Eagles score early KO against Lancers

Zach Karr and Connor Stevens made big plays on both sides of the ball in the first half and Vance Garman put the nail in the coffin to give Pikes Peak No. 5 Eagles (2-0) to a 43-0 nonconference victory over District 20 rival Liberty Friday.

After a week of film study the Eagles were prepared offensively and defensively. Pine Creek amassed 329 yards of total offense and the defense held No. 7 Liberty (1-1) to 88 yards, including negative two yards in the first quarter and negative four in the third at Liberty High School.

"All our players contributed," Karr said. "We tried to come out here and just beat them to the ground then come out in the second half and do the same thing.
Watching film and just really studying really helped us out there on the field."

Karr, a senior, blocked a punt on Liberty's first possession which was recovered by the Eagles' Ben Molina at the Lancers' 16-yard line. Two plays later, Karr ran untouched for a 2-yard score.

On the Lancers' next possession, Karr forced a fumble by Trevor Miller at the Pine Creek 34. The ball bounced right to Eagles junior Taylor Lopez who scooped up the ball at the 36 and raced 64 yards for the score.

Stevens got into the act on the next defensive series, hitting Liberty junior Nick Bunney in the end zone for a safety to put the Eagles up 16-0. After the Lancers' free kick, Stevens scored from 36 yards out on the second play of the drive for a 23-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

"We definitely didn't underestimate them," he said. "We watched them on film, we knew what we needed to do and we got it done."

Garman scored on the Eagles' first possession of the second quarter to push the lead to 29-0. Stevens collected 113 yards rushing in the first half on just four carries and finished with 156 on 11 carries in three quarters.

Lancers' senior quarterback Marcus Warren struggled while under pressure from the Eagles front seven. Warren threw four interceptions and was 9-for-16 for 37 yards. The Lancers made seven turnovers.

"What we can't tolerate it is beating ourselves," said Liberty coach Jaron Cohen. "We don't feel like we gave ourselves a chance with the amount of mistakes."