KILLEEN, Texas — Waco La Vega lost in the regional finals last year. The Pirates weren’t going to let that happen again.
Behind 383 rushing yards and a stifling defense, La Vega dispatched Liberty Hill 28-18 en route to a Class 4A Division I Region IV Championship on Friday at Leo Buckley Stadium.
“I feel good about it. The kids played hard. They wanted it bad enough,” La Vega Head Coach Willie Williams said. “This was one of our goals. Not just to get to the [state] semifinals, but we want to win it all. So it’s another step in the right direction.”
The Pirates ran roughshod over the Panther defense, gaining 166 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries from junior John Richards, 90 yards on 11 carries from senior Cameron Henry and 67 yards with two scores on seven carries from senior Kemoche Hobbs.
La Vega senior quarterback Jamal Williams, the son of the Pirates’ head coach, threw for 45 yards on 8-of-12 passing.
“That’s who we are. We do what we do,” Willie continued. “They loaded the box on us and played us by the man. But we just stuck with the ball-carriers and the o-line has been executing all year long so they did it tonight as well.”
Hobbs had both of his touchdowns in the first half. The first was a 2-yard plunge with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. The second was a 21-yard scamper with 6:44 left in the second. That gave Le Vega a 14-0 lead, which was crucial because Liberty Hill isn’t very good at playing from behind.
“It was big because they don’t have a team that’s made for coming back,” Willie said. “We wanted to make them play chase and it worked.”
Liberty Hill junior Kyle Harrison led his team with 163 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. The Panthers, though, didn’t complete a pass and La Vega outgained Liberty Hill 428-196 in total yards.
“[The defense] has been playing well all year long and we knew that they were going to step up and make it really difficult for Liberty Hill,” Willie added.
The Pirates will take on Carthage, who shut out Henderson in its State Quarterfinal matchup, next week in the state semifinals.
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