Go
Saints!

Thursday
March 28th, 2024

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Two solid drives in the second half put the Redskins one step closer to the post-season.

But another slow start on offense forced the defense to perform at championship level.

According to the old adage -- offense wins games, but defense wins championships -- a defense alone cannot win a game. It takes some offense, any offense.

In the first half, Liberal's offense struggled as much as it had all season.

But in the second half, glimmers of hope shot through as the Redskins scored on two of their five possessions. The drives were sustained drives.

And both drives were very different.

The first, which was needed to tie the game, mixed a controlled passing attack with the run.

Big catches were made by Zach Jackson and Reece Petty with precision timing from Mark Grande, something that wasn't happening in the first half.

After a fake reverse, Grande was able to hit a wide open Blake Warner in the end zone to tie the game.

And the defense, after surrendering some pass plays in the first half, buckled down and denied the Vikings the opportunity to reach the goal line.

The best Winfield could do was muster a 44-yard field goal attempt that wobbled low and left.

But Liberal struggled on its next two possessions, as did Winfield, and it looked as though the game was destined for overtime.

Enter John David Willimon.

The senior tailback hoisted the ball, and the Redskins, down the field, melting the clock along the way and finally punching it in with less than a minute to go to give Liberal a 13-7 lead.

Along the way Willimon exhibited the leadership the team needed.

He didn't showboat after gaining the necessary yards to move the sticks. He headed back to the huddle for the next play.

When he scored and his teammates charged toward him, he told them to head for the sidelines, that the Redskins did not need a celebration penalty.

Other Redskins had mental lapses throughout the evening and drew flags.

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But with the game on the line, Willimon provided the pep and the patience, the drive and the restraint to put Liberal ahead and keep them there.

Still, Liberal is only averaging a little more than 14 points per game this season, and it's going to take a few more in the final weeks to extend the season.

Yes, the defense has been outstanding, but they need some help.

Willimon provided a spark Friday night, but the Redskin Nation is still watching and waiting for the powder keg to ignite.

In a way, the playoffs have already begun.

And this is where Liberal has been the most successful in the past 15 years. Liberal is now 44-2 in district games in that time period.

Two more to go.

Liberal Local News

Planning, zoning requests dominate commission agenda

city commission manriquezElsa Manriquez with Al Shank Insurance looks over some notes while talking to the Liberal City Commission Tuesday evening about the city’s comprehensive insurance renewal. After several minutes of discussion, the commission ultimately unanimously voted in favor of the renewal. L&T photo/Elly GrimmELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

Planning and zoning issues dominated the discussion for the Liberal City Commission during its most recent meeting Tuesday evening. 

Up first for the commission was a request for the approval of a new member to the Planning & Zoning Commission. 

“Per the agenda packet, there came an open slot on the Planning and Zoning Board due to Ernesto Goitia Jr. being removed due to his lack of attendance, and there ended up being four applications for that spot,” Code Enforcement Supervisor Keith Bridenstine said. “The board voted unanimously to recommend Jeremy Benton to fill that vacant seat, and staff is recommending the Liberal City Commission follow the recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission.”

The commission ultimately unanimously approved the recommendation, and then moved on to discussion of the final plat of the Alco Addition replat, which Bridenstine also talked about. 

“As the commission might remember, the preliminary plat came before you all last April, and this is a replat of the block located between 14th Street and 15th Street, which is by Dillons,” Bridenstine said. “The addition was platted as one lot, so in order to split the property into three lots as requested, a replat must be done due to how those rules go. It’s basically a housekeeping plat. All ownership issues have been resolved, it’s been checked out by Seward County officials, and the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously at its regular scheduled meeting on March 14 to approve the final plat of the Alco Addition. A difference between then and now is the preliminary plat had different ownership since there was a spot that was originally deeded to three different people, and when the new owner bought the block, he got deeded one-third of that chunk, and it was kind of a mess, but all of that has been cleaned up. With all of that we’re recommending the commission approve the final plat of the Alco Addition replat.”

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Seward County Clerk’s office

 

Candidate filing for Seward County 2024 August Primary

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ROBERT PIERCE • Leader & Times

 

In 1972, what has become USDA’s Women Infants and Children [ ... ]

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Kansas is currently recruiting pilot participants to hop in the driver’s seat for a three-month test [ ... ]

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Special to the Leader & Times

 

The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) wants to remind utility [ ... ]

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Liberal Area Sports

EARL WATT • Leader & Times

 

Two first round upsets busted brackets early in the Bracketbuster [ ... ]

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Taylor Harding (4) gets a high five from Lexi Miller after scoring a run against Bucklin Friday. Harding [ ... ]

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The swimming season kicked off at the Northwest Invitational [ ... ]

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Other Interests

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Opinion

Key bills still have a chance to pass

RYCKMAN RECAP, Ron Ryckman, 38th District Senator

 

This last, Week 11, for most committees to meet in the Legislature was kind of different from past years, in that there didn’t seem to be any big “crunch” to get everything done. 

We did work a fair number of bills — particularly in Ag and Fed and State, but used our full hour of meeting time only once — and that without even approving the bill which consumed most of it (SB 446, seeking to limit foreign property ownership) because it had simply become too cumbersome. 

The big news, I suppose, was that both houses held hearings on Medicaid expansion for the first time in four years, yet without moving it out of committee. The House provided some hope that tax relief might have another shot; however, with a two-tier instead of single rate like that adopted by the Senate, there is still a lot of “negotiating” to do to get a finished product that is “veto proof.” We’ll know more after their formal Floor consideration next week, but right now I’m optimistic we can come up with something taxpayers have been waiting on far too long.

Three totally unrelated measures that have generated a lot of constituent interest and do have a good chance of making it through are S Sub HB 2124, dealing with operational enhancement for “little guy” microbreweries; HB 2783, prohibiting government agencies from restricting the sale of motor vehicles based on energy source; and SB 527/HB 2813, making it a crime to coerce a woman into having an abortion. 

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