LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Tonight will feature one of the area’s most-anticipated contests of the regular season when the No. 3 Lubbock-Cooper Liberty Patriots (7-0, 1-0 district) take on the also-undefeated Estacado Matadors (8-0, 2-0) in a game that will likely decide the district title in 4A-2 Region I District 3.
The game will air on KCBD.com, End Zone App, and Streaming App.
The Estacado Matadors have opened district with two 60+-point performances, a 64-35 win at Perryton, followed by a 66-0 victory over Borger. Lubbock-Cooper Liberty head football coach Joe Sexton says he’s well-aware of the stakes heading into this evening’s matchup.
“I think the main thing is, it’s a district ball game, so it’s even more important. If we played these guys week 1, week 3, we would still want to win, but you could say it’s got maybe a gold ball attached to this one, and probably for the next two or three also,” he said. “So, it’s going to be pretty much a big deal for us to again, just play somebody in town.”
The Patriots are coming off a bye week and have already beaten six of their first seven opponents by 30 or more points. Estacado head coach Eric Ward says what they do between plays matters just as much as what happens when the ball is snapped.
“I think what we need to do is just go out there, just be disciplined and do what we do and just go out there and just be sound at it and not give away anything that we don’t entail, like penalties, being undisciplined or things like that of that nature,” he said.
Both programs have met in the previous two years of Liberty’s existence as a varsity program, beginning with a 44-27 Estacado win in 2024 followed with a 49-21 revenge from Lubbock-Cooper Liberty last season.
The game kicks off 7 p.m. at Patriot Stadium.
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.