They’re a year removed from an August that preceded a nearly perfect season cut short in the Class 2 state quarterfinals by powerhouse Lamar. But despite that heartbreaking 14-7 loss being coupled with the graduation of Class 2 Defensive Player of the Year Cale Cornman, MV-BT/Liberty has put 2015 behind them and has their sights set on more than regular-season perfection.
Head coach: Darin Acklin
2015 record: 12-1 (lost to Lamar in Class 2 state quarterfinals)
Top Players: Josh Pruett (QB), Marcos Rodriguez (RB/OLB), Brenton Bush (CB/WR), Koel Orchard (RB/FS), Max Rudolph (TE/OLB)
“[Determination] is what I see out of their eyes,” Eagles head coach Darin Acklin said. “Our senior class is really hungry. Our juniors and sophomores understand the intensity and the physicality that has to happen for us to compete at [a state tournament] level.”
Yes, the Eagles are hungry. Hungry enough to keep five-time defending Class 2 state champion Lamar square in their sights despite the loss of Cornman, who has taken his diploma and 192 tackles to Missouri Western.
“Kornman is a big loss,” Acklin said. “He’s one of those guys whose size, speed and strength could match up to Lamar. But what we’re trying to do is get better as a whole eleven and not have to rely on one guy to make 21 or 22 tackles a night.
“Obviously Lamar is setting the bar very, very high, and we’re trying to get there.”
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The Eagles look dangerous on offense, returning a number of weapons from a group that averaged 45.1 points per game in 2015. That efficiency starts with quarterback Josh Pruett. The senior is entering his third year at the helm of Liberty and is coming off a ridiculous junior campaign: 2,543 passing yards, 1,015 rushing yards, 60 total touchdowns (37 passing).
“[His experience] takes a lot of pressure off of me…[and] our offense,” Acklin said. “I’m not saying he could run our offense by himself without me leading it, but we’d be alright. He’s seen a lot of things.”
Pruett, an MFCA First Team All-State selection, avareged 6.8 yards per carry last year, something Acklin hopes to take advantage of at an even greater extent this season.
“He’s trying to get better at what he does, and he’ll be carrying the football a little bit more and leading our offense a little bit more, meaning I’ll call an offensive play and he has the freedom to check off at any time.”
Pruett has a number of weapons available on offense in running backs Marcos Rodriguez and Koel Orchard, wide receiver Brenton Bush and tight end Max Rudolph.
“Those are our main targets,” Acklin said. “They’ve proven themselves on the field. We’re looking for a bit more out of them as seniors. We’re expecting a lot out of those guys.”
Rodriguez ran for 1,079 yards and 15 touchdowns last year and will share time with Orchard.
The Eagles face two big early tests in Class 4 state semifinalist Cape Girardeu Central at home on Aug. 19 and Class 3 state semifinalist Aurora the following week. Central fell to Webb City in the Class 4 state semifinals, 35-14, and Aurora in the Class 3 state semifinals to Odessa, 14-7.
Those tough opening tilts left Acklin tiptoeing well around the idea of a second consecutive perfect regular season.
“Our schedule is too tough,” he said. “We’ve got two good quality opponents before we start our conference schedule, and our conference has four or five teams that could win a conference title. I don’t want to preach having a perfect record. What we want to do is push ourselves to make a deep playoff run. That’s our whole objective.”
