Waco La Vega Breaks Defensive Stalemate to Win

By Michael Wright
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Updated: December 21, 2018

Liberty Hill Panthers (13-1) vs. Waco La Vega Pirates (13-2) UIL Class 4A DI Texas High School Football State Championship.

The Waco La Vega Pirates beat the Liberty Hill Panthers 40-28 in the Class 4A Division I Championship game. It was La Vega's 2nd Championship in their 4th Championship game. They last won in 2015. Liberty Hill falls to 2-1 in Championship games. They were back to back champions in 2006 and 2007.

Liberty Hill got the ball first but was unable to do anything with it. On La Vega's first possession, running back Jar'Que Walton scored on a 35 yard run to make the score 7-0. After the teams traded punts, Liberty Hill had the ball at their 46 yard line. They drove to the La Vega 4 as the quarter ended.

Panther running back Kyle Harrison ran it in from 4 yards out on the first play of the 2nd quarter and the score was tied up at 7. La Vega drives into Liberty Hill territory before punting. The Panthers take over at their own 8 yard line with 7:26 left until half. Liberty Hill drove to the La Vega 40 and attempted a fake punt but the attempt failed. La Vega went 3 and out and punted with 47 seconds left. The clock ran out with the scored tied at 7 at the half.

Halftime Stat:
Liberty Hill 149 total yards -- Waco La Vega 103 total yards

La Vega defensive back Donta Stuart returned the 2nd half kickoff 94 yard for a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead. Liberty Hill punted and pinned the Pirates deep in their territory. A few plays later, receiver Malachi Wright caught a short pass, made a move and went 90 yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-7. Liberty Hill drove to the Pirate 15 but fumbled and it was recovered by La Vega. The Pirates capitalized on the turnover when Wright caught another touchdown pass, this time from 61 yards out. That brought the score to 28-7. Liberty Hill ball as the quarter ends.

The Panthers scored when quarterback Jacob Cearley ran it in from 9 yards out. That tightened the score to 28-14 with 8:48 left in the game. La Vega got a big kickoff return and then John Richards ran it in from 43 yards out to make the score 35-14 with 6:59 remaining. Cearley scored again from 3 yards out to make the score 35-21 with 2:59 left. Onside kick was recovered by La Vega. A few plays later, Liberty Hill caused a fumble and recovered it at their 39. The Panthers drove deep into Pirate territory but were unable to score.

Offensive MVP : Waco La Vega receiver Malachi Wright

Defensive MVP : Waco La Vega linebacker Jared Rogers

Attendance : 19,218