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Liberty's explosive 2nd half overwhelms Higley 64-26 in Open quarterfinals

Lions will face Hamilton on Nov. 30

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PEORIA — For at least one more week, the reigning Kings of Arizona will remain atop their Open Division throne.

The Liberty Lions shook off a sluggish start then delivered a third-quarter knockout punch on Friday night, eventually dispatching the Higley Knights 64-26 in an Open Division quarterfinal matching two reigning state champions.

“We took the momentum in the second half and we were able to get some separation,” Liberty Head Coach Colin Thomas said. “Credit to Higley — they played hard and we knew they would. We were able to hang in there and execute well as the game went on.”

Liberty (10-1), the reigning Open Division champs, led only 22-19 at halftime but flipped the switch and exploded for a 35-0 advantage in the third quarter to turn a close game into a blowout in the blink of an eye. Higley, the two-time defending 5A champs, ended its season at 7-4.

The second-half onslaught began with two Lions TDs in 15 seconds. First, Liberty QB Hayden Fletcher dropped in a perfect 69-yard touchdown pass to Drace Wadlington to extend the lead to 29-19.

“We didn’t play very well in the first half,” Fletcher admitted after the game. “In the second half, we played free. We scored 35 points in one quarter and that’s the standard we want to set.”

The Knights looked to claw back but lost a fumble on their next snap. The Lions quickly turned that into a 7-yard touchdown pass from Fletcher to Kamden Segall.

Liberty led 36-19 after the two quick scores.

With the Lions’ defense digging in and forcing multiple Higley punts, Liberty went up 24 after Jayden Sanchez darted around the left edge for a 40-yard score. Karsten Dombrovski added another PAT and Liberty led 43-19.

The Knights’ frustration continued on offense and Fletcher continued to pick them apart. This time, the Liberty signal caller found sophomore wideout Braxton Huynh who was all alone beyond the Higley secondary. Huynh hauled in the pass and easily sprinted in a 60-yard TD strike.

The Knights’ nightmare quarter concluded with Fletcher’s fourth TD pass of the stanza — a 35-yard pass to Brody Pilegaard down the right sideline.

With the Lions holding a 57-19 lead, the running clock was in effect.

Each team scored a final touchdown in a fast-moving fourth quarter as the overflow Liberty crowd began to celebrate another playoff win. The last Arizona team to beat the Lions was Saguaro in a 43-42 playoff heartbreaker on Dec. 3, 2022. Liberty has won 22 in a row against in-state competition.

Early in Friday’s game, Higley established that they came to play. Justice Brathwaite snagged an early interception and Knights running back Justin Bender cashed it in with a 1-yard run just 1:34 into the game.

Higley went for 2 but missed and held a 6-0 lead.

Liberty needed an early spark and got it on special teams as ASU commit Zeth Thues blasted through the middle and blocked a Higley punt.

That punt block led to a 3-yard touchdown run by Dominic Lombardo and Liberty led 7-6.

The teams traded scores for the remainder of the first half with Lombardo and Esteban Demby-Lamas each scoring on the ground for the Lions as Liberty’s massive offensive line began to take control.

“We ran the ball really well tonight,” Thomas said. “We played physcial up front and that made a big difference.”

Meanwhile, Higley QB Gunner Fagrell tossed a pair of TD passes — one to Bender and another to Gatling Walton. Liberty led by 3 at the break, setting the stage for a wild third quarter.

The win propels Liberty to the Open semifinals where they will face the 10-1 Hamilton Huskies. The game is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30 at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix.

“That will be another big challenge and we will be ready,” Thomas said.

Liberty Lions, Higley Knights, high school football

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