Big plays.

It was the difference that separated Liberty from Parkland in their showdown last Friday night.

The Hurricanes had some, but the host Trojans had the timely ones on their 45-14 victory.

“They hurt us,” noted Liberty head coach John Truby about some big plays. “We played a pretty good first half and we were right there with them. We had a nice start to the third quarter, but we couldn’t shut them down.”

Trailing 14-7 at halftime, Liberty (0-6) shocked Parkland (4-1) on the first play of the second half when sophomore quarterback Thomas Mason, making his first start, hit Twshawn Jack in the flat, and the junior outraced the Parkland secondary 68 yards to the end zone.

But Parkland quickly regained the lead on the ensuing drive when they marched 52 yards on seven plays and regained the lead at 21-14 when Isaiah Rico scored the second of his three touchdowns on a one-yard plunge with 8:44 left in the quarter.

After Liberty went three-and-out, Parkland struck suddenly when quarterback Ty Tremba found Luvan Avidjaj along the sideline, and he sprinted down the sidelines 82 yards that gave the Trojans a two-touchdown cushion with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter.

Tremba connected with John Siggins on an 80-yard scoring play that put Parkland ahead 14-7 late in the second quarter.

Mason also threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Jack Routhenhausler for the Hurricanes’ other score. He also rushed for a team-high 103 yard on nine carries.

Junior Percy Carson relieved Mason late in the fourth quarter.

“Thomas did a nice job for us,” added Truby. “He was making his first start and he showed what he could do. He was able to move the ball and he ran the ball well.”

“We just weren’t able to get in a rhythm tonight overall. We couldn’t put a long drive together in the second half, and they were able to shut us down.”

Yet. Truby was glad to play his shortened schedule due to the pandemic. The Hurricanes closed out the season against rival Freedom in an afternoon tilt Wednesday that was rescheduled due to coronavirus.

“We’re just happy every time we were able to get out there,” said Truby. “It’s been that kind of year.

“We’ll get back to work and be ready for Freedom.”