Prep Football Preview: Young Liberty squad keeps building

Last year the football season for Liberty was a bit of a struggle. Now the boys from Glen Daniel are looking for a bounce-back season.

“We are coming along. There is a process to everything. These kids have to believe in that process and so far they have,” head coach Mark Workman said. “I really believe they have bought in, now we just have to climb. Things aren’t always great and they never will always be great. We just have to keep fighting and trust that process.”

This season, youth will be served for the Raiders, but they do have some quality veterans to build around.

“We have some seniors back and we will probably play five seniors on offense,” Workman said. “We will have several sophomores in key positions to go along with a couple of juniors and a freshman that will probably see some varsity time.”

T.J. Goff, Travis Williams and Caleb Harper are all seniors and will be counted on to anchor the offensive line.

“They are not the biggest ones, but they are all pretty athletic and they can move. They are maybe 200 – 210 pounds each,” Workman explained. “Our two sophomores that will be up there with them are Alex Jarrell, who is 6-foot-7, 270 (pounds) and Connor Acord who is 6-foot-1, 280 or 290. Those are the five we are going with right now.”

The quarterback position is a healthy battle between senior Braden Houck and Riley Marty. Either way, both players will be on the field somewhere this season.

“We like both of them and it is a fight. Riley is super athletic and we can play him anywhere,” Workman said. “If Braden is not our quarterback, then he will move into a fullback or tight end role.”

Carrying the ball for Liberty will likely be the responsibility of three sophomores.

“Isaac Williams is a front runner to get that tailback spot. Sophomore Trenton Clay will play out at slot. My slots are just running backs and we have another sophomore in Colten Tolliver as well,” Workman said. “You will see Colton out at slot and Trenton out at slot. Issac is primarily that back, but you might see him out wide every now and then if we empty the backfield.”

When it comes to true wide-outs, the Raiders have a handful of players that can get the job done.

“Marty can play wide receiver and senior Hunter McClain will be out there,” Workman said. “Junior Chris Bowman, along with Clay and Tolliver can catch passes, plus we have senior Ashton Pettry we can go to as well.”

Although the Raiders are solid at each position on offense, they do have some guys that can step in if needed to fill some gaps.

“This is the most depth that we have had coming in as far as offensive linemen,” Workman said. “We have young skill guys that if we had to put in there, they could play, but they are not quite ready. Hopefully we can get some JV games and get the young kids some playing time.”

“This is the first year in a little bit that most of our freshman do not have to play,” Workman went on to say. “That happened last year. We had six freshman playing on both sides of the ball most of the time. Even though those same six freshman are now sophomores, they are growing, but they are still young pups.”

Over on the defensive side of the ball the Raiders will look very similar to the offensive side.

“We are young, but we will play most of the seniors that we can over there,” Workman said. “Those four or five sophomores that started 10 games last year, they will be there too. Juniors Riley and Chris will be in there, so we are just a mix of young and old.”

With so much youth in the lineup, Workman will need his seniors to be leaders on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense.

“Being so young, it is hard to nail down that leader when they are young. Braden Houck will be at that linebacker positions and he will be moving people around,” Workman said. “T.J. Goff is a senior, he will be at linebacker and Travis Williams will be at linebacker. That is who we will lean to to lead us.”

While youth will be one of the dominate characteristics of this team, it doesn’t mean the Raiders cannot be successful.

“We really think we are going to have a better year than we did last year. I don’t measure my season on wins and losses. Most everybody else does. I want to see growth. We can lose eight ball games, but if I can see we are getting better every game, that is a win for this program,” Workman said. “They have gelled together and there is great comradery. There is laughter, but once they step inside that white and hit the black and green on the field, its all business. We are going to work. If we stay humble and keep a good work ethic, we are coming back to the top.”