Sunday, November 22, 2009
Liberty wins on big 'pick 6'
Anthony Reynolds returns an interception 101 yards for a TD to give Liberty the lead.
varsity.roanoke.com
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BEDFORD -- Folks at Liberty High School labored long and hard to attempt to dry 100 yards worth of soggy football field this week.
So, Anthony Reynolds figured why not use it all?
And then some.
Reynolds turned in Timesland's top game-changing play of the season Saturday night as the Liberty junior returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown with four seconds left in the first half to spark the Minutemen to a 35-28 victory over R.E. Lee-Staunton in a Region III Division 3 semifinal.
Liberty (10-1) might not be hosting Northside next week in the championship game had it not been for Reynolds' theft, which gave the Minutemen a 21-14 halftime lead and snatched all the momentum away from the visitors.
The junior free safety's play wasn't quite single-handed. Liberty teammate Kody Outhong deflected the pass from Devante White away from intended for receiver Terrell Mickens at the goal line. Then, Reynolds tipped the ball to himself with his left hand and took off up the left sideline.
"My corner and I got burnt the previous time so I just tried to help," Reynolds said. "He played it perfect and tipped it up and it came right to me."
Reynolds had almost no room to maneuver in front of the Lee bench, but somehow he found enough daylight to stay in bounds, cut across the field and streaked to the end zone.
"I was about to go out of bounds," Reynolds said. "I thought twice. It just happened. I'm proud of myself."
Reynolds, the 2008 Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year on defense, has made returning interceptions and kicks for touchdowns almost routine in his three years of varsity football.
"Some things are just God-given," Liberty coach Chris Watts said. "He's a God-gifted athlete who in the last couple of years has matured as a football player. He understands that he can't just step out there and be better than everybody like you do when you're young."
The R.E. Lee junior quarterback will return for one more year, and that's not a thought Watts wants to entertain at the moment.
White ran for 189 yards on 27 carries, and passed for another 199 yards and four touchdowns as the Fighting Leemen (8-4) were a threat to score as long as he was on the field.
"We're going to have to deal with him next year," Reynolds said. "I told him going through the line, he's smooth, he's fast."
White hit Chris Williams for an 80-yard TD pass in the first half, then found Terrell Mickens for TDs of 4, 8 and 24 yards in Lee's spread offense.
"He's a threat every time he drops back," Watts said. "I've seen a lot of film and we watched him last week. And he looked good, but he played phenomenal tonight. I don't know if we made him look phenomenal. He did everything he needed to do and more."
Liberty did most of its damage on the ground.
Reynolds picked up 117 yards on just four carries. His 61-yard sprint to open the second half gave the Minutemen a 28-14 lead. Malcolm McCoy added 111 yards on 16 attempts, including a 36-yard TD to open the game.
Quarterback Tyler Bowyer scored on a 10-yard run to tie the game at 14 late in the first half. He finished with 65 yards on 12 carries. Fullback Thomas Clark's 35-yard TD run put Liberty up 35-21. He had 94 yards on 10 attempts as Liberty rushed for 411 yards.
"They're fast. They made more plays," Lee coach David Tibbs said. "They were the better team tonight."
Robert E. Lee 7 7 7 7--28
Liberty 7 14 14 0--35
L -- McCoy 36 run (Rawlins kick)
REL -- Williams 80 pass from White (Burdick kick)
REL -- Mickens 4 pass from White (Burdick kick)
L -- Bowyer 10 run (Rawlins kick)
L -- Reynolds 101 interception return (Rawlins kick)
L -- Reynolds 61 run (Rawlins kick)
REL -- Mickens 8 pass from White (Burdick kick)
L -- Clark 45 run (Rawlins kick)
REL -- Mickens 24 pass from White (Burdick kick)
REL L
First downs 17 19
Yards rushing 34-219 49-411
Passes C-A-I 10-19-1 3-6-0
Yards passing 199 34
Penalties-yards 1-5 2-10
Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-1
Punts-average 2-42.5 3-39.3
Individual statistics
RUSHING -- R.E. Lee, White 27-189, Anderson 4-21, Curry 1-5, Hawkins 1-4, Williams 1-0. Liberty, Reynolds 4-117, McCoy 16-111, Clark 10-94, Bowyer 12-65, Sparrow 3-15, Smith 2-11, Anderson 1-0, Team 1-(-2).
PASSING -- R.E. Lee, White 10-18-1-199, Mickens 0-1-0-0. Liberty, 3-6-0-34.
RECEIVING -- R.E. Lee, Mickens 6-77, Williams 3-116, Curry 1-6. Liberty, Reynolds 2-7, Kerr 1-27.
