Liberty is off to a 6-0 start, but the Hurricanes will face their toughest test of the season at home Friday night when Nazareth travels to BASD Stadium.

It’s one of the best matchups of the week pairing the defending District 11 6A champions against a resurgent Hurricane squad that is looking for a signature win.

Head coach Shawn Daignault knows his team will be facing a gauntlet to close out the season, starting with Nazareth (4-2) this week.

“Without a doubt, we are very aware that it will take our best effort every week if we want to continue the success we’ve been having,” said Daignault, as they still have Easton, Bethlehem Catholic and Freedom left. “Our approach shouldn’t change though. We have done a good job of approaching the season week-to-week and day-to-day. Each week is completely focused on doing everything we can to get that win. Then we move on to the next challenge.”

Getting a win over Nazareth would be a major coup for the program, but will certainly be the most difficult challenge of the season thus far considering the abundance of offensive firepower the Blue Eagles have at their disposal with the trio of quarterback Peyton Falzone, wide receiver Caleb Newsome and running back Marquez Wimberly.

The Blue Eagles got back on track from a two-game slide with last week’s 60-7 victory over Pleasant Valley, as the trio combined for seven touchdowns on the night against the lowly Bears.

“Nazareth will always be well coached as long as Tom Falzone is there, so they are not going to beat themselves,” said Daignault. “Everyone will point at their three Division 1 recruits, Falzone, Newsome and Wimberly, but they are more than those three guys. As is typical of a Nazareth squad, they have a bunch of tough hard-nosed guys. Defensively, we have to stop the big play and keep Falzone in the pocket. Offensively, we have to handle their pressure in both the run game and the pass game.”

Freedom and Parkland were able to humble Nazareth this season with a pair of blowout wins in weeks four and five and the Hurricanes hope they can use part of that recipe for success this week.

“Those were both very physical games and we need to bring a similar level of physicality to the game because we know they will,” Daignault said. “Those teams were both successful in limiting big plays and that went a long way toward their wins.”

Liberty shutout East Stroudsburg North on the road last week 39-0. Antonio Fontanez threw for 159 yards and two scores and Liberty’s ground game amassed 195 yards and four touchdowns, with Gabe Green (44 yards, two touchdowns), Adriaan DeLeon (70 yards, touchdown) and Brayden McKinley (25 yards, touchdown) find the end zone.