By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Liberty football fans should attend the Chargers’ season opener Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Charger field for two reasons: Liberty has a challenging test against Haines City, and the Chargers won’t play at home again until Oct. 14.

Haines City, in Polk County’s 7A District 5, is similar to the Chargers, according to Liberty Coach David Benson, in that both teams are fast with plenty of athletic talent.

“They don’t seem to have that one guy that jumps out at you offensively when you look at the tape, but they just have  bunch of kids who can run and make you miss,” he said. “If you can make someone miss in high school, you can score.”

Liberty played its Kickoff Classic at Satellite Aug. 24.

The Chargers scored 38 points, but they gave up 41. The Scorpions took advantage of a pair of Chargers turnovers that resulted in touchdowns after Liberty took a 12-0 lead.

“We’re going to be all right. Our young guys will have to step up on Friday and we’ll see where we stand there, but I’m confident that we’re going to play well,” he said.

Sophomore quarterback Terrell Bonds has stepped in nicely to run an offense that Benson calls perhaps the most explosive in the school’s four-year history. Running back Jalen Benn, with 4.38 speed, is a game breaker.

Benson said the Chargers may have an advantage because Haines City uses many of its best players on offense and defense.

“We’ll see how that plays out, but it could be a factor,” Benson said.

Liberty has an open date next week before beginning a four-game road trip to Bishop Moore, Harmony, University and Gateway. The team’s next home game is against Freedom Oct. 14