Dawaun Moody, Liberty maul Campbell 45-2 to open season
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LIBERTY -- Playing one of the first games of the opening week of the 2026 high school football season, Liberty made an early statement on Thursday night.
Dawaun Moody led the Leopards with six touchdowns, and Liberty's defense shut down Campbell's offense in a 45-2 victory over the Red Devils at Leopards Stadium to kick off the season.
"Game one's always really important," Liberty head coach Dom Prologo said. "You want to make sure you start the season the right way. Having a win in game one is huge. I wish we could have done a lot of things better, but it's game one. My expectations are a little bit more than the way we played today."
Moody and the Leopards started slowly on their opening drive in the first quarter after back-to-back penalties put them behind the chains.
After punting the ball away, Liberty immediately got the ball back by blocking a Campbell punt. That set up Moody's first touchdown from 11 yards out midway through the first quarter.
Dillon Wright then came in at quarterback and bulldozed into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to start the second quarter.
By halftime, the Leopards had extended their lead to 25-0 after two more touchdown runs by Moody. The first was an 18-yard scamper, while the second was set up by Moody's 55-yard catch-and-run on a reception from Wright.
"For us, you gotta accept the challenge. We told them all week, we told them starting last year after the season was over -- when we play them again, No. 1's the guy to stop. They knew that," Campbell head coach David Porch said about trying to stop Moody. "We told them that as coaches. You coach them up, you show them the plays they're going to run and what they're going to do, and they did exactly what we thought they were going to do every single play. You just gotta hit them."
Things started to get ugly in the second half for the Red Devils when quarterback Ricky Fleetion was strip-sacked on Campbell's first drive of the third quarter. Aaron Barcley recovered the ensuing fumble at the 1-yard line, and Moody scored again on the next play.
The Leopards' defense earned another turnover on an interception by Richie Sly, which set up Moody's 17-yard touchdown run with about six minutes left in the third.
In all, Liberty's defense held the Red Devils to less than 70 total yards and forced three turnovers. The Leopards also forced Campbell into 14 negative-yardage plays.
"I thought we were aggressive in what we did," Prologo said. "But we need to learn how to compete a little bit faster, and that's something that for some young guys that haven't been under the lights before, tonight was a good experience for them. Hopefully by next week, they learn how to compete a little bit more."
Moody's sixth and final touchdown of the game came on the final play of the third quarter, as he ran it in from seven yards out to give the Leopards a 45-0 lead.
In addition to his six scores, Moody totalled 88 rushing yards, 81 receiving yards and 30 passing yards.
"[Moody's] a generational player. You only get one of them every so often, and I've been fortunate enough to have a couple of them," Prologo said. "He's special, that kid. With his desire to be a great leader and a great teammate, he's everything Liberty would want. He's not just a great football player; he's a great young man."
Campbell's lone points of the night came inside the final two minutes of the fourth quarter on a safety in the end zone.
"They just wanted it more than us," Porch said. "I'm gonna be honest, they were more aggressive up front. Their line dominated up front. That was the difference. ... That's something we gotta go back to Campbell and think and talk about, and maybe switch some of those guys on that front-four and see who we got. Maybe bring some younger guys in who want it more because that's what happened. Game was won in the trenches by them."