Liberty shuts down Arbor View, advances to Southern Region final — PHOTOS
With the temperature dipping into the 40s during the fourth quarter, it almost felt like Michigan vs. Ohio State weather.
So Liberty and Arbor View played the sort of game that Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler would have admired.
Jeremiah Ioane scored touchdowns on two short runs, and the host Patriots held the Aggies to three field goals in a hard-hitting 24-9 victory in the Class 5A Southern Region football semifinals Friday night.
Liberty (8-3) will host Bishop Gorman (11-1) in the regional title game next week.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game; we knew they have a great defense and are well-coached,” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said after his team put the finishing touches on a game that featured ball-control offense on both sides.
“We felt like we had a little bit of an advantage up front, possibly, and wanted to see if we could exploit that.”
That’s exactly what the Patriots did after Jeau Vinatieri’s third field goal of the night pulled the Aggies (9-2) within 17-9 with 7:09 to play.
Liberty went back into three yards and a chunk of field turf mode, keeping the clock running with first downs before Tyrese Smith threw a 30-yard TD pass to Jayden Robertson with 2:33 remaining to give the Patriots some breathing space.
“I was really disappointed the way we stumbled on the drive before that,” Muraco said about having to punt the ball away, leading to Arbor View’s final field goal. “So that was a huge drive going down and getting up by two scores (because) they were having trouble scoring.”
Isaiah Lauofo rushed for 82 yards on 22 carries, Ioane scored on runs on 2 and 8 yards, and Smith completed 10 of 14 passes for 144 yards as Liberty earned another showdown with national powerhouse Bishop Gorman.
“This is where we want to be — we want to play Bishop Gorman,” said Muraco, whose Patriots were the last Nevada team to beat the Gaels in 2019. “I told the kids (Thursday) that if we don’t at least get into the (South final) I don’t consider the season a success.”
Despite the disappointing loss, it also was a successful season for Arbor View. The Aggies continued to narrow the gap on Liberty after losing twice last year by scores of 42-14 and 30-8.
“The difference in the game was they got touchdowns and we didn’t,” Arbor View coach Matt Gerber said. “We had to settle for three field goals, and we went for it on a fourth-and-2, when we could have gotten another field goal, and we didn’t get (the first down).
“Were we there? Yeah, but that’s not good enough against these guys. You can’t settle for field goals against Liberty. You’ve got to be able to score touchdowns, and we weren’t able to do that tonight.”
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.
