No. 7 Liberty too much for Mt. Pleasant

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant football team had a mountain ahead of them on Friday night, and by the end of the contest, everyone in attendance realized just how hard it was to climb.

Seventh-ranked Iowa City Liberty, now the overwhelming district favorites after beating North Scott last week, controlled the air all night, as the Lighting struck the Panthers 68-6.

It was the toughest game on Mt. Pleasant’s schedule for a reason. Liberty’s star quarterback, Graham Beckman, threw for six touchdowns, including five in the first quarter, and the outstanding Lightning offense put up 33 in the opening period alone.

Liberty led the game 47-0 at halftime, sprinkling in a pick-six to go along with Beckman’s six scores through the air.

“You can only game plan so much,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Shawn Striegel. “Our kids were in great positions to make plays, and they just run right over you.”

Mt. Pleasant’s lone touchdown pass in the third quarter, as Jacob Richtman hit Garrett Cook on a 19-yard strike in the corner of the end zone.

Richtman was able to eat up some yards in the second half with some sideline passes to Carter Amos, but the Panthers could only find the end zone once.

Mt. Pleasant’s defense was led by Bowen Davis, who collected seven tackles in the loss. Payson Coleman had the lone take-away, picking off Beckman. It was only the second time the Lighting quarterback has been intercepted all season.

“The Panthers will always show up to fight,” said Striegel. “I thought some of our best hits of the season came tonight. We had kids that were flying around, just trying to do what they could.”

Mt. Pleasant is now 0-6 overall and 0-2 in district play. The Panthers will host Burlington (4-2, 1-1) in the Homecoming game on Friday. Coach Striegel says he knows the Grayhounds will give his defense another challenge.

“The thing about Burlington is they're just as fast as everybody else,” said Striegel. “They have a lot of speed.“