Ava 7th, 8th Football Teams Open Season at Mtn. View-Liberty

The Ava Middle School football teams opened the 2012 season at Mountain View against the Liberty Eagles on Thursday, Aug. 30.
The Liberty squad defeated the Bears 22-0 in the 7th grade contest.
Liberty opened the scoring with a touchdown run with 2:17 remaining in the first half to take an 8-0 lead. They extended the lead to 14-0 with their first play from scrimmage in the second half when the quarterback broke loose for a 70-yard run. The Eagles scored their final touchdown with 2 minutes remaining in the game.
Leading tacklers for the Bears were Dalton Curtis with seven tackles, Aaron Everett with five tackles, and Joey Swofford also had five tackles.
The Liberty Eagles also defeated the Bears 22-0 in the 8th grade game.
A 50-yard pass play put Liberty on the scoreboard with 3:44 remaining in the first half. Ava’s punter was tackled for a loss on their next possession, setting up a 20-yard pass play for a touchdown, extending the lead to 14-0 before halftime. Ava gave the Eagles a short field in the third quarter due to a special team error, leading to a 23-yard, 2-play drive for the final score of the game.
Kelly McDonald and Brandon Johnson were the leading tacklers for the Bears with five tackles each. The Bears forced one Liberty turnover when Chase Dodson stripped the ball from a Liberty ball carrier in the fourth quarter and the fumble was recovered by Ava’s Jacob Luebbering.
The Bears will next play host to the Cabool Bulldogs on Thursday, Sept. 6. The 7th grade game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 8th grade game.