Argyle Liberty Christian surges past Tyler Grace Community in dominant playoff win
PROSPER -- The Argyle Liberty Christian Warriors continued its magical season with a convincing 56-7 victory over the Tyler Grace Community Cougars in a TAPPS DII regional contest Friday night at Children’s Health Stadium.
Liberty Christian took command from the beginning, marching 70 yards on four plays and using just 1:14 off the clock on the game’s opening possession. The drive was capped by an 8-yard Chase Garnett touchdown run.
“We wanted to start fast,” said Warriors Head Coach Jason Witten. “Offensively, we executed well, and defensively we knew they liked to run the ball, and we really focused on stopping their run game.”
Witten said the team played hard from the beginning.
“We played with confidence,” Witten said. “Great job all the way around.”
Nick Blevins scored on a 60-yard TD interception return with 7:25 left in the first quarter to increase the Warriors lead to 14-0.
The Liberty Christian relentless defense forced five straight three-and-out possessions, and with excellent field position each time, the offense came out with TDs. Drives beginning at the Cougars 48, 33 and 27 resulted in six-pointers followed by 51 and 55-yard marches for TDs.
“We came ready to play,” said junior Linebacker CJ Witten. “When we play our best, no one can stop us. We wanted to shut down their running game and make them one-dimensional,” added CJ.
Indeed, the Warrior defense clamped down on the run. Grace Community came in averaging almost 230 yards rushing yards per game and 37 TDs on the ground. Liberty Christian held the Cougars to minus 39 yards rushing on 18 attempts.
Jaylon Hawkins scored on a 16-yard end-around, Garnett found the end zone with 24-yard TD scamper, and Quinton Brown hauled in an 11-yard scoring pass from Cole Welliver that gave the Warriors a 35-0 lead after the first quarter. The Brown TD was set up by a Blake Brisker recovery of a botched kickoff at the Cougars 27.
“Total domination,” said Welliver of the team’s performance. “We executed well offensively, and the defense played great. If we play our game, we are really hard to stop. Offensive line great job, running game was tremendous and the receivers did a fantastic job.”
Garnett added a pair of second-quarter three-yard TD runs as Liberty Christian led 49-0 at intermission. Garnett had a game-high 95 rushing yards on just nine carries, all of which came in the first half.
“The O-Line did a tremendous job blocking, and I just hit the holes,” said Garnett, who now has 26 rushing TDs on the season.
Hawkins caught a 22-yard TD pass from Welliver with less than four minutes left in the third quarter to round out the Warriors scoring.
A one-yard plunge by McCade Stinson with just under eight minutes left in the game averted a shutout for the Cougars.
No. 1 in the Star-Telegram’s private school rankings, Argyle Liberty Christian (12-0) advances to the state semifinals seeking to reach the championship game the following week.
The tenacious Argyle Liberty Christian defense, which has posted a school-record single-season five shutouts this season, has not allowed a team to rush for 100 or more yards in any game this season.
Junior RB Chase Garnett, a Keller Central transfer, now has rushed for 1,460 yards, averaging almost 8 yards per carry on the season without a fumble.
“I take a lot of pride in not giving up the football,” Garnett said. “Something I have focused on and concentrated on my whole high school career.”
The victory tied the most wins in a season in program history. The Warriors finished 12-1 in 2007, the last time it won a TAPPS state championship in football, defeating Dallas Christian 28-7.
Notable Performances
Cole Welliver, a UConn pledge, threw for 198 yards, hitting on 12 passes in 17 attempts with one interception, which was tipped. That snapped a streak 206 consecutive passes without an interception for the standout quarterback, who now has 41 TD passes on the season and only three picks, amassing 2,634 yards through the air.
Junior Brady Janusek, an Oklahoma baseball commit as an outfielder, had a game-high 81 receiving yards on four catches while Quinton Brown added five catches for 78 and one score.
Jaylon Hawkins contributed three catches for 39 yards and one receiving score and also a 16-yard rushing TD. Nick Blevins had a 60-yard pick six on defense, his second TD interception return this season.
For Grace Community, sophomore QB Zach Davis finished 12 of 23 for 115 yards with one interception to lead the Cougars.
Next up
Argyle Liberty Christian will clash with district foe Fort Worth All Saints (9-2) next Saturday night at 7 pm at The Star in Frisco. It will be a rematch of an October 27 meeting in which the Warriors came away with a 42-13 win, scoring 30 unanswered points after All Saints had taken a 13-12 lead early in the third period.
It was the first and only time Argyle Liberty Christian has trailed all season.
“We look forward to the challenge,” said Coach Witten. “They are an excellent team, and we will need to play our best.”
Fort Worth All Saints defeated Frisco Legacy Christian in its Regional-round playoff game to forge a rematch between the two district rivals in the semifinals.