Liberty overcomes penalties to defeat stubborn Green Valley — PHOTOS
Football weather finally returned to Southern Nevada Friday night, and it rained Liberty touchdowns and penalties in a key Class 5A Mountain League game at Green Valley.
Fortunately for the Patriots, a deluge of TDs offset a flood of yellow flags in a 43-6 victory.
Jayden Maiava completed 18 of 24 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns, helping Liberty (7-1, 3-0 5A Mountain) overcome 15 penalties for 116 yards and win another game that concluded with a running clock.
“I felt like the first half we just killed ourselves with penalties and momentum that went against us in some of those drives,” said Liberty coach Rich Muraco, whose team won its fourth straight game since suffering a 49-7 defeat to juggernaut Mater Dei of California, the nation’s top-ranked team. “Defensively, we extended some of their drives (with penalties).”
Despite the uneven start, Liberty led 21-6 at halftime before the Gators threatened to close the gap after receiving the second-half kickoff.
Green Valley had two chances from inside the Liberty 1-yard line to punch in a TD. But the Patriots stopped back-to-back keepers by Green Valley quarterback Josiah Kiaaina to thwart any hope of a Gators comeback.
“I felt the defense played really well,” said Muraco, whose team limited Green Valley to 183 yards and has outscored its valley opponents 399-40. “That stop really changed the momentum of the game — they score there, they’re within a touchdown.”
After the turnover on downs, Maiava, who finished the game by completing 11 consecutive passes, found tight end Anthony Jones over the middle for a 58-yard TD. Maiava then hit Landon Bell from 7 yards out as the Patriots built a 35-6 lead after three quarters.
Jones, who also scored on a 40-yard catch and run in the first half, caught three passes for 109 yards and two scores. Versatile Germie Bernard finished with five receptions for 90 yards, including a 55-yard TD grab and also was effective as a Wildcat formation running back before finishing the game at quarterback.
Despite the penalties and other missteps, Liberty had too many weapons for Green Valley (5-2, 1-1), which had a three-game win streak snapped.
Gators coach Brian Castro agreed it might have been more interesting had the Gators been able to navigate one more yard midway through the third quarter.
“The kids battled to get down there and that’s on me — I don’t think I did a very good job of putting us in the right spot to score,” said Castro, whose team was limited to two first-half field goals by former soccer player Damon Bischoff.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.