western received the opening kickoff and gained 24 yards on its first three plays before disaster struck on the fourth. As Carter Shifflett rolled to the right, he was chased down in the backfield and stripped, and senior defensive end Brandon Ruff made the recovery for Liberty. Sophomore running back Cortarius Gilmore picked up 30 yards on three carries before senior quarterback Aladdin Elroumy called his own number and cruised in for a 12-yard touchdown.

 

“Everybody was around the corner blocking for me,” said Elroumy. “That was a great job by all my teammates setting up that touchdown.”

 

Western’s offense sputtered for the rest of the first half, netting minus-11 yards and zero first downs. Shifflett was sacked four times, including on two of the half’s last three plays after a long kickoff return had reached midfield. Liberty, meanwhile, did not punt in the half. The Minutemen enjoyed excellent field position, never worse than its own 42, as Western failed to move the chains.

 

“That [first drive] turnover was a pivotal swing and it seemed like it put us on our heels,” Redmond said. “I’m not sure we ever fully recovered from that with field position for the first half. Any time you’re facing a team that’s executing like that, when you shorten the field for them, it becomes very challenging. Then it was hard to get our [offensive] rhythm.”

 

After grabbing the early 7-0 lead, Gilmore and junior running back Carlos Lorenzo each averaged more than 6 yards per carry as the Warriors’ defensive front struggled with the Triple-I and Liberty mounted three methodical scoring drives. The first covered 55 yards (including a false start) in nine plays and was capped by Elroumy plunging in from the 1 yardline. The Minutemen started the second quarter with another nine-play series that included conversions on the offense’s first two third downs of the game. Elroumy tallied his third touchdown on a 7-yard run. Finally, Liberty took more than five and a half minutes to drive 58 yards in 10 plays. Western had a chance to keep points off the board when Lorenzo fumbled inside the 5 yardline, but an offensive lineman recovered at the 1 to setup fourth-and-goal. Tré Saunders slipped in through the left side and it was 28-0 at the break.

 

“When they’re running an offense like that on all cylinders, it makes it difficult,” said Redmond. “To their credit, they took advantage of the opportunities and put it to us pretty good in the first half.”

 

After Liberty received the third quarter kickoff, it looked like more of the same was in store as the offense marched 73 yards in nine plays; however, on fourth-and-goal, Western’s defense rose and made its first stop of the night, stonewalling Gilmore at the 2. Then, the offense showed signs of life. Shifflett hit Breaker Mendenhall for 34 yards and the Warriors’ first first down since the game’s opening minute. Austin Shifflett picked up another with a couple of carries before Carter hit Jack Weyher for 12 yards. Liberty contributed 15 yards with a personal foul before Mendenhall hauled in an 18-yard touchdown.

 

“That’s my fault; an experienced coach should’ve kicked a field goal down there and they would’ve had no momentum at all,” Watts said. “It’s good for our kids in a way because they’ve got to stay focused, but I should’ve definitely kicked the field goal and not made it interesting.”

 

Western’s defense followed up their goalline stand with a three-and-out and a forced fumble-and-recovery on the next two series. But since the Warriors had dug a 28-point hole, the offense needed to score touchdowns on every possession. It didn’t quite reach that mark. After driving to the Liberty 21, back-to-back sacks ended one series on downs. On the next, Western faced third-and-21, but a Shifflett-to-Shifflett screen turned into footrace down the left sideline and ended as a 71-yard touchdown. The play cut the lead in half  at 28-14 with 9:24 on the fourth quarter clock.

 

“I thought our kids came out in the second half and put forth great effort, which I never doubt with these kids,” Redmond said. “Certainly in the second half, they came out and left it out there on the field.”

 

From there, the Minutemen went back to the Triple-I and uncorked another methodical, momentum-shifting 65-yard drive. On the ninth play, Lorenzo broke the 100-yard mark and picked up his first touchdown on an 8-yard run. Gilmore (16 carries for 114 yards) and Elroumy (20-123) joined Lorenzo (13-106) in triple-figures for the game. Elroumy completed 3-of-5 passes for 34 yards.

 

Western (9-3) ended its season having completed one of the area’s most significant turnarounds, going from 2017’s 2-8 record to the No. 3 seed in Region 3C.

 

“This is a group that really has been with us through all of the tough times,” Redmond said as the program bid farewell to 19 seniors. “To be able to endure some of those and come out on top is truly remarkable, and I’m really proud to be a part of it.”

 

Although the defense will have to replace most starters, the Warriors’ offensive leaders on the night should all be back for 2019. Carter Shifflett had a huge second half through the air, completing 8-of-11 passes for 225 yards after hitting just 1-of-3 in the first half for 1 yard. Mendenhall and Austin Shifflett each caught three for 65 and 113 yards, respectively. Austin Shifflett had 21 carries for 91 yards to wrap up an 1,800-yard season.

Comments

comments