Crosby Football Falls In State Semifinals To Liberty Hill

BRYAN — There was no stopping the Liberty Hill train.

Crosby simply had no answer for the Panthers’ grueling ground game, which powered Liberty Hill to a 42-14 victory over the Cougars in the Class 5A Division II state semifinals Friday night at Merrill Green Stadium.

It was a disappointing end to another strong season for 10th-ranked Crosby (12-3), which reached the state semifinals for the second straight time after advancing to the state championship game a season ago. Last season, the Cougars took down Liberty Hill in an instant classic, 62-61 in overtime, in the same round and same place.

“Crosby historically is a program that’s had a lot of success, but these kids have taken it to a whole other level, a level that’s never happened at Crosby before,” Crosby head coach Jerry Prieto said. “I want those seniors to walk off this field understanding that, understanding what they’ve done for this program. I want our underclassmen to understand their responsibility heading into this offseason … to make sure they protect that new tradition and standard we have.”

Liberty Hill (13-2) advances to the state championship game next week in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. The Panthers will face fifth-ranked South Oak Cliff, which beat No. 4 Lubbock Cooper 44-10 on Friday in the other semifinal. The 5A Division II championship game is set for 11 a.m. Dec. 18.

After a scoop-and-score from Liberty Hill linebacker Aaron Brewer gave the Panthers a 28-0 lead midway through the third quarter, Crosby clawed back with a pair of touchdown drives.

The Cougars drove down the field in just over three minutes, and receiver Kameren Kirkwood took a jet sweep handoff for a 10-yard touchdown to get Crosby on the board with 4:14 left in the third quarter.

Kirkwood scored again on the Cougars’ next drive, taking an inside screen pass from quarterback Cyrin Miles and weaving his way to the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 28-14 with 55 seconds left in the quarter.

Liberty Hill responded with a grueling 7-minute drive that all but sealed a state championship berth for the Panthers. Senior Andon Thomas punched it in for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 35-14 with 5:44 left. Liberty Hill added another score with 2:44 left, a 30-yard run from Noah Long.

“They just came out and beat us,” Prieto said. “We made some mistakes. They were the more physical team in the first half. We left some points out there, but that’s a heck of a football team. They do things right, just like we do. My kids came out and played hard, … we just came up short this year.”

Crosby threatened to take an early lead but fumbled at the Liberty Hill 1-yard line on the opening drive. The Panthers took advantage, driving the length of the field to take a 7-0 lead with 3:04 left in the first quarter. Running back Joe Pitchford took a sweep around the right end on fourth-and-9 for a 20-yard touchdown.

Liberty Hill’s defense clamped down on Crosby’s high-flying offense for most of the first half, giving its ground-and-pound offense an opportunity to build a big lead.

Pitchford scored again on a 2-yard run midway through the second quarter, and Long added a 3-yard touchdown plunge with 1:35 left before halftime.

Crosby found its offensive footing with its two-minute drill and had a chance to get on the board before halftime, but Miles’ Hail Mary pass fell incomplete on the last play.