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Liberty throttles Basha 35-17, wins 2nd straight Open crown

Lions claim third overall state title

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TEMPE — The reigning Kings of Arizona are still wearing their crown.

And with back-to-back Open Division football championships now under their belt, the Liberty Lions are on the brink of a prep football dynasty.

Liberty used a bruising running game, efficient passing, masterful playcalling and an opportunistic defense Saturday night to frustrate the Basha Bears 35-17 and claim their second straight Open Division title at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium.

“I’m super proud of our young men — they worked their tails off for this,” Liberty Head Coach Colin Thomas said after the game. “They make our jobs as coaches easy by showing up ready to work every day excited about playing football. Winning this is not easy to do and I’m also happy for our community that supports us so much.”

Lions players danced around the field after they became just the second Arizona team to win consecutive Open Division championships.

“This is awesome — just amazing,” Liberty senior quarterback Hayden Fletcher said. “It doesn’t even feel like it’s real yet.”

Teammate Dominic Lombardo, who took Player of the Game honors with his 3 rushing touchdowns, held tight to the championship trophy.

“All the hard work has paid off,” Lombardo said. “It’s hard not to get emotional because we put so much effort into this.”

Back in September, Liberty hosted Corona (CA) Centennial in an Honor Bowl matchup in Peoria. After absorbing a difficult 63-39 defeat to the Huskies, Lions players decided they weren’t losing another game all season.

“I’d say our urgency ramped up after that game,” Thomas explained. “It was a humbling experience — we hadn’t been beaten like that in a long time. But our guys are about the work and they got back to work immediately.”

Lombardo said that defeat “lit a fire.”

Fletcher echoed his coach’s words.

“That loss gave us the realization that we had more work to do,” the signal caller said. “After that game, all the seniors got together and vowed not to lose again this season.”

And in the end, they were correct.

Saturday’s matchup began with the Lions turning the ball over on the game’s first possession. Liberty’s defense stood tall, however, forcing a 28-yard field goal by Mikey Barth that gave Basha a 3-0 lead.

Liberty (12-1) was seeking offensive continuity and Thomas said his team had to “adjust to the speed of the game.” The Lions went on a 15-play march but a fourth-down sack of Fletcher gave the ball back to Basha.

But two plays later, Lions defensive lineman Lajay Salas recovered a Basha fumble to set up Liberty inside the Bears’ 30.

Passes to Kamden Segall and Drace Wadlington moved the ball into the red zone before Fletcher threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brody Pilegaard in the right corner of the end zone.

Lions kicker Karsten Dombrovski hit the PAT to give Liberty a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter.

Basha (11-2) immediately responded with their own TD pass as QB Brodie Vehrs found Kash Brock on a 19-yard strike and the Bears went up 10-7 just two minutes later.

Liberty then got things going in the ground game to take control.

“We came out a little slow but once the running game got going, it opened up everything in our offense,” Fletcher explained. “It was pretty much smooth sailing from there.”

The Lions used their trio of talented running backs — Lombardo, Esteban Demby-Lamas and Jayden Sanchez — to score on the next series.

Lombardo did the honors from a yard out to make it 14-10 Liberty.

“Our offensive line did their job tonight at a high level,” Lombardo said.

Basha couldn’t find anything offensively and punted on its next two possessions.

The Lions wanted to take a two-score lead into the locker room and they executed a four-minute drive to perfection. Sanchez and Lombardo did most of the heavy lifting on the ground while wideout Braxton Huynh was interfered with to move the ball to the Basha 18.

The drive culminated with Lombardo’s second score of the night from 3 yards out.

With just 22 seconds to work with, Basha took a knee and trailed 21-10 at halftime.

Notably during the first half, Basha superstar Gio Richardson came off the field with a serious injury and did not return to the game.

Bears Head Coach Chris McDonald said the loss of Richardson left Basha scrambling.

“You saw it and it really threw us off rhythm when we started shuffling guys around. And I don’t want to take any credit away from Liberty,” McDonald said. “The other thing, too, is we had too many third and longs and then we get a penalty that gives them a first down. You just can’t do that against a good team.”

Thomas called the injury “unfortunate.”

“That obviously hurt their attack and Gio is an amazing kid — a lot of our players know him personally,” Thomas said. “I hope he will be OK.”

The normal halftime got a shot of adrenaline when the newly-crowned Big 12 football champs, the Arizona State Sun Devils, made an appearance on their home field fresh off their plane from Dallas.

ASU running back Cam Scattebo showed off a WWE-style Big 12 title belt while other Devils held aloft the conference championship trophy as fans of both Liberty and Basha roared their approval.

The Bears punted again to begin the third quarter and Liberty’s scoring run continued. Fletcher found Segall and Huynh with passes and the quaterback scrambled up the middle for 8 yards.

On third-and-4 at the Basha 6, Demby-Lamas bulled his way into the end zone to give the Lions a 28-10 lead.

Without their top playmaker on the field, Basha looked for others to make an impact. Vehrs hit Noah Roberts with a 40-yard TD pass to complete a quick 7-play, 1:34 drive.

Basha trailed 28-17 after 3 but would get no closer.

Liberty defensive back Zeth Thues picked off a Vehrs pass — only the Basha QB’s second interception thrown all season — to stop another Bears’ possession.

“They had to take a shot downfield because they were trailing,” Thues said. “I was right there waiting.”

Lombardo capped his big night with his third rushing TD at the 5:57 mark of the fourth quarter. By then, the celebration had already started on the Lions sideline and in the stands.

For the game, Lombardo carried 25 times for 126 yards and 3 scores. Fletcher was 23-for-32 for 251 yards, a touchdown and no INTs. Segall hauled in 6 catches for 72 yards while Huynh and Wadlington tallied 62 receiving yards each.

Basha’s Vehrs threw for 153 yards and two TDs with one pick. He added 49 yards rushing.

Fletcher stepped into the starter’s role this season after taking the reins from two-time state Player of the Year and current Sun Devil Navi Bruzon.

“There were times in spring and summer where I wondered if I could do this. But my teammates trusted me so that gave me trust in myself,” Fletcher explained.

Fittingly, Bruzon arrived at halftime with his ASU teammates, greeted Fletcher and other Lions then stayed on the sidelines to watch his high school alma mater lock down another title.

“That was awesome,” said Fletcher. “He’s our brother.”

Liberty has not lost to an in-state opponent since late 2022. This season, they also took victories over 6A champ Centennial, 6A runner-up Mesa Mountain View and 5A champ Desert Edge. Other squads have taken notice.

“We’re obviously still trying to chase Liberty. They’re the top dog right now,” McDonald noted. “Hats off to Colin (Thomas) and that program. I’d like to think our programs are very mirrored. Nothing but love for them.”

With more success waiting on the horizon, Thomas isn’t looking too far ahead.

“We will enjoy this for now but soon we will start preparing for next year,” said Thomas.

Thues said Liberty’s bond was tested in 2024 but it never broke.

“This is a great thing to be a part of, this brotherhood,” the ASU commit explained.

Fletcher paused for a few seconds to assess what he and his teammates had just accomplished.

“We made school history and also carved out our own legacy,” he said. “It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

Matt Loeschman circle.png

Matt Loeschman
Editor | Daily Independent

mloeschman@iniusa.org

I have edited and written about almost everything in my 20-year journalism career, but I have a strong passion for sports since my father was a teacher and coach when I was young.

My job has allowed me to meet many influential people, including Hillary Clinton, Al Gore (I have a brief, on-camera part in his second movie), George Strait, Matthew McConaughey and several world-class athletes.

I have worked for Independent Newsmedia on two separate occasions – 2000-09 and 2018-present – after studying journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

Liberty Lions, Basha Bears, football

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