By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
For the first time in over a month, the Salina Liberty will hit the road this Saturday for a league contest with the Southwest Kansas Storm.
Salina comes into this matchup in a tie for third at 5-2 while Southwest Kansas enters in sixth at 2-5.
These two met two weeks back in a game that saw the Liberty emerge victorious by a final score of 45-38.
While Salina emerged with a win, the Liberty will be very intentional about shoring up their play in the rematch, specifically in the turnover margin where the team was fortunate to escape with a win.
“I remember the fumbles and interceptions that we surrendered to one of the best defenses in the game and simply put we have to be better than that,” Liberty head coach Heron O’Neal said. “You’re not going to beat too many teams playing the way we did in that game but if we can keep things tightened up like we did last week we should be okay.”
While contending with a stout secondary will be among the top of Salina’s priority list, they will also have to find an answer for nose guard Sidney Jones, who has been more than a handful for opposing fronts this season.
“He’s a problem and we found out just how much of a problem he was in that first game,” O’Neal said. “We’ll have to neutralize him and we’ll have to work against one of the best secondaries in the league but we’re up for the challenge.”
On the other side of the contest, Salina will have to put more pressure on Storm QB Josh Hollins, who ran wild on the Liberty last time with four total touchdowns including three on the ground.
“Our defensive line will have to neutralize their quarterback,” O’Neal said. “He lit us up in that first game and now that we have more film and firsthand experience against him we understand his game and what he can do.”
Kickoff between the Liberty and Storm is scheduled for 6:00 in Dodge City and as always, the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio.