For three quarters Thursday night the Lee’s Summit North defense was dominant against Liberty. They were pressuring Blue Jay quarterback Jackson Corf – making his first start – to the tune of two interceptions, one a pick-six by Zjaimar Turner in the third quarter that made it 20-0.
The momentum shifted in the fourth quarter, though. Corf and the offense started to move the ball, leading to a pair of touchdown passes and a 20-14 game, and with just a little more than 3 minutes left to play, the Blue Jays had the ball back on the Bronco 48-yard line.
It was time for the Broncos’ defense to make another play.
This time it was linebacker Jaron Cole, as he came rushing off the edge and hit Corf, forcing a fumble that Lee’s Summit North’s Raheem Fisher recovered.
Three plays later Keyon Mozee found the end zone from 27 yards out to seal a 27-14 victory.
“I knew we needed a big play. I just did what I do every play and went after the quarterback,” Cole said. “I thought it was incomplete. I went to help their quarterback up and realized we had the ball and started celebrating.”
The Bronco defense added one last interception after Mozee’s touchdown just for good measure, this one by Dayne Davis.
“They do a good job and they play hard,” Broncos head coach Jamar Mozee said of his defense. “Jaron is a special player. I’m proud of them.”
With Corf making his first start of the season with starter Luke Smith out with an injury, the Broncos made sure running back Wentric Williams III wasn’t going to beat them. They shut the sophomore running back down, allowing only 56 yards rushing on 21 attempts, putting the game in Corf’s hands.
“We were hoping we could run the ball better and take some pressure off him (Corf),” Liberty head coach Chad Frigon said. “They brought a lot of pressure.”
Both teams had chances in the first half but only the Broncos capitalized. They had the ball for almost 9 minutes on the games opening drive, which included a crucial fourth-and-15 conversion. They capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Carlton Perkins to Myles Shaw for a 7-0 lead.
“We’ve done that three times now,” Mozee said. “Twice we’ve done it and not scored and lost those games. We have to find consistency (on offense).”
Liberty responded with a solid drive of its own, only to have it stall with a missed field goal.
Devin DeRousse made a field goal in the second quarter for the Broncos to give them a 10-0 lead.
Before the half, the Blue Jays threatened again. This time, Hunter Ross picked off a pass in the end zone as the half ended.
“In the first half we had the ball down in their territory twice and didn’t get any points,” Frigon said. “That hurt us. That and the pick-six were the difference in the game.”
The loss dropped the Blue Jays to 2-3 on the season, while Lee’s Summit North improved to 3-2.
Both teams have played difficult schedules so far, facing three teams ranked in the Top 10. For Mozee, he just hopes to keep seeing improvement each time his team steps on the field.
“We’re young in some areas and that’s showing at times,” Mozee said. “We’re taking it week-to-week. I keep telling them I don’t care about the score we just have to get better.
The Broncos face another stiff test next week, traveling to Lee’s Summit West. Liberty will host Park Hill South.
