TEXARKANA, Texas -- Liberty-Eylau is working on reclaiming and building a new legacy.
The team absorbed its only loss of the non-district schedule last week and are open this Friday before jumping into its district race.
The Leopards have scored 90 points and allowed just 72 through five games, including collecting one shutout. Liberty-Eylau has pulled off three wins by four points or less with two of those wins coming by just two-point margins.
"We've felt like the close games have made us a little stronger as a team," fourth-year head coach Dewaski Davis said. "Our kids play hard and work well together. They get along extremely well; they're an extremely close-knit group of kids, and that's helping us in more ways than one."
Quarterback JJ Hampton has completed 61-of-112 passes for 541 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions, and Cal Jones is 4-of-8 for 106 yards and a TD. Jones also has a rushing score.
Greg London leads the ground attack for the Leopards with 69 rushes for 287 yards and three scores, and Rodric Galloway adds 33 totes for 135 yards and a touchdown.
In the receiving corps., WT Jones has 15 catches for 102 yards and a TD, Dequane Provo has 14 receptions for 203 yards and four scores, London adds 11 grabs for 68 yards and Kayden Cooper has nine catches for 143 yards and a TD.
"(Starting district), this is the new season, this is the one we've been preparing ourselves for," Davis said. "We can't look ahead to anyone. We've got to play each game one week at a time, and we've got to keep getting better each week. We're really focusing on fundamentals and things of that nature during our open week, try to clean up some stuff and get ready to have a strong district campaign."
L-E has been a playoff team the past two seasons. The Leopards host Spring Hill to open District 7-4A, Division II next Friday.
Liberty-Eylau's defense has limited opponents to an average of under 250 yards per game.
Cameron Hadaway has 45 total tackles for the Leopards, WT Jones is second on the list with 42 and also has an interception, fumble recovery and defensive score, and Tracy Revels has 37 stops and two fumble recoveries.
London adds 31 tackles, Cal Jones has 24 stops and Kennedy Griffins 23 tackles. Tarvious Neal also has an interception return for a touchdown.
"We're trying to make sure we bring all the Liberty-Eylau tradition back," Davis said. "We've got the paw on the cardinal helmet; we want to get back close to home for these kids and our fans.
"We want to reiterate to the kids that we're working to get this program back to where it was, and our kids have really bought in, during the offseason and during the season, working and getting better. We tell them all the time, you need to leave your legacy now. There's a lot of history, but they've got an opportunity to leave their legacy in front of everybody."
Liberty-Eylau throttled Paris, 28-0, on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Harris Field in Texarkana, Texas. (Photo by JD)