West Liberty – a capsule look

     Here is a capsule look at the West Liberty Comets (6-3), Monticello’s first round opponent in the State Class 2A Football Playoffs.

     • West Liberty was seventh in the final Ratings Performance Index. The Comets tied with Tipton for the championship of Class 2A, District 5, each with 4-1 district records, but the Comets took the title by virtue of beating Tipton 14-13 on the final week of the regular season.  

     • The Comets are 6-3 overall (same as Monticello), with the losses coming against West Branch (28-6), Solon (48-7) and Mount Vernon (31-14). West Liberty was 2-3 after that Mount Vernon loss, but won four straight to close out the regular season. The last two of those were nail-biters: 21-19 over Camanche and the aforementioned one-point win over Tipton.

     • Monticello and West Liberty had one common opponent this season – Anamosa, which lost to West Liberty 22-21 in week three and beat the Panthers 21-13 in week seven.

     • The Comets are led offensively by senior running back Will Esmoil, who rushed 142 times for 828 yards and nine touchdowns. Quarterback Taten Dengler also rushed 101 times for 284 yards and five touchdowns, and passed for 743 yards and five scores, although he did throw seven interceptions.

     • Defensively, Gavin Chown leads the team in tackles with 66, and Esmoil has 64.5.