Eagles are heading to the playoffs once again

Staff Report
Published: November 14, 2008

The Liberty Eagles return to the playoffs for the first time in four years when they travel to Roanoke to take on William Fleming today at 1 p.m. A perennial power at the Group AA level for a decade before making the jump to AAA last year, the Eagles are looking to make a big impression on the AAA level before dropping down a division next year.

Here’s a quick look at today’s game:

Location: Patriots Stadium at Patrick Henry High School. 2102 Grandin Road SW, Roanoke.

Stadium Capacity: 20,000

Coaches: Liberty’s Tommy Buzzo has taken the school to the playoffs five times since taking over in 1996. Before that he was a Roanoke City police officer, patrolling the neighborhoods around William Fleming High. Fleming’s Rob Senseney led Gretna to back-to-back state titles in 2003 and 2004 before making the jump to Fleming, where he has the Colonels in the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Key Players: Liberty is led by Virginia-bound Corey Lillard, who stars as both a running back and a defensive back. Virginia Tech commitment Kory Gough anchors the offensive line and Wayne Fleming leads the team with 729 yards rushing. Quarterback Nick Potts has thrown for 1,603 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Eagles.

Fleming gets great production from LaCalvin Hickman, a running back who has rushed for 1,184 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Quarterback Derek Brown leads the Colonels with 1,074 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. On defense, cornerback Shaquan Manning and free safety Brian Taylor each have six interceptions.