Hall’s 85-yard TD quickly breaks Liberty’s spirit

After struggling for victories for its first few years of existence, Liberty’s football team was riding high after the biggest win in program history last week at Silverado.

On Friday night, Del Sol quickly made sure that momentum would not carry the Patriots through to another victory.

Earnest Hall ran for an 85-yard touchdown on the Dragons’ first offensive play, and Del Sol never let up en route to a 31-6 home victory over Liberty.

Hall added a 64-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and finished with 219 yards on 17 carries. His performance accounted for two-thirds of the Dragons’ 330 rushing yards.

“It takes all of us working together and all of the offensive line working together,” Hall said of his team’s ability to run early and often. “They opened up a lot of holes tonight.”

Derek Eamon also rushed for two scores for Del Sol (4-1, 1-0 Southeast League). He said it was obvious early that the Patriots (3-2, 1-1) were not completely into the game.

“After (Hall) had that (first) big run, their heads went down,” Eamon said. “We saw them slow down, and they were not hustling in and out of the huddle after that.”

It was a letdown Liberty coach Lou Markouzis feared.

“Silverado was such an emotional game for Liberty High School. We were concerned we were going to take a dip,” he said. “The kids were getting high-fives at school all week.

“We can’t take a win like last week like it’s a Super Bowl win. That’s part of the learning process as far as becoming a winning program.”

It was all part of the plan for Del Sol.

“They had high heads after beating Silverado,” Eamon said. “Since they haven’t been here before, we thought they might not know how to handle it, and we were ready for them.”

The Patriots struggled on both sides of the ball, especially in the first half. Del Sol outgained Liberty 271-95 before halftime and took an 18-0 lead.

Hall’s opening touchdown came after Liberty started the game in Del Sol territory following a long kickoff return. The Patriots took possession on the Dragons’ 34-yard line but turned the ball over on downs at the 15, setting up Hall’s first long run.

Eamon scored later in the first quarter and added a second-quarter touchdown. He finished with 50 yards and two scores on four carries.