High School Football Preview: Raymore-Peculiar Panthers at Liberty Blue Jays
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Twitter: @charlie_cds3
Two of the best teams in the “Show Me State” will battle this Friday night in Liberty as the Blue Jays of Liberty High School will host the Raymore-Peculiar Panthers. The Blue Jays are currently undefeated with a 7-0 record while the Panthers are sitting at 6-1. With the regular season wrapping up on October 23, and a better playoff seeding on the line, a victory is vital for both programs. Can Liberty continue their undefeated streak or will Raymore-Peculiar play spoiler and grab the win? Only time will tell.
Raymore-Peculiar Panthers
This powerful Panthers offense is averaging 37.4 points per game led by senior quarterback Conrad Hawley. Hawley has thrown for 1,598 yards and 16 touchdowns through the first seven games of 2020. The leading receiver on the team is sophomore Jaidyn Doss who has caught 29 passes for 707 yards and six touchdowns. Senior running back Philip Fager leads the attack on the ground with 443 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Another weapon in the passing attack is junior tight end Tucker Miller, who has caught 26 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns.
Raymore-Peculiar LB Parker Bowen
The defense, which gives up 19.4 points per game, is led by senior linebacker Parker Bowen. Bowen, a Northwest Missouri State commit, has 46 total tackles including six for a loss through seven games. Senior Ethan George is the playmaker on the defensive line. George has 23 total tackles including nine for a loss and nine sacks thus far in 2020. Senior cornerback Gunnar Griffin is a player to watch in the secondary as he has 26 total tackles and five interceptions.
Liberty Blue Jays
Liberty is averaging 38.8 points per game and have some young rising stars on their offense. Junior quarterback Tyler Lininger is the general of the offense. In last week’s win over Park Hill, Lininger threw for 111 yards and a touchdown. Two playmakers in the backfield include sophomore Anthony Wenson and junior Wentric Williams III. Williams rushed for 26 yards before suffering an injury early in the game but has 1,150 and 15 touchdowns overall in 2020. Wenson finished the game with 158 yards on the ground and a touchdown. The leading receiver is junior Caden Dennis who has 483 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Liberty QB Luke Smith is expected back this week after spending two weeks in quarantine. Smith threw for 696 yards and eight touchdowns in the first five weeks of the season before going into quarantine.
Dennis also makes plays on the defensive side of the ball coming up with 14 total tackles including two for a loss and two interceptions. The leader of the defense is senior linebacker Jalen Weston who has 56 total tackles including five for a loss, one sack and one interception. The defensive line is anchored by senior Matthew Henning.
Photo credit: Mac Moore/Courier Tribune; Liberty RB Anthony Wenson
Photo credit: Twitter.com; Raymore-Peculiar LB Parker Bowen