EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
Thursday evening started by recognizing several seniors prior to the regular season finale against Dodge City, but the Battle for the Bell turned out to favor the Red Demons in a 4-0 Liberal loss.
The Redskins struggled to keep the ball away from their goal early in the game, and the Red Demons were able to get a score in the first seven minutes to take a 1-0 lead.
The Redskins had a pair of chances to get a score and tie the game, but both shots on goal were thwarted, and Liberal again struggled to get the ball back to the Red Demon side of the field.
Dodge City was sharp with its passing and footwork, and the Redskins had difficulty stopping Red Demon possessions. That eventually led to another shot on goal that slipped past the Redskins and gave the Red Demons a 2-0 halftime lead.
The Redskins couldn’t get any momentum in the second half, and the Red Demons matched their first-half performance with a pair of second half goals to hand Liberal a 4-0 loss.
The loss dropped Liberal to the fifth seed in the Class 6A playoffs while Dodge City moved up to the No. 4 seed.
Seeding will be released over the weekend, but it is highly likely the Redskins (12-4) will host Lawrence Free while (6-8-2) later this week while Dodge City (13-2-1) will be the No. 4 seed and likely host Manhattan.
Western Athletic Conference champion Garden City (13-2-1) earned the third seed and will likely host Wichita West (4-11-1).
Should Liberal and Dodge City win their openers the two would play again in Dodge City.
