The Levelland Lobos showed their grit Friday night during senior night after holding off the Liberty Patriots in an overtime thriller, 41-35.
The win earned the Lobos a playoff spot as the third seed heading into the bi-district round.
The Patriots kicked off the game with the first possession on offense scoring on a nine play drive. Leading 7-0, Liberty would recover a Levelland fumble on the kickoff return.
Another strong offensive drive by the Patriots would result in another seven points putting the Lobos behind 14-0, before the offense could even take the field.
Sophomore QB Ethan Salazar would lead the Lobo offense onto the field. On the second play of the drive, RB Ricky Rodriguez would find an open lane up the middle thanks to the Lobo offensive line for a 65-yard touchdown. Levelland’s Eli Randol would put the ball through the up-rights during the PAT to cut into the Liberty lead, 14-7.
Points would not be put on the board until the second quarter by Liberty. Trailing 21-14, Levelland would march down the field with Rodriguez putting the finishing touch on the drive with a rushing touchdown from within the 10-yard line. The PAT would missed wide-right, resulting in the Lobos trailing 21-13.
The Liberty run game would cash in another touchdown from 49 yards out, pushing their lead to 28-13.
Before the end of the half, Levelland would work quickly for another touchdown courtesy of Salazar connecting with WR Gage Potter on a 24-yard touchdown pass. Levelland would head into the locker room trailing 28-21.
Coming out of the half, Levelland would use their first possession to string together a 10 play drive for another passing touchdown from Salazar to Potter.
Tied at 28 a piece, Liberty would fumble the ball on the ensuing possession giving Levelland the opportunity to pull ahead.
A six play drive for the Lobos would be capped off with a pass connecting to WR Eryk Jones for a 28-yard touchdown. Levelland would take command of the game, 35-28.
After an exchange of stalled possessions, Liberty would tie the game after burning bulk of the fourth quarter. Levelland would be given the opportunity to close out the game offensively, but would stall.
Heading into overtime, Liberty would elect to take the first possession at the 25-yard line. Liberty would reach the one yard line with fresh set of downs to work with.
The Lobo defense showed their resilience in the goal-line stand holding off the Patriots for four-straight downs. Levelland would turn to RB Noah Martin in their drive which consisted of two plays. After gaining a handful of yards on the first play of the drive, Martin would cap off the drive with run up the middle carrying multiple Patriot defenders into the endzone for the game winning score.
The Lobos would end the game with 200-plus yards on the ground and 150 yards passing.
Liberty’s season comes to an end with a 2-8 record and a 1-3 district record.
Lobo Head Coach Lyle Leong complimented his teams grit and performance on all three phases of the game.
“We started of extremely slow and had a lot of mistakes, but we fought back and showed our growth,” said Coach Leong. “In years past, we struggled with staying mentally in the game when times were hard. I think we have done a great job of being down and still be willing to fight for one another until the clock runs out.”
Defensively, Coach Leong credited Defensive Coordinator Tony Eggleston and his staff for getting his unit in the best position to make a difference.
In regard to the offense, Coach Leong felt that Offensive Coordinator Marlon Winn and his unit had a quality outing putting 41 points on the board while finding a balance through the air and ground.
“At times we have not been able to pull it together on all sides of the ball, but we have been these past couple of games,” said Coach Leong. “I think we are putting everything together at the perfect time.”
The Lobos continue their season with a playoff run beginning with a bi-district matchup against the Seminole Indians in Denver City, Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are only available at the gate and are cash only.
The Lobos finish the regular season with a 6-4 record and a district record of 2-2.