Archives > Sports
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Cole who?: Kinner takes center stage in victory over Liberty
BY CHRIS O'DELL, codell@starlocalnews.com
LITTLE ELM -- On a night when Little Elm was honoring former Lobo and current Dallas Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley, it was a current player that stole all the attention Friday at the Little Elm Athletic Complex.
Senior running back Keaun Kinner ran for 343 yards and five touchdowns on 32 carries, giving the Lobos a 49-14 home victory over Frisco Liberty.
"[Kinner] is pretty special," said Galen Zimmerman, Liberty head coach. "He is probably the best player we've seen so far this season."
"For us to be able to rest Keaun Kinner for an entire half is great," Stowers said.
The Lobos established their dominance on the game's opening drive, with the team marching 61 yards and scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Devante' Pullum.
Little Elm then wasted no time getting the ball back and forced a three-and-out on Liberty's first possession.
To make matters worse for the Redhawks, junior kicker Kyle Parks was forced to punt into the heavy wind and had the ball come right back to the line of scrimmage to give Little Elm possession at the 20-yard line.
"Any time there is a wind like that, it affects the game," Zimmerman said. "We just try to minimize the impact as much as possible."
Kinner then punched it in from a yard away to make it a 14-0 Little Elm advantage with 4:40 left in the first quarter.
Liberty was then only able to pick up one first down before punting for the second time in two possessions and giving Kinner a chance to widen the game's lead.
The senior did exactly that, running for 48 yards on the nine-play drive and capping it off with a touchdown run from 2 yards out.
"We got it done from start to finish tonight," Stowers said.
Things then went from bad to worse for the Redhawks, as junior quarterback Connor Robison threw an interception to Little Elm senior Jackson Scroggins only two plays into Liberty's following drive.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," Zimmerman said. "[Little Elm] did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes."
That's when Kinner went back to work and racked up all 42 yards of a four-play drive by scoring on an 11-yard scamper to give the Lobos a 28-0 lead with 8:29 left in the opening half.
Things quickly snowballed for Liberty, as the Redhawks turned the ball over for the second straight possession before history repeated itself once again at the other end.
Kinner added his fourth rushing touchdown of the half on an 8-yard run with just 3:51 remaining in the half, making it a 35-0 affair.
The senior would end his scoring on Little Elm's following drive, needing only one play to sprint 75 yards for a fifth touchdown in the half.
"[Kinner] has great balance and great speed," Zimmerman said. "He's tough to bring down."
Kinner's final touchdown run made it a 42-0 game at halftime.
Little Elm fans then turned their attention from one standout player to another, as Beasley was honored at the break by having his No. 11 jersey retired.
The former Lobo tallied 4,903 yards and 48 touchdowns on the ground while adding another 5,686 yards and 52 touchdowns through the air during his career at Little Elm.
"Cole and his teammates helped establish a winning tradition and high expectations for Lobo football," said Bill Wakefield, former Little Elm athletic director. "While No. 11 will never be worn by a Lobo again, the Little Elm Athletic Complex will always be filled with the memories of Cole Beasley miracles."
Needing a miracle of their own for a potential comeback, the Redhawks came out in the second half and continued to struggle on offense.
After marching into the red zone and nearing their first points of the night, the Redhawks committed one of their three turnovers in the game on another Robison interception.
Despite a majority of Little Elm's key starters sidelined in the second half, the Lobos still added to their lead on the ensuring possession when junior fullback Juan Martinez took over for Kinner.
Martinez punched it in from 5-yards away after running for 37 yards on the drive.
The run would end Little Elm's offensive showing in the game while Liberty senior running back Alonte Ryan added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to rack up 209 yards on 16 carries.
"We did some good things tonight," Zimmerman said.
Ryan's efforts weren't enough to give the Redhawks their first district win of the season. Liberty fell to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 against 9-4A counterparts with a Friday matchup against defending champion Centennial next in line.
"Our whole district is so good that there isn't an easy game," Zimmerman said. "We knew that going in."
Meanwhile, the Lobos (2-3) moved to 1-1 against district foes and a Friday meeting against Frisco will present Little Elm a chance at moving above .500 in that category.
"That's a big game next week," Stowers said. "It should be a heck of a game."
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Sports «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
