Football: Liberty-Millbrook Class C semifinal preview

Published: 2:00 AM – 10/29/10

Where: Dietz Stadium, Kingston

Tickets: $7 adults, $5 students

Team records: Liberty 6-2, Millbrook 8-0

At stake: the winner will play the John S. Burke Catholic-Tri-Valley winner for the championship at 3 p.m. Nov. 6 at Faller Field in Middletown.

Scouting Liberty: Liberty, the Class C Division I runner-up, enters the game banged up. Running back Eddie Soto, who has 1,082 yards and 17 touchdowns, left last week’s 35-6 win over Pine Plains in the first quarter with a hip injury. he first hurt his hip on Oct. 8 against James I. O’Neill. Soto, a senior, is expected to play. Quarterback Marshon Williams also left the Pine Plains game — at halftime — with a hip injury. he will play against Millbrook. Junior cornerback Javier Baez leads Liberty with four interceptions. His brother, Efrain, also a junior, plays the other corner. the Indians’ two losses this season have come to Burke Catholic and Ellenville.

Scouting Millbrook: Fourth-year coach Sean Keenan helped the Blazers to their first undefeated regular season in more than a decade. he went 4-5, 6-3, 4-5 in his first three seasons. Millbrook has been without its best player, running back Peter Keenan (600 rushing yards), since he sustained a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 25 against Chester. Keenan’s counterpart in the backfield, Jimmy Ross, has stepped up with 20 all-purpose touchdowns and 847 rushing yards. Millbrook is averaging 41 points per game. the Blazers’ lowest scoring output of the year is 23 against Chester.

What Liberty is saying: “You have to give Millbrook a lot of credit, they have had a great season. they are a tough team and we are looking forward to the challenge. It’s not going to be easy, but I think we can beat any team.” — Liberty running back Eddie Soto

What Millbrook is saying: “Liberty is a pretty good team and they beat us up pretty physically last year (Liberty won 21-0 in the regular season). if we don’t play well, if we let them do that to us again, they will beat us.” — Millbrook coach Sean Keenan

You should know: Millbrook is trying to reach a Section 9 final for the first time since 2004, when it lost to Chester 16-8 in the Class D championship. … Liberty fell to Ellenville 21-0 in last season’s Class C championship game. the Indians beat Sullivan West 17-13 in the semifinals.

Prediction: Millbrook 28, Liberty 14

Football: Liberty-Millbrook Class C semifinal preview

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