LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Two of the Hub City’s hottest teams will collide this evening as the Estacado Matadors (7-2, 3-0) welcome in the Lubbock-Cooper Liberty Patriots (7-1, 2-0), all part of KCBD’s “Thursday Night Throwdown” airing tonight on Lubbock’s CW Network and My Lubbock TV.
Estacado has won its previous six games, three of them on TNT: a 14-7 win over then-unbeaten Randall in week five, followed by a 28-20 comeback victory against Andrews one week later, and then a 58-51 thriller over Perryton two weeks ago. Last Friday in Borger, the Matadors destroyed the Bulldogs 74-24. WR/RB’s James Bozeman and Cedric Ross have combined for 21 offensive touchdowns this season.
“We can’t wait. When you get to play a quality team like Estacado on Thursday night on TV, it’s something that all of our kids have been looking forward to, coaches are excited, and this game is going to be no different. Coach Ward does a great job over there, and he’s going to have his guys ready to go. It’s going to be a playoff atmosphere over there,” said Liberty head coach Joe Sexton.
An EHS win would secure a district title for the second year in a row; however, tonight will be the team’s greatest challenge yet. With its first-ever senior class, the Patriots have emerged as one of the most-dominant teams in the South Plains. Their early wins include a 49-7 season opener against New Home, 55-12 over Idalou, and 63-27 versus Seminole. In district play, Liberty topped Perryton 56-14 and did likewise with Borger 65-3. The team’s running game has been on of the area’s best- with an average of 294 yards per game. QB Colton Bichard and RB Kaiden Joseph have also combined for 20 touchdowns on the ground.
“Very solid program, credit to (Liberty’s) coaches, but you know our preparation and our practice style determines how well we’re going to play, and that’s the emphasis is practicing hard and going out there and playing as hard as we can, so it would mean a lot for our program to continue that trend in terms of going out there and competing for another district championship and coming away with it,” Estacado head coach Eric Ward said.
Tonight’s showdown gets underway 7 p.m. at Lowrey Field. KLCW Lubbock’s CW is free antenna channel 22.1, Optimum 4, Dish Network 22, DirecTV 22, UVerse 1022, Vexus 709. It is also available on YouTube TV and Hulu Live.
Copyright 2025 KCBD. All rights reserved.