Liberty rushes past Green Valley

Daylight might be hard to see through No. 9 Liberty’s offensive line, but the group certainly created plenty of it Friday night for the Patriots’ running backs.

Liberty opened Southeast Division play by running through Green Valley, piling up 402 rushing yards in a 34-14 home victory. The Patriots (3-1, 1-0) have now won their last three games.

Liberty put on a powerful display in the opening nine minutes with its rushing attack. With its linemen winning the point of attack, Liberty drove 72 and 74 yards for touchdowns. Teu Tai scored both times, first from 14 yards and then from four.

Tai finished with 95 yards, one of three Liberty backs who piled up nearly 100 yards apiece. Freshman back Niko Kapeli led the Patriots with 133 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Chris Smith ran for 95 yards, including a 10-yard score.

Green Valley (2-2, 0-1) had a couple of chances to stay in the game in the first half, but stalled two drives in Liberty’s red zone. One ended on a botched snap on a field goal try and the second resulted in a Nolan Kohorst field goal miss from 32 yards.

Liberty put the game out of reach right after halftime, as Smith’s touchdown capped a quick six-play, 46-yard drive to give the Patriots a 20-0 edge just six minutes into the third quarter.

Jordan Corbett provided a bright spot for the Gators, both at quarterback and wide receiver. Corbett snagged two passes from Paul

McKay for 54 yards in the first half, then threw for 79 yards on 8-of-11 passing in the second half; that included a 6-yard scoring pass to Cameron Hardy in the fourth quarter.

Hardy finished with five catches for 55 yards.