Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Liberty quarterback Tyson Lawrence-Watson throws a pass during a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage at Liberty High School. After seeeing some time as a freshman last season, Lawrence-Watson is battling for snaps under center against Tawann Tutwiler, who played quarterback during Liberty’s playoff game last season.

LIBERTY — For every action, there’s an equal reaction.

After getting out-muscled at times in 2022, for example, Liberty placed an even bigger emphasis than usual on its offseason weight training program.

Now, head coach Joe Simon says, the Leopards are eager to put their work to the test.

“We’ve done a lot of work as far as that goes,” he said. “Not just lifting. We did the jump stretch — I really love that program. It helps with speed and helps with durability, helps with leaping ability. So a lot of good things came from that. I’m looking forward to seeing how it pays off. We got pushed around a little bit last year. … So I’m hoping we can compete with some of those teams that were tough in the trenches and pushed us around last year.”

Look no further than how the Leopards concluded the 2022 campaign, a 35-6 loss to eventual state champion South Range in the opening round of the Division V postseason.

Still, Simon says, the game provided valuable experience on which Liberty wants to build in 2023.

“It was good to get a taste of it,” he said. “I think it provides some hunger for the kids to not just get back there, but not be in the lowest seed in the playoffs and have to face the eventual state champion in the first round.

“Our expectations were higher, and they are higher this year. We got off to a really slow start last year, and that’s something we need to avoid. Our schedule isn’t easy. Some of the bigger schools we face will be early in the season, but I like the way we’re preparing. I think that our roster overall is very talented, and I think we have the ability to compete with anybody on the schedule.”

The aforementioned slow start was an 0-4 record that put Liberty behind the 8-ball for a postseason berth rather quickly. However, the Leopards rallied back with a 4-1 record in the back half of the season for a 4-5 regular season mark.

Liberty had one game canceled due to illness.

This season, the schedule lines up similarly to 2022. Liberty opens with Ashtabula Edgewood then takes on rival Girard in Week 2. The nonconference slate closes out with a visit to Lakeview before the Leopards begin their MVAC Gray Tier journey.

“We want a winning record, and we want more than a winning record,” Simon said. “We want to go to the playoffs and win games. We have the talent to do that. Our chemistry is something I’ve been emphasizing a lot — the importance of having each other’s back and trusting the guy next to you and the coaching staff. … If we can come together as a team and really start to believe in one another and have that trust, we’re going to be a very dangerous team this year.”

OFFENSE

As it’s been in the past, Liberty will try to take advantage of its roster’s high-end athleticism.

The Leopards have two players jockeying for the starting quarterback role — Tyson Lawrence-Watson and Tawann Tutwiler.

Lawrence-Watson saw time as a freshman a season ago, completing 42 of 81 passes for 695 yards and five touchdowns. He was intercepted five times.

“It was great for him to get that experience. It wasn’t just reps at the end of a game when the score was out of hand. It was meaningful plays,” Simon said.

He added, “He’s really hit the weight room hard. He’s one of the most dedicated kids as far as that goes. He’s got a good arm, good speed. I think the size and strength of the game, and the speed overall, he was caught off guard by that last year, but he was coming from junior high so it was expected.”

Tutwiler, meanwhile, featured as a slot receiver and running back for Liberty last season, but late in Liberty’s playoff game with South Range was thrust into the quarterback role due to injuries to his teammates. Though it was more of a wildcat role at the time, Tutwiler enjoyed it and decided to hone his quarterbacking skills over the offseason to put his name into the position battle.

“His arm strength and accuracy have been great,” Simon said. “He brings a different dynamic. He’s probably our best athlete overall — very strong, very powerful — and he has breakaway speed.”

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Liberty’s Tawann Tutwiler throws a pass during a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage at Liberty High School.

Simon noted there’s a possibility that both could see time at the position early on, but he’d prefer to make a decision sooner than later on which player will be QB1.

At running back, Liberty returns Chamir Franklin, who saw limited action. The Leopards also will look to Dawaun Moody, a freshman. Behind them, Konnor Seifert and Dyion Tutwiler could provide depth.

Franklin, Simon notes, is best as a between-the-tackles runner, but can get outside with speed. Moody, meanwhile, “is a special player, special talent.”

At receiver, the Leopards are led by speedster Dwayne Moody, who qualified for the state track meet in the 200-meter dash in June. A season ago, he caught 42 passes for 606 yards and six receiving touchdowns, all team highs.

“He’s electric. He really is,” Simon said. “You can give him the ball on a jet sweep, you can put him in the backfield as a running back or a wildcat quarterback. His speed is just unreal. … He understands that teams are going to key on him now, and he worked harder in the offseason because he knows that he can’t just stay where he was for the same results.”

Alongside Moody, sophomore Julius Ferrell will work into the mix after seeing some time as a freshman in 2022. In the slot, Brandon Benson and Brashawn Hicks will get snaps.

“There are a lot of weapons at receiver. I really think it’s our deepest position on either side of the ball,” Simon said.

Up front, the Leopards are “a little bit bigger and a little bit more experienced” than in years past.

Simon highlights Brady Morgan as one of the anchors up front, a junior that will fill the center position.

“He’s grown probably three or four inches since last year. He’s thick, built out. He loves it in the weight room. … I think he’s going to be a monster,” Simon said, adding that he could fill other roles up front as needed as the season rolls along.

Ben Cintron also returns and serves as a vocal leader for the unit, while Justin Nelms also is back from last year’s starting line.

Those three will be relied upon to bring a younger cast of players along, Simon noted. That younger group includes Luciano DiNardo, Christian Barber, Keshun Mitchell and Isaiah Gonzalez.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Liberty senior wide receiver Brashawn Hicks pulls down a pass during a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage against Mathews at Liberty High School.

DEFENSE

The main objective defensively in 2023 is to simplify and allow Liberty’s natural athletes to just make plays, Simon notes. With the amount of team speed, however, expect the Leopards to bring pressure often.

Morgan and Cintron will figure into the starting mix up front, with Cintron at nose tackle. Gonzalez will get snaps at nose, as well. Vince Pezzuto, while inexperienced, brings a lot of the necessary pieces to have success, Simon notes.

Barber, DiNardo and Mitchell also are vying for playing time.

Tawann Tutwiler and Dawaun Moody both will garner starting linebacker duties. Tutwiler was the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year. At the inside linebacker role, where Simon says the Leopards are inexperienced but certainly talented, Franklin returns after starting for about half the season last year, while junior Ben Terlecki is shifting in from the outside role he served in 2022. Seifert also will be in the rotation.

In the secondary, Dwayne Moody is shifting into a safety role after primarily playing corner in 2022. Alongside him, Hicks will play safety.

“They’re really tight friends. They’re relatives, and they’re always fighting each other,” Simon said. “Same with Dawann and Dwayne. They’re constantly arguing, it drives me crazy. But they’re brothers at the end of the day, and that’s the mentality you have to have in football.”

Ferrell will fill in at corner, while Benson will play on the other side.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Leopards are still working to find a punter, though Ferrell did punt some last season. Gonzalez also may get punting duties. Ethan Brookbank returns at placekicker.

At returner is a group Simon says will be special.

“We have five or six guys that can return, so we’re going to put them all on the field — darned if you do, darned if you don’t as far as kickoffs go,” he added.

2023 Schedule

Aug. 25 vs. Girard 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Lakeview 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 vs. Crestview 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 vs. Brookfield 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 at Newton Falls 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 vs. Garfield 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 vs. LaBrae 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 at Champion 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 at Campbell Memorial 7 p.m.

2022 Results (4-6)

at Western Reserve (3-7) L 20-41

at Girard (8-4) L 0-48

vs. Lakeview (3-7) L 8-21

vs. Brookfield (10-2) L 6-47

vs. Campbell Memorial (2-8) W 42-21

at Champion (3-7) W 35-34

vs. Newton Falls (3-7) W 20-6

at LaBrae (1-9) W 48-20

at Garfield (9-3) L 27-56

#at South Range (16-0) L 6-35

#-OHSAA playoffs

Coaching staff

Head coach: Joe Simon, 3rd season, 9-11

Staff: Todd Smith, Gary Muntean, Dave Davis, John Protopapa, Mark McGlynn, Tony Corso, Jason Stouffer, Dalton Moore, Charlie Russell, Shawn Perry, Nick Kratsas.

Team facts

Division V, Region 17

Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference – Gray Tier

Players on roster: 44

Returning letterwinners (13): Julius Ferrell, Justin Nelms, Tyson Lawrence-Watson, Ethan Brookbank, Chamir Franklin, Brady Morgan, Ben Terlecki, Brandon Benson, Ben Cintron, Brashawn Hicks, Dwayne Moody, Vince Pezzuto, Tawann Tutwiler.

2022 season: After an 0-4 start, Liberty won four of its next five games to sneak into the postseason, where the Leopards were defeated by eventual state champion South Range 35-6.