If there was one test that Liberty’s football team passed in last week’s 42-7 victory over Whitehall, it was their ability to bounce back from a defeat the previous week to Nazareth.

The Hurricanes showed they had no hangover from a tough loss on the road to the Blue Eagles, as they jumped out to a 21-0 lead over Whitehall in the first quarter, picking off Zephyr quarterback Gianni Sinatore on his first three drives of the game to give Liberty the lead and momentum.

Justin Haynes led the defensive barrage by ending the Zephyrs opening drive in Liberty territory with an 87-yard interception return early in the first quarter to give Liberty their first points.

Sinatore would then have a pass tipped on the next series and picked off by Victor Santiago. ’Canes quarterback Doug Erney then found Santiago on a 45-yard TD pass for Liberty’s second score of the night, putting them up 14-0 with 2:15 in the first.

And as the night couldn’t have started worse for the Zephyrs, Joe Curzi added to their misery by intercepting Sinatore on the next series, setting up Liberty at the Whitehall 24.

Erney would then find Jayden Figueroa on a 15-yard score to give Liberty complete command after one period of play.

“They had a nice drive to start the game and then Justin Haynes picks it off and returns it to the end zone,” said Liberty head coach John Truby. “Honestly, we were just playing our base coverages to start the game and the kids were in the right spots and made plays.”

Erney finished the night 9-of-12 for 154 yards and three touchdowns, adding 69 yards on the ground and a score.

His nine-yard TD run with 1:26 left in the first half gave the Hurricanes a 28-7 lead heading into halftime. He then found Santiago (4 rec, 92 yards and two TD’s) on a 28-yard TD pass to begin the third quarter to deflate any chance of Whitehall staying in the game.

The mercy-rule came into effect late in the third when Gunner Anglovich ran it in from seven yards for the final score of the night.

With the night ending up being a lopsided victory, Truby and company were happy to see the troops bounce back after defeat to propel their season mark to 3-1.

“You know these are high school kids, so we wanted to see how they would come back after losing to Nazareth,” Truby said. “We made sure that they answered the call this week and they came to play and I’m real proud of them.”

Next up for Liberty is a desperate Emmaus (1-3) team, which lost to Nazareth 49-36 last weekend.

The Hornets were paced by Kyle Boney’s 205 yards rushing on 33 carries and five touchdowns.

Truby knows Emmaus’ ability to be physical up front presents a challenge for his group heading into this week’s matchup on the road.

“It’s the EPC South and every game is big,” Truby said. “We need to have another week of practice like we just had and get after it this weekend.”