BY DEVIN HANNEY
Sports Director - Salina Post
After a twelve hour road trip into the heart of Tennessee, it took some time for the Salina Liberty to get their legs going...but it didn't take long. After giving up the first touchdown of the game and then trailing 16-7 early in the second quarter, the Liberty came roaring back.
"We started off a little flat being down 9-0. Once we calmed down and made a couple adjustments, we started playing football." According to Liberty Head Coach, Heron O'Neal.
In a span of 14 minutes, the Liberty went on a 30-0 run taking a 37-16 advantage into halftime. Salina scored in all aspects, creating chaos with their greedy defense and opportunistic special teams.
The Liberty would lean on that defense a little harder in the second half and eventually get the victory, 50-30. The win for Salina (2-0) is the second of the season while Nashville slips to 1-2.
The Liberty made a habit of taking the ball away from the Kats and flipping those possessions into points scoring 37 points off of Nashville turnovers. The defense was led by Dontra Matthews who tallied 10 tackles, 2 interceptions and a touchdown.
O'Neal put praise on his teams efforts. "The turnovers that were created by the defense, as well as our offense operating more efficiently, were huge. We were able to pull out a great road win and one of the biggest wins that we've had, in my opinion, in Salina history."
Quarterback Charles McCullum led the Liberty offense with 5 total touchdowns, 3 passing and 2 rushing. McCullum threw for 198 yards on the day.
O'Neal went on to say, "We got rolling and we got hot on both sides of the ball. Having Shane (McInerney) as our kicker helped get points which we haven't had in a while."
Liberty newcomer Shane McInerney was an exciting addition to the Salina kicking game. The kicker from Galway, Ireland went 5 of 7 on points after touchdown, converted a 30 yard field goal and created 2 turnovers via kick off opportunities.
Salina now looks to prevail through a short week as they prepare once again for a long road trip. The Liberty are scheduled for travel to Montana to face the Billings Outlaws. This weekend's game is scheduled for 6:00 pm on Saturday. (6:00 pm Mountain Time, 5:00 pm local)
You can hear more about the road game in Nashville as well as the upcoming trip to Billings on Tuesday with the "Coach Heron O'Neal Show". The "Coach O Show" is live at AJ's Sports Bar and Grill inside The Alley, downtown Salina. The show starts at 6:00 pm on Tuesday and the public is welcome to attend. Viewers can also watch the show as the video streams live right here on Salina Post.