Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

 Liberty High

Head coach: Jeff Gordon (3rd season, 10-9)

Assistant coaches: Clint Feuerbach, Ronnie Hughes, Matt Hughes, Ben Eisenbach, Nate Oswald, Chuck Benda, Jeremy Mims, Joe Williams, Evan Downs

Last season: 7-3 (Class 3A first round)

Returning starters: Max Tafolla, Sr., RB/DE; Kolton Fangman, Sr., OL/DL; Kelby Telander, Sr., WR/DB; Luke Meyers, Jr., WR/DB; Jacob Adams, Jr., RB/DB; Darius Newell, Jr., RB/LB; Colin Shults, Jr., TE/DL

Other returning letterwinners: Max Beckman, Jr.; Brody Fishman, Sr.; Jacob Ganoe, Sr.; Gage Gingerich, Jr.; Henry Lucy, Sr.; Daqwan Sanders, Sr.; Larry Schillig, Sr.; Klein Thoensen, Sr.; Hayden Vickroy, Jr.

Newcomers to watch: Griffin Kraft, Beau Miller, Michael Miller, Payton Kurtz, Caden Yoeger

Playoff history: 1 appearance (2019).

Circle the date: August 28 vs. West High. The first game in Class 4A for Liberty High is a big one in more ways than one. The season opener against West High is the first ever meeting between the two cross-town rivals and gives the Lightning an early look at what has been one of the premier big school programs on the eastern side of the state over the last half decade.

Headliner: With his physical, downhill running style senior running back Max Tafolla is the perfect fit with his for the smashmouth style running game that Liberty High has prided itself on the past two seasons. The 6-foot, 215-pound Tafolla rushed for a team-high 1,136 yards and eight touchdowns last season while averaging 5.7 yards per carry helping the Lightning average better than 260 yards per game on the ground.

Unsung hero: It is easy to take line play for granted but that doesn’t happen at Liberty High where the Lightning have put an emphasis on winning in the trenches. The Lightning only bring back one starter on the offensive line but it’s a good one in senior Kolton Fangman. The 5-foot-11, 230-pound Fangman was an all-district pick a year ago and will be a leader up front for the Lightning this season.

Keep an eye on: Kelby Telander was an all-district defensive back last season when he ranked eighth on the team with 29.5 tackles and picked off two passes but the senior is just scratching the surface of what he could do. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds Telander has the size and speed to attract attention from college coaches and should be in for a big season on both sides of the ball.

Biggest question: How does the transition to Class 4A go? Liberty High didn’t need long to get things rolling. Following a 3-6 debut season in 2018 the Lightning took a big step last season going 7-3 and reaching the Class 3A playoffs. Now comes another test as Liberty High makes the move to Class 4A for the first time. The Lightning have gotten a taste of 4A football in the past, opening each of the past two seasons against City High. The first full 4A slate for Liberty High features a trio of 2019 playoff teams in Linn-Mar (6-4), Cedar Rapids Prairie (6-4) and Cedar Falls (10-1) as well as rivalry games with City High (2-7) and West High (4-5).

Quotable: “Last year was a complete motivator with going to the state playoffs for the first time we got to see what it was like to get in to the playoffs,” Liberty High senior defensive back Kelby Telander said. “We lost in the first round but it showed us what you have to do to advance to the next round that means getting in on every play and finishing every tackle. There were times last year where guys would break tackles, we slowed down a bit and everybody didn’t rush to the pile. That showed us what we need to work on and how important things are to beat successful teams and go deep into the postseason.”

2020 Schedule

August 28: West High

Sept. 3: @Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Sept. 11: Linn-Mar

Sept. 18: @Cedar Falls

Sept. 25: Cedar Rapids Washington

Oct. 2: Cedar Rapids Prairie

Oct. 9: @City High

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