Navasota overwhelms Liberty Hill to reach 4A title game
Navasota quarterback Shelton Eppler threw for 453 yards and six touchdowns as the Rattlers overwhelmed Liberty Hill 49-26 in a Class 4A Division I state semifinal Friday at McLane Stadium.
Navasota (15-0), the top-ranked team in the final Associated Press Class 4A state poll, will face No. 2 Argyle (15-0) in the championship game at 4 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Eppler’s performance gives him 67 TD passes for the season, tying him for second with the 2003 mark set by Graham Harrell of Ennis. Eppler, a junior, is one shy of tying the state record set last year by Refugio’s Travis Quintanilla.
Liberty Hill (12-3) played a successful game of keep-away from the Rattlers in the first half. The Panthers scored on all four possessions and held the ball for 18:41 of the first 24 minutes and led 26-21 at the half.
The second half was a different story as the Navasota defense smothered the Panthers’ rushing attack, allowing four first downs and 65 yards of total offense. Liberty Hill finished with 346 total yards and did not score in the second half.
Eppler’s final four scoring passes went for 50 yards or more. He connected with Sammy Blair from 50 and 74 yards, the latter giving Navasota its first lead at 28-26 with 11:38 left in the third quarter.
Eppler then found Tren’davian Dickson and Jerbrell Lipscomb for 65 and 83 yards, respectively. Dickson’s TD added to his state single-season record for touchdown catches, which now stands at 35.
Eppler added a 10-yard scoring run with 5:54 left.
Lipscomb led Navasota with 169 yards on three receptions and Blair added 133 more on three catches.
Jon Shannon led Liberty Hill with 133 yards rushing on 28 carries. Caleb Guerin gained 116 yards on 17 carries and had first-half scoring runs of 53 and 4 yards.
This story was originally published December 12, 2014 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Navasota overwhelms Liberty Hill to reach 4A title game."