By Monroe Williamson, Leader Sportswriter
Cuero rallied in the second half and edged out the Liberty Hill junior varsity 7-6 last Thursday night in a hard-fought defensive struggle. After the game, Coach Brian Hermann told his team it needed to “finish plays” and “overcome adversities” if the Panthers wanted to win. The loss evened Liberty Hill’s record to 1-1 for the year.
Liberty Hill took the opening kickoff at its 37. J.J. Perry broke loose on a 42-yard run before being stopped at the Cuero 2. Two plays later, Dylan Burrus scored. The two-point conversion failed and Liberty Hill led 6-0.
Neither team managed much offense and the first half ended with Liberty Hill leading.
The pivotal play of the contest occurred on Cuero’s opening drive in the second half. The Gobbler JV completed a 32-yard pass and on the tackle it appeared Liberty Hill came up with a fumble recovery. The officials gave the ball back to Cuero and on third and 12 from the Liberty Hill 22 Cuero scored on a pass to Wayne Nolton. The PAT kick was good and Cuero led 7-0.
Liberty Hill responded with a 12-play drive that included strong runs from Austin Zamoria, Kyle Marshall and Perez. However, the drive ended on the Cuero 12 when Liberty Hill fumbled. The Panthers had another chance, but a nine-play drive ended on the Cuero 20 when Liberty Hill failed to convert on a fourth and two.
***
Liberty Hill’s ninth grade contest with the Cuero freshmen was not pretty, and for a couple of reasons. The locals lost 42-14 in a contest that was called with 2:55 left in the contest due to an injury to Efrain Colon Pena. It was a scary time at Panther Stadium, and after 30 minutes Efrain was transported by ambulance. The Panther coaching staff later reported Pena had suffered what’s known as a “stinger” and will be fine in a week or so.
After falling behind 22-0, Liberty Hill’s Corey Ferrel and John Spurgeon gave the Panthers a spark as they drove 69 yards for a touchdown with Spurgeon scoring from three yards out. Spurgeon added two on the conversion, and the first half ended with Liberty Hill trailing 22-8.
The visitors added to their lead in the second half, scoring twice to build up a 36-8 lead before Cody Maupin scored in the fourth quarter for the Panthers.
