And you know what? That’s just fine with him.
Liller scored three of Salado’s touchdowns and intercepted a pass as part of the Eagles’ smothering defensive effort in a 26-0 opening-night win over West at Trojan Field.
Not bad for your first time under the lights on Friday night.
“I wasn’t expecting it, especially first game on varsity,” he said, still grinning as he walked off the field. “I’m thankful for it, but it was a lot of my teammates helping me out.”
Liller was one of nearly a dozen Eagles getting their first varsity action on offense. He fit right in, with three catches for 46 yards and two touchdowns, plus two carries for 9 yards and a score. He scored all three touchdowns in the second half, helping the Eagles extend a 7-0 halftime lead.
All those newcomers made things a little shaky early on. The Eagles registered just one first down, coughed up a fumble and turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter.
“We’ve got a lot of kids that haven’t played on Friday night on offense,” said Salado coach Jeff Cheatham, whose 2007 team went 13-1 and advanced to the Class 2A Division I state semifinals. “We had a lot of kids grow up tonight.”
As usual, the running game was there for the Eagles, who finished with 154 yards on the ground. But putting together a long drive early to the seize the momentum was tough.
But when senior Jerod Lutz, who split time at quarterback with fellow senior Garret Ward, came in at QB, the Eagle offense found a spark.
Lutz kept the ball on the first two plays and picked up 26 yards. On the next play, he found tight end Caleb Little down field for a 12-yard gain.
Though that second-quarter drive didn’t produce any points, it seemed to put a jolt into the offense.
“They both bring different dimensions and Jerod is pretty explosive and Garret has his strengths,” Cheatham said. “Jerod got in and did some good things for us tonight.”
Ward was 4-of-13 passing for 89 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Lutz was 7-of-12 for 98 yards with a touchdown.
Those two hooked up for the Eagles’ first score on the next drive, a 61-yard bomb from Ward to Lutz, who leaped up to snatch away a potential interception and give Salado the momentum for good midway through the second quarter.
And the way the Eagles were playing defense, that’s all the cushion they needed anyway.
The Trojans finished with 54 yards total offense and registered three first downs.
It’s worth noting that West was without its top running back, Troy Manolakis, who had a cast on his right arm while walking the sideline. The Trojans were also breaking in first-year starting quarterback Kelvin Anthony.
Manolakis’ main replacement, Cody Aycock, had 2 yards on 15 carries. Anthony was 3-of-16 for 27 yards with an interception.
But even if Manolakis was in the game, it might not have mattered.
This was the same type of smothering defense that helped carry Salado to its amazing 2007 season. And though it’s still early, it appears the Eagles have picked up right were they left off.
“We’ve been preparing to stop the run and that’s been our mentality since we’ve been here,” senior linebacker Patrick Prince said. “We just do the best we can against the run and just line up and play physical football.”
Even with the game in control, the Eagles were still shooting to preserve the shutout.
Liller picked off a pass early in the fourth and returned it 28 yards to snuff out the Trojans and set up his second touchdown of the night.
That’s exactly the kind of lights-out defense the Eagles knew they could play.
“We were always expecting to play good defense and the defense stepped up tonight, holding them to nothing,” Ward said.
As Liller walked off the field, he wasn’t worried about what he’d do for an encore. He and the Eagles will have plenty of chances to try to top this.
“I’m just happy we won,” he said.
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
