Interceptions, penalties and blown coverage. It all seemed to go wrong for Liberty in the first half of the state tournament play-in game against Camas Friday night.

But the Patriots persevered, stopped the bleeding and beat Camas 32-22 to advance to the 3A state tournament and improve to 9-1.

“Those mistakes were pretty big to have to overcome, especially against a good team,” said Liberty coach Steve Valach. “Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.”

Liberty actually took the lead in the second quarter when quarterback Trey Wheeler pushed in for a one-yard rushing score. Camas bounced back on a 52-yard passing score from Logan Grindy to Zach Anderson. Then Tyler Fisher scored on a one-yard score to put the Papermakers up 15-7.

Dean Byron’s 30-yard field goal before the half brought Liberty closer, 15-10.

“That field goal was our saving grace,” Valach said. “It gave us a little momentum heading into the half.”

Liberty adjusted its running game to more sweeps to get out of the clogged line of scrimmage and saw immediate results. Tei Staladi scored from 39 yards out and 33 yards out in the second half.

Chandler Jenkins also score on a 15-yard run in the third quarter.

“We didn’t let the first half define the second half,” Valach said. “The lesson is to continue to worry about the things that you control. Don’t get caught up in opponents and just do what we do. That’s Liberty football.”

Liberty plays at O’Dea in the round of 16 of the state tournament Friday at 7 p.m.