By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

One of the biggest intra-county football games of the season begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. when Harmony visits 4A District 7 rival Liberty.

Liberty, 2-1, is still smarting from last year’s 17-14 loss at Harmony, when Harmony jumped to a 17-0 first-quarter lead thanks to two Chargers turnovers.

“Our kids remember that one well,” Liberty Coach David Benson said. “They’ve been looking forward to this, just as I’m sure the Harmony kids are. It’s an important game for both teams.”

The Chargers tuned up for Harmony with an impressive 38-0 win over Gateway at Chargers field last week.

Liberty’s potent backfield of J.J. Elisis, Jalen Benn and quarterback Greg Hankerson combined to rush for 218 yards and five touchdowns. Hankerson passed 27 yards to Demetrius Taylor for another TD.

“Anytime you win it’s a good thing. Our defense played well, and we feel like we’re getting better every week,” Benson said.

Harmony, 2-0, was off last week after amassing 105 points and nearly 900 yards of offense in wins over Lake Nona and Gateway.

C.J. Clayton and Christian Acevedo have each scored six touchdowns and have combined for 527 rushing yards, and both are good receivers and return men.

Longhorns Coach Dayne Brown said his team has spent the better part of two weeks preparing for its toughest task thus far this year.

“Liberty looks very good on both sides of the ball as well as on special teams,” he said. “The biggest challenges we face on defense will be stopping their balance. Nos. 20 (Elisis), 6 (Benn) and 2 (Hankerson) all do a good job, and the quarterback is a threat to run or throw to their talented receivers.

“Defensively, the thing that stands out is their quickness, speed and aggressiveness. It will be by far our toughest challenge to date.”

Benson said Harmony and Liberty are similar in that both teams have explosive offenses with talented backs.

“Acevedo has a lot of speed and elusiveness, and (Clayton) is a real good up-the-field kind of runner,” Benson said.

Benson is happy with his defense, coached by Ray Hines. Lineman Mauricio Chacon had five tackles and two sacks for Liberty last week.

“Coach Hines has those guys playing real well,” Benson said. “Harmony is a well-coached team, and they’ll be a challenge. Our kids are looking forward to it because it’s a big in-county game.”

The winner gets a huge leg up in the district standings, where Edgewater, the defending champion, is favored.

Gateway, 1-2, hopes to have senior quarterback Roger Allen back for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. home game against Boone in the Panthers’ 6A District 6 opener.

Allen, who hurt his ankle in Week 2 against Harmony after scoring four touchdowns in a 36-35 season-opening win over Poinciana, did not play at Liberty last week.

Sophomore Anthony Rodrigues got the start and hit 6-of-15 passes for 66 yards, but he was under a relentless Charger pass rush. Gateway finished the night with 86 total yards. On defense, freshman Isiah Wharton intercepted his second pass of the year.

“When we had any kind of field position, we moved the ball a little but we just couldn’t sustain anything,” GHS Coach Marlin Roberts said. “That happens when you’re young like that – a rookie sophomore quarterback and two freshmen, and a sophomore on the offensive line. Those guys are starting to come together.”

Boone is 0-3 against Olympia, Timber Creek and Winter Park.

Roberts said the Panthers will see, “a pretty solid team.

“They’ve got speed on the outside, which concerns us.”

Gateway plays for its first district win since 2006. The Panthers were an independent from 2007-08.

“It’s a good week to get Roger back,” Roberts said.

his week we’re planning a few personnel changes, but we’re not pushing the panic button.”

Rick Pedone contributed to this story.