Struthers Plays Spoiler

The Liberty Leopards opened their season against the Struthers Wildcats. Besides being the first game for the players, this game also marked the head coaching debut of Liberty alumni Chet Allen. The Leopards also debuted new jerseys for the 2015 season sponsored by Under Armour.

The Leopards came into Friday’s game looking to snap their streak of 2 consecutive season opening losses. The Wildcats, however, are highly regarded as one of the teams to beat this year and would not be an easy opponent. The Leopards won the coin toss and elected to defer until the second half. The Leopards defense held the wildcats to a mere 5 yards on the first drive. After a 3 and out by Liberty’s offense, Wildcat’s quarterback A.J. Musolino capped of a 4 play, 82 yard drive with a 1 yard rush to start off the scoring.

Musolino scored his second touchdown in the second quarter after he intercepted JaShaun Whitman and returned it for a touchdown. The score became 14-0 after Musolino ran in for a two-point conversion. The Wildcats finished the half with another score by Regal Reese to go up 21-0.

In the second half, Musolino found Tekale Rushton and Andy Deem to extend the lead to 34-0. The Leopards finally pounced into the endzone late in the 4th when Ke’Andre Bowers bruised and cruised to the endzone on a 15 yard run.

JaShaun Whitman led the passing by completing 12 of 21 passes for 85. Ke’Andre Bowers carried the run game with 4 carries for 30 yards. Kaylon Davis hauled in 5 passes for 42 yards and led the defense with 8 tackles.

The Leopards will travel to Lakeview this Friday and look to even up their record with with a win over the Bulldogs. With the Leopards looking to get their season back on track on the road, they will need a student section backing them. Everybody show out and help bring home a win.