Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – A brilliant pregame sunset awash in vibrant shades of purple may have signaled what was to come.

After a rugged five-game schedule that included four ranked opponents and another receiving votes in the latest Associated Press prep football rankings, the purple-clad Liberty High Lightning took out some frustration on visiting Mount Pleasant.

“Well, it’s the first one,” Liberty first-year Coach James Harris said after he earned his first victory, 56-0, in a Class 4A, District 3 contest Friday night at Liberty High School. “We still have control of our own destiny. So if we win out these next three games, we have an opportunity to make the playoffs. Glad we took that step. It is just great to get a win for our guys. We have put in a lot of time and a lot of work.”

Liberty (1-5, 1-1 District 4) scored touchdowns on each of its six first-half offensive possessions. After stuffing the Mount Pleasant offense on its first possession, Liberty junior quarterback Tye Hughes directed a six-play, 67-yard scoring drive that culminated in his 24-yard touchdown toss to senior receiver Luke Meyers.

“We had all the momentum,” Hughes said. “Football is a game of momentum. We knew if we could just keep the momentum, we weren’t going to stop.”

On the ensuing kickoff, Liberty senior kicker Emerson Bennett sent a towering boot high atop the Mount Pleasant kick coverage team.

The hangtime gave Liberty junior Wyatt Williams a chance to sprint downfield and smother the ball at the Panthers’ 22-yard-line.

“We give him all the juice,” Liberty senior tailback Darius Willis-Newell said. “He’s a playmaker just like his older brother who played for us a couple of years ago, Kaleb. It’s in their family.”

The Lightning immediately cashed in with the bonus offensive possession as Willis-Newell sprinted for a 22-yard touchdown on the next play.

“I just saw an opening and I took it,” Willis-Newell said.

Less than four minutes into the game, the rout was on. Liberty, 14-0.

“That was really great,” said sophomore defensive lineman Dantrell Skinner, who deflected a pass and recorded a sack. “Get the team excited. Keep running the score up. Just do what we do.”

Hughes added first-half TD passes of five yards to junior receiver Amari Thigpen and eight yards to Williams.

After a second Willis-Newell TD run extended the Lightning lead to 35-0, Hughes capped the first-half scoring with an 18-yard TD burst in which he dropped back to pass, executed a spin move to elude the Mount Pleasant pass rush, then sprinted down the left sideline.

“Tye has taken a lot of bullets all year,” Harris said. “I am glad to see him experience that success. He made some really great reads tonight. He has really shown a lot of growth. Made a lot of good reads that shows a lot of maturity that he has learned these first five games, which is awesome.”

Harris finished with 90 pass yards, 22 on the ground and accounted for four total touchdowns in one half of action. Willis-Newell ran for 96 yards and two scores, while reserve tailback Trey Gregoire added a 10-yard score in the closing seconds of the game.

Liberty’s 56 points exceeded its combined point total in its first five games this season.

“It felt good,” Willis-Newell said. “We played all those good teams in the opening weeks, so right now I just like finally being able to show that we are a top team even though the record might not look like it. We are competitors.”

The Liberty defense forced a pair of turnovers, including fumble recovery by defensive lineman Griffin Kraft and an electrifying 90-yard interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter by reserve defensive back Garrett Gregoire that preserved Liberty’s first shutout on defense since 2019.

“It was great, great feeling,” Skinner said. “I hope everyone had a great time. Loved the fans, loved the energy from everyone. It just feels great. Amazing. Great coaching. Everything.”

Isaiah Albright led Mount Pleasant (1-5, 0-2) with 91 rush yards.

Liberty will bring its newfound head of steam into a road tussle with district leader and seventh-ranked Fort Madison (6-0, 2-0) next Friday.

“Well, Fort Madison beat Mount Pleasant, 42-7,” Harris said. “They are obviously a really good team. The quarterback is really good. They have got a receiver that is really good. We have just got to be ready to go.”

                                   MP                  ICL

First Downs                11                    10

Rushes-yards              28-80              16-146

Comp-Att-Int              8-21-1             13-16-0

Passing yards              54                    142

Total yards                  134                  288

Punts-avg.                   4-31.8              1-32.0

Fumbles-lost               3-1                   1-1

Penalties-yards           3-20                 3-25

Mount Pleasant         0   0   0  0   –  0

Iowa City Liberty     21 21  0 14  –  56

ICL – Luke Meyers 24 pass from Tye Hughes (Emerson Bennett kick)

ICL – Darius Willis-Newell 22 run (Bennett kick)

ICL – Amari Thigpen 5 pass from Hughes (Bennett kick)

ICL – Wyatt Williams 8 pass from Hughes (Bennett kick)

ICL – Willis-Newell 7 run (Bennett kick)

ICL – Hughes 18 run (Bennett kick)

ICL – Garrett Gregoire 92 interception return (Bennett kick)

ICL – Trey Gregoire 10 run (Bennett kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – Mount Pleasant: Carson Coleman 6-(-6), Payton Hagans 4-(-4), Isaiah Albright 15-91, Dylon Hagans 2-1, Zerek Venghaus 1-(-2). Liberty High: Tye Hughes 2-22, Trey Gregoire 3-32, Darius Willis-Newell 10-96, Graham Beckman 1-(-4).

PASSING – Mount Pleasant: Carson Coleman 7-19-1 63, Jacob Richtman 0-1-0 0, Owen Vansickel 1-1-0 (-9). Liberty High: Tye Hughes 8-10-0 90, Graham Beckman 5-6-0 52.

RECEIVING – Mount Pleasant: Carter Amos 4-34, Jurha Turner 1-12, Wyatt Woodsmall 1-9, Chayse Irving 1-(-9), Garrett Cook 1-8. Liberty High: Ja’Quez Hall 1-0, Christian Barney 1-20, Amari Thigpen 3-21, Garrett Gregoire 1-(-2), Luke Meyers 1-24, Wyatt Williams 2-25, Lucas Meyer 1-12, Ethan Duecker 1-0, Ben Petersen 1-16, Griffin Kraft 1-26.

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