Thursday was all about the turkey. Friday was all about shopping.
But Saturday, Saturday was about football for the hundreds of Liberty North players, students, family, fans, coaches, and supporters who made the two-hour trek from Kansas City to Columbia for the Show Me Bowl and Class 6 high school football championship at The University of Missouri’s Faurot Field.
Liberty North faced St. Louis’ Christian Brothers College High School for the title, and both teams entered the game with only one loss on the season.
Things looked promising for the Eagles early when Matthew Hudson intercepted a CBC pass on the Cadets’ first possession, but when the Eagles were unable to capitalize on the turnover, CBC put it into high gear and promptly went up 14-0 early in the first quarter.
With 7 minutes remaining in the first, Eagles junior quarterback and D1 college prospect Sam Van Dyne connected with receiver Freddie Lavan on a 36-yard touchdown pass that put Liberty North back in the game and brought the Kansas City contingent in the crowd back to life… briefly.
6 Eagle turnovers and CBC’s ability to turn them into points on the board dug a hole too deep for Liberty North to climb out of.
Liberty North’s dynamic duo of Cayden Arzola and Micah Jo Barnett each found the endzone, but it was too little too late as the Eagles fell to CBC 48 – 21. The Eagles came into the contest averaging nearly fifty points per game.
Saturday’s Championship was the fourth state title for the CBC Cadets who finished the season with 13 wins in a row.
While the sting of the defeat was still fresh, head coach Greg Jones and players Van Dyne, Justis Braden, Aiden Anderson, and Myles Sigers gathered for a press conference that focused less on the loss and more on the successful season and how it bodes well for the future of Liberty North football.
“I appreciate the heck out of them, I love them to death,” Jones said of his players. “Today just wasn’t our day.”
With a District Championship to show for it and the first ever trip to the Show Me Bowl for any team from Liberty, the Eagles 2021 was nothing but an unqualified success.
It's masculine to show love and emotion to each other. More than a sport, it's real love. @JonesgGreg @LNEagleFootball @myCTsports https://t.co/yrdcjR8670 pic.twitter.com/OyVWo80BCS
— Liam (@liamkeating7) November 27, 2021
As a longtime sponsor of Liberty North athletic and academic programs, Gary Crossley Ford congratulates the team on their championship run and begins the long countdown to next year’s first kickoff at the Crossley Family Sports Complex.
