LIBERTY LANCERS FOOTBALL
Lancer Football History

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Liberty Lancer Football History- 1987- 2003

     The Liberty Lancers began playing football when the high school opened in 1987. The team also christened a new home for the district's football teams- Academy District 20 Stadium. The stadium opened on the school's campus in 1987, as well. The team's first coach was Doug Cogan, who coached for one season at the school. Dom Luppino took over in 1988 and he patroled the sidelines for eleven years. Dick Geddes was named head coach in 2000 and he is the current head coach.
     The Lancers struggled early on against their gridiron opponents, but the team was priming itself for a great season. 1992 proved to be that season for Liberty. The team was the regular season conference champion and had a regular season record of 8-2. The memorable game that season came against the Lewis-Palmer Rangers. Both teams entered the game undefeated and Liberty took a thrilling 30-29 decision, after Lewis-Palmer had scored a late touchdown, went for the two-point conversion to take the lead, and failed. The Lancers would make it all the way to the state championship game before losing to Cheyenne Mountain in the finals.
     In 2000, Liberty returned to football prominence in Colorado Springs. The team, lead by a talented group of all-staters, reached the Class 3A playoffs. The team won their first round game, but came up short to a fine Windsor team in the quarterfinals. The team would finish 8-4 and would win the conferences' Sportsmanship award. Stand-out players on that team included: Matt Ascione, Ryan Mattice, Devin Taber, Frank Villigrana, and Scott Goodrich. In 2001, the team returned a number of starters and roared to an 8-0 start, including an exciting 24-21 victory at Canon City, which broke the Tigers 19-game home winning streak. The Lancers were ranked number one in the state when they travelled to undefeated Alamosa. The Mean Moose punctured the Lancers undefeated season. Liberty rebounded to again reach the quaterfinals in the play-offs. Fort Morgan provided the opposition in what would become a classic football game. Neither defense was able to stop the opposition. The game see-sawed all the way. The Lancers scored late in the fourth quarter to take a 45-41 lead. Fort Morgan was not to be denied, however, as they marched right back and put together a touchdown drive of their own. The drive included a fourth and four conversion for a first down, when a stop by the Lancers would have sealed the game. Fort Morgan would go on to win, 49-45. Liberty finished a fine season at 10-2. However, with a state championship in it's sites, the season ended too soon.
 

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