IVA- The Liberty Red Devils came into Friday night’s game against the Crescent Tigers looking for their first win of the year and their first win in Skyline AA in two years.

But they left Friday night with their losing streak intact and hopes at winning a game this season dim.

Things looked bad for the Red Devils at the very beginning of the game when senior running back/receiver Telvin Tillman ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown virtually untouched.

Tillman led the Tigers in rushing on the night with 87 yards on six carries.

Both teams ran their offense out of the Flexbone, which saw only two completed passes from both teams combined. The bulk of the game was old-fashioned, hard nosed football. Crescent proved to be the more aggressive team as they worked to option to near perfection moving the ball at ease on the inexperienced Liberty defense.

Mistakes plagued the Red Devils and proved to kill any momentum they tried to establish.

With 2 minutes remaining in the first half, senior defensive back Andrew Barnett intercepted a Brandon Alexander pass and took it all the way back for a touchdown that would make the score at halftime 20-0 in Crescent’s favor.

The Red Devils came out and were able to put an impressive drive together to start the second half.

Alexander ran the option beautifully all the way down to the Crescent 20 yard line, and it looked as if the Red Devils might put some points on the board and make things interesting. But disaster struck. Alexander, while attempting to pitch the ball back to his running back on an option play, threw the ball behind the running back, and Crescent fell on the fumble.

With 8:53 remaining in the game, Tillman ran for his second touchdown of the game to put the Tigers up 34-0.

The game was beginning to fall into utter ruin until the ardent play of Matt Whitworth sparked the Red Devils to not leave the game with no points.

“Each play they are going to play hard,”

Coach Curtis Middleton said after the game.

Play hard they did as Whitworth ran the ball with an unmatched passion as he carried the Red Devils into the end zone with 2:47 left in the game to make the final score Crescent 34 Liberty 7.

Whitworth led the Red Devils in offensive on the night with 99 yards on 15 carries and the final touchdown of the game.

Middleton talked after the game about the option offense and the success he hopes to see it bring to Liberty,

“Its high risk and high reward,” Middleton said. “Brandon is still young and he went for the homerun on the missed pitch. I told him that the homerun will happen in this offense, but you have to let it come to you.”

Liberty (0-9) looks to salvage the season next week as they play host to Abbeville (7-1).

Crescent (4-4) will host the Pendleton Bulldogs (7-2) in a game with a playoff birth on the line for the Tigers.