Former Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten coached the Warriors to a dominating 52-10 win over Austin Regents for the TAPPS D2 state championship on Saturday in Waco – the program’s first title since 2007.
Liberty finished 14-0 and had its sixth game with 50 or more points.
The Warriors rolled past their opposition – with a 716-96 scoring differential in 14 games. Their fewest points was 31 (31-0) in Week 2 over Episcopal School of Dallas. Their lowest scoring margin was the 28 (45-17) in the state semifinals against FW All Saints.
In Week 7, Liberty Christian scored a season high 85 points vs Fort Worth Christian.
UConn commit QB Cole Welliver was 15 of 19 for 164 yards and three touchdowns against Regents. He connected twice with Brady Janusek, who finished with 56 yards on six catches. Quinton Brown added two catches for 13 yards and one touchdown.
Chase Garnett was state champ MVP with 187 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns.
Liberty started hot with a 14-3 lead after the first quarter and 31-3 at halftime. Garnett scored on a 36-yard TD run and Welliver connected with Janusek on a 1-yard scoring pass to get the Warriors going. Welliver threw TD passes of 10 and 9 yards to Janusek and Brown, and Michael Stump hit a 25-yard field goal to push the lead to 28 at the break.
Janusek had a pick-six in the second half – returning an interception 50 yards.
Garnett added a 35-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Garnett finished the year among the top running backs in the DFW area with 1,808 yards rushing and 31 touchdowns.
Witten is in his third season with the program.
After leaving Tennessee, Witten was drafted by the Cowboys in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He spent 16 seasons with Dallas and finished as a 4-time All-Pro, went to 11 Pro Bowls and was named to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
During the regular season, Witten finished his career with 271 games played, 252 starts, 1,228 catches, 13,046 yards receiving, 10.8 yards per catch and 74 touchdowns. He played the most games by a tight end in NFL history. He also holds Cowboys records in receptions, yards and games played.
He has two sons – that are also on the Liberty Christian team – junior CJ and freshman Cooper.
