Maize football won its first playoff game against Liberal 56-15 on Friday. The Eagles are now 8-1 this season.

The Eagles jumped to a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Senior Eli Owings then started off the second quarter with another touchdown, leaving Maize with a lead of 21-0.

Owings, an offensive lineman, scored on a trick play. It was the first touchdown of his career. He said he and fellow lineman Jacob Quiggle have tried for some time to get offensive coordinator Rob Helm to put in the play. 

“We’ve been trying since freshman year and he just finally cracked,” Owings said. 

Sophomore Scott Adams said he thought the game went well, but the team should continue to grow through practice.

“I think we did alright, but we really need a good week of practice this week,” he said.

Owings said the team needed to keep up their excitement after a 42-0 lead in the first half. 

“I wish going into the second half we would have had a lot more energy,” he said. “I thought we were kind of dead, kind of  relaxed. We just need to work on that because it’s not going to get any easier. There’s definitely some things we need to work on.

Owings said he hopes the team can hone their focus for the important game next week.

“We didn’t play our best, but we’ll regroup and be ready for next week,” he said. “We have a crosstown rival next week, so we’ll just have to take care of that and take one game at a time.”

The Eagles return Friday at home against the Maize South Mavericks.