Leopards determined to get over the hump
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LIBERTY -- Joe Simon's Liberty football team has no problem stringing together wins.
The Leopards have had at least one three-game win streak in each of Simon's three seasons as head coach.
However, Liberty has yet to record a winning season under Simon, largely in part due to consistently lackluster starts to each new football season. Since Simon became head coach before the 2021 season, the Leopards have won just three games total in the first five weeks of the regular season. During the last two seasons, Liberty has started the year off with at least three consecutive losses.
Fortunately, Liberty has managed to claw back near .500 and has typically found success in its conference, where it has defeated each of Newton Falls, Champion and Campbell every year.
But winning four or five games a year and exiting the playoffs with a first-round defeat aren't satisfactory for Simon and the Leopards.
"I try not to look too far ahead," Simon said. "You can't really do that as a head coach. It's the whole cliche, week-by-week and day-by-day. But these guys want a winning season. They want to fight for the conference. They want to win playoff games. They have high expectations."
To fulfill those expectations, Simon said the team will have to try to achieve "short-term" goals each day in hopes that it will result in a conference title or Liberty's first postseason victory since 2014.
But Simon is determined to finally get over the hump.
"We've been 5-5 for the last three years. And I'm sick of it, they're sick of it." Simon said. "We want to make the next step and be a winning, competitive football team."
If the Leopards do make the leap Simon hopes, it will be validation for a coach whose journey is intimately connected to Liberty. An alumnus of Liberty, Simon has served as an assistant football coach, as well as wrestling coach for the Leopards since he graduated in 2000.
This senior class is also the first Simon has overseen from ninth through 12th grade.
"I've known a lot of these kids for a long time, especially this senior class. They're just really good kids," Simon said. "They want to win, they understand what I expect and I understand what I'm gonna get from them.
"The trust level as a coach is always really important with your team. Do they trust you? Even when you're telling them to do something that doesn't seem to make sense to them, do they trust you enough to do it? The answer has been yes more often than not with these guys."
OFFENSE
Liberty's offense will look different this season.
"I think our personnel kind of dictated that we needed to make a little bit of a systematic change," Simon said.
After a season in which the Leopards averaged 35.6 points per game, Simon said the team, which has an experienced offensive line but a new offensive coordinator and starting quarterback, will utilize a gap scheme offensively this year.
Liberty's offense will do a little bit of everything, from running the ball to play action and sometimes using a wing, according to Simon.
The fourth-year coach said he hopes to have established an offensive "identity" before the first snap of the 2024 season.
"We have been off to really bad starts the last two years ... because we were searching for an identity on both sides of the ball, but especially offensively," Simon said. "So if we can go into the season with an idea of what we do best, that's going to benefit us a lot."
The identity will likely be shaped heavily by sophomore Dawaun Moody, the Leopards' new starting quarterback. The younger brother of Dwayne Moody, who surpassed 1,000 total yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior for Liberty last season, Dawaun will be moving from running back to quarterback this season.
As a freshman, Dawaun led the Leopards in rushing touchdowns, offensive touchdowns and total touchdowns. He proved his all-around talent on offense, defense and special teams, returning an interception, fumble, punt and kickoff for a touchdown.
"Dawaun is a special, special player. I think he's gonna be one of the better players in the area," Simon said. "He has a high football IQ. He's able to understand the game. He's able to understand if it's third and short, when you just need two yards, you don't need the big play. I think that's going to be a big help for our offense and the team in general."
Moody will be protected by an offensive line Simon believes to be one of the strongest points of Liberty's team. Leading the O-line is senior captain Brady Morgan.
"He's about 6-foot-3, 230 pounds," Simon said of Morgan. "Big, strong kid, loves the weight room, never misses a day. One of the best leaders we have on the team. He's gonna be our anchor on both sides of the ball, but especially offensively."
Morgan will be joined by returning letterwinners Sean Thomas, Lucianno "Luch" DiNardo, Christian Barber, Terrill Blackshear, Isaiah Gonzalez and Justin Nelms. Simon said varsity experience among the linemen is not hard to come by this season.
Shamir Franklin is expected to start at running back for Liberty, while Simon believes Julius "Juju" Farrell, Dearmani Franklin, Ta'yon Sly and Dyionn Tutwiler will also be impactful offensive players for the Leopards.
DEFENSE
With a roster of about 40, the Leopards will rely on many players to make just as big of a mark defensively as they do offensively.
In particular, Moody, at outside linebacker, is expected to be even better than he was as a freshman on the defensive side of the ball.
"He's really good on defense now," Simon said. "That was what stuck out with him last year as a freshman. You don't see many freshmen who are physical. You see freshmen, really good ones, who are fast and they can make people miss. You don't see a lot who are physical, and he was really physical. He's put on 15 pounds of muscle, so I have really high expectations for him and he has high expectations for himself."
Simon said Morgan, like on offense, will also be a big factor up front. Simon also named Gonzalez, Thomas and Kingston Bowers as key players who will provide leadership and instill "confidence" in Liberty's defense.
In addition to Moody, the Leopards' linebackers include Shamir Franklin, Richie Sly, Ta'yon Sly and Ben Terlecki, the latter of whom Simon said was playing "some of the best ball" from a linebacker he had seen last season. Simon also remarked at Ta'yon Sly's leadership, speed and athleticism.
"He's a senior leader and has really been very vocal in leading this team this year. I love to see it," Simon said. "He is the fastest kid on the team. He's 6-foot-1, he's got every athletic tool you could ask for, and if he stops thinking and starts playing, he's gonna have a huge year."
Ferrell, a two-year starter, and sophomore Kameron Coleman will serve as the team's cornerbacks.
SPECIAL TEAMS
With the graduation of Dwayne Moody, the team's primary returner, Liberty's special teams will choose between "several viable options" to replace him, according to Simon.
"Dearmani Franklin, Kamron Coleman, Ta'yon Sly, Dawaun Moody, Dyionn Tutwiler, Chamir Franklin and Derrick Ross-Howard all have the potential to be game-breaking players at either kickoff or punt returners," Simon said.
Regardless of who fields the kicks and punts, Simon said he expects the Leopards' special teams to "make major strides" in 2024.
Kickers Ethan Brookbank and Helaman Garcia return as the team's kickers, while Ferrell, last year's starting punter, faces competition from Garcia and Trenton Long this season.
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