ROYSE CITY -- Liberty-Eylau scored 22 points in the final 2:43 of the first half, and forced five turnovers in a 49-36 win over Carrollton Ranchview in their Class 4A Division I Region II area playoff Thursday night.

The Leopards (7-5) advanced to the regional semifinals where it will face the winner of Friday night's game between Paris and Sanger next week. Ranchview ended its season at 9-3.

Liberty-Eylau recorded three interceptions and two fumble recoveries on the night. An interception in the closing moments put an exclamation point on the Leopards' sixth consecutive win.

Donelle Hoof led the Leopards' offensive attack with 177 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Lamont Byrd ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts, and returned a kickoff 85 yards for a score.

Trailing 22-21 late in the first half, Liberty-Eylau reeled off 22 consecutive points to enter halftime with a 43-22 lead.

Hoof's 29-yard touchdown gave the Leopards the lead for good at 27-22, and after a fumble recovery at the Ranchview 10-yard line, Byrd crossed the goal line from 10 yards out to increase the lead to two scores.

An interception on the ensuing Ranchview possession set L-E up at the 2-yard line, and Ricardo Lockett's scoring run on first down gave the Leopards a 21-point lead with 48 seconds remaining in the half.

Ranchview scored 14 consecutive points to pull within a touchdown with 5:14 remaining in the fourth, but L-E responded with a four-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Byrd's 47-yard touchdown run. The long scoring run pushed L-E's lead to 49-36 with 3:14 remaining in the game.

[Stats courtesy, DallasNews.com]

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Liberty-Eylau 49, Carrollton Ranchview 36

Class 4A Division I
Region II Area Playoff
At Royse City ISD Stadium

Liberty-Eylau           14    29      0      6    --    49
Ranchview              13      9      7      7    --    36

First Quarter
LE--Thurman Morbley 15 pass from Ke'Mon Freeman (Tavian Gullatt kick), 9:45.
CR--Davian Carter 5 run (Mario Romero kick), 6:02.
LE--Lamont Byrd 85 kickoff return (Gullatt kick), 5:49.
CR--Raghib Ismail 16 run (kick failed), :52.
Second Quarter
CR--FG Romero 22, 11:28.
LE--Freeman 6 run (Gullatt kick), 8:37.
CR--Keidrien Wadley 1 run (pass failed), 6:47.
LE--Donelle Hoof 29 run (pass failed), 2:43.
LE--Byrd 10 run (Hoof run), 1:16.
LE--Ricardo Lockett 2 run (Byrd run), :48.
Third Quarter
CR--Ismail 28 pass from Wadley (Romero kick), 8:38.
Fourth Quarter
CR--Wadley 1 run (Romero kick), 5:14.
LE--Byrd 47 run (pass failed), 3:17.

                                             LE                  CR
First Downs                            18                   26
Total Yards                           396                 443
Rushes-Yards                  50-357           49-367
Passing Yards                         39                  76
Comp.-Att.-Int.                  3-4-0            7-18-3
Punts-Avg.                        2-10.5                0-0
Fumbles-Lost                         4-2                2-2
Penalties-Yards                    7-70              2-10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Liberty-Eylau, Donelle Hoof 19-177, Lamont Byrd 11-113, Ke'Mon Freeman 17-59, Ricardo Lockett 2-5, Thurman Morbley 1-3. Ranchview, Keidrien Wadley 29-179, Davian Carter 13-135, Raghib Ismail 6-39, Michael Murphy 1-14.
PASSING--Liberty-Eylau, Freeman 3-4-0--39. Ranchview, Wadley 7-18-3--76.
RECEIVING--Liberty-Eylau, Morbley 2-42, Hoof 1-(-3). Ranchview, Ismail 5-62, Murphy 1-7, Lamonte Toles 1-7.

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