City Prep Roundup | Liberty-Eylau's defense takes over in shutout win over Atlanta

ATLANTA, Texas - Thanks to a stingy defensive effort, resulting in five forced turnovers, Liberty-Eylau came out victorious over Atlanta on Friday.

The Leopard defense held the Rabbits to a mere 99 total yards in the contest, not allowing a single yard through the air, on the way to a 36-0 win at Rabbit Stadium. Liberty-Eylau's offense more than tripled that output, with 339 total yards, and gained 21 first downs, compared to just seven first downs by Atlanta.

Cal Jones picked off three passes in the second half, while J.J Hampton threw for 186 yards and Imahd Hicks galloped for 100 rushing yards on just 16 carries. Hampton and Hicks also added a rushing touchdown each, as the Leopards piled up 29 points in the second half.

Marquarius Price added 49 rushing yards on seven carries to go along with a TD, as Brendon Wells added a TD grab and Wyatt Jones hauled in four catches for 52 yards. Shawn White caught a touchdown pass and picked off a pass, while Michael Walker recorded three catches for 59 yards to go along with an interception of his own.

"We kept playing great defense all night, number one," Leopard Head Coach Dewaski Davis said. "Number two - they got us out of sync with some things they were doing to us early, but our coaches made some halftime adjustments. And we came out and executed a little bit better."

Hicks dashed for a 14-yard touchdown with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter, following a 29-yard grab by Wyatt Jones. This score capped a six-play, 57-yard drive by L-E.

Price scampered for a 45-yard TD with 2:28 left in the third.

The defensive onslaught would continue for the Leopards in the second half, as L-E picked off four passes on four consecutive Atlanta campaigns by the hands of Jones and Walker.

"They have a pretty athletic team, and they got some key players," Dewaski said. "But Coach (Charlie) Gomez and his staff did a heck of a job."

L-E capitalized on the Rabbits' second-half mistakes, as its final three scores came after interceptions by the Leopard defense. White and Wells had TD receptions from Hampton, covering 1 and 5 yards, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

Liberty-Eylau's defense was fierce to start the game, forcing Atlanta's offense into two turnovers in the first half. White picked off a pass that was tipped by Michael Riley inside the Atlanta 20, and Riley would later go on to recover a fumble at the Rabbit 37.

Both ensuing L-E drives resulted in turnover on downs as the Atlanta defense frustrated the Liberty-Eylau offense for much of the half, as well.

Hampton bulldozed his way in for a 1-yard score with 59 seconds left to break the scoreless tie. On that scoring march, the Leopards put together a masterful 11-play, 88-yard possession behind Hampton's arm. The biggest play from the drive came on a 39-yard strike from Hampton to Michael Walker.

Prior to the game, Destinee Wells was named as Atlanta's Homecoming Queen.

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