The Liberty and Mount Si football teams had already locked in playoff appearances, but it wasn’t apparent with the effort displayed by both squads Friday night when Liberty came out on top 25-20.
With the win, Liberty (7-2 overall, 5-1 league) sealed second place in the KingCo and a home game in the preliminary round of the 3A state playoffs. Mount Si (5-4, 4-2) takes third in the league and will travel to Peninsula High School for its playoff game next week.
Two big plays decided the game in the second half. First, Mount Si’s Sean Snead rushed up through the middle and broke loose for a 77-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to give Mount Si a 20-19 lead.
The next Liberty drive stalled and the Wildcats got the ball back and ran 11 straight plays. The strategy let Mount Si drain nearly seven minutes off the clock before the Patriots slowed down the rush. Then as Liberty coach Steve Valach and the Patriots players pumped up the crowd from the sideline, the Liberty defense forced Mount Si’s Tyson Riley into an incomplete pass on fourth-and-seven.
So Liberty got the ball with less than four minutes in the game, down by one, with sophomore quarterback Trey Wheeler under center.
“I was very confident at that point,” Valach said. “He’s (Wheeler) a pretty special player. . . . I think he gained a lot of momentum from a solid second half against Bellevue last week and carried that into tonight.”
On the fourth play of the drive, Wheeler hit fellow sophomore Chandler Jenkins on a post route behind the safeties. Jenkins ran it in for a 50-yard touchdown reception.
“I had Chandler back there and I know he’s fast,” Wheeler said. “I saw the ref’s arms go up, I checked for any flags on the play, then we went crazy.”
That play gave the Patriots a 25-20 lead and got the large Liberty crowd roaring. The Wildcats got the ball back with over two minutes left, but got no closer than the Patriots’ 45-yard line before turning the ball over on down. Liberty ran a few simple plays and the game was over.
Snead plowed ahead for tough yards most of the night. He rushed 23 times for 214 yards and two touchdowns.
Liberty senior Joseph Yea rushed 15 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. Jenkins made plays all over the field, catching six passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. The sophomore added 61 rushes on seven carries.
Wheeler completed 13 of 20 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. He also nailed the Wildcats down on their own two-yard line with a 42-yard punt in the fourth quarter. Senior Richard Crespo caught six passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Both teams were forced into a number of mistakes in the game. Extra point kicks were an adventure, as the Patriots had some issues with long snapping in the damp, crisp weather. Liberty drew 11 penalties, Mount Si six.
“We really need to over-emphasize that stuff next week,” Wheeler said of the Patriots’ missteps. “We can’t afford to do those things in the playoffs.”
Valach said he feels like his offense is jelling at just the right time, with North Kitsap (7-2) coming up next weekend in the preliminary round of the playoffs. The Vikings finished second in the 3A Olympic/Western Cascade League and feature a strong offense that averaged 33.1 points per game this season.
Renton, Lindbergh and Liberty will all play in the preliminary round of the 3A state playoffs this weekend. That gives Renton three teams out of the final 32 left in the race for a state title, with the fourth (Hazen) missing out on a trip because of a tiebreaker.
Lindbergh 54, Evergreen 22 (Thursday)
David Valentine rushed for four touchdowns on just eight carries, leading the Eagles to a 54-22 win over Evergreen Thursday night.
Jacob Allie passed for three touchdowns for the Eagles, including two to Willie Creear. Lindbergh (7-2, 7-1) remains in second place in the Seamount after the win. Evergreen (1-8, 1-7) remains in eighth.
Lindbergh will meet Columbia River (5-4) next week in the playoffs. The Chieftains placed third in the Greater St. Helens League and have been inconsistent offensively this season. The team has scored just seven points in three games and 27 or more in the other six games.
Renton 35, Highline 0
Renton’s Mar’que Fluker rushed for a 54-yard touchdown in the first minute and added another to lead the Indians to 35-0 victory over Highline Friday night.
Travino Buckley, John Williams II and Nakee McGary added rushing touchdowns for the Indians. Renton (5-3, 5-2) takes the Seamount’s third playoff spot with the win over the Pirates (3-5, 3-5).
The Indians will travel to meet the Blazers of Timberline (7-2), who won the 3A Olympic/Western Cascade League.
Hazen
Hazen did not play but picked up a forfeit win over Tyee. The Highlanders tied for fourth in the league, but lose the tiebreaker for the Seamount’s final playoff spot to Mount Rainier by virtue of the Ram’s 32-28 victory over Hazen earlier this season.
The Highlanders will play Auburn Mountainview (5-4, 4-4) on Nov. 6 in an SPSL/Seamount crossover game.
