Liberty wasn’t going to be the next victim on the Mesa Mountain View upset tour.
The No. 7-seeded Lions (8-4) jumped out to a commanding 21-0 lead Nov. 15 and cruised to a 45-28 win over the visiting No. 15 Toros (6-6) to advance to the semifinals of the 6A state playoffs.
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WEST VALLEY PREPS
Liberty leaves no doubt en route to 6A semifinals
Lions subdue Mountain View upset bid early
Posted
Sam Ganczaruk, For West Valley Preps
Liberty wasn’t going to be the next victim on the Mesa Mountain View upset tour.
The No. 7-seeded Lions (8-4) jumped out to a commanding 21-0 lead Nov. 15 and cruised to a 45-28 victory over the visiting No. 15 Toros (6-6) to advance to the semifinals of the 6A state playoffs.
Liberty, which advanced to its first semis since 2017 in 5A, will face No. 6 Phoenix Desert Vista (9-3) on Nov. 22 at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix. The Thunder outlasted No. 3 Gilbert Perry in a barn burner, 70-63.
“We said one of our goals this year is to finish and leave no doubt,” Liberty coach Mark Smith said. “We are playing pretty good on both sides of the football. We like where we are going right now.”
After Mountain View upended No. 2 Brophy last week and won its first playoff game in 10 years, Liberty didn’t want to let the Toros get any confidence early. That wasn’t a problem as the Lions massive offense line and stable of running backs churned out yards and touchdowns.
Liberty scored on three of its first four drives as quarterback Jonah Guevara opened the scoring with an 18-yard scoring scramble. The next Lions drive ended with a Joseph Forney 5-yard touchdown run.
“We talked about setting the tone early,” Forney said. “The offensive line has been together two years and I am really close to them. They are definitely bigger brothers to me, so I trust them every time I run the rock. I just had to make one cut and I was in the end zone.”
Before Mountain View even earned a first down, the Toros were trailing 14-0 and the night wasn’t going to get any easier.
“They were good up front and physical,” Mountain View coach Micah Fell said. “The running backs ran hard, and the quarterback was good. I think the better team won tonight.”
Liberty continued to pound the ball and Forney found another crease for a 50-yard touchdown run to open the second frame.
“We expect to score every time we get the football,” Smith said. “We have a tempo about ourselves and that is the way we play. We like when we get in that flow and get them off balance.”
Mountain View, which is graduating 30 seniors, never regained its footing and chased Liberty for the rest of the night. The Lions built a 28-7 halftime lead when Guevara snaked his way in from 9 yards out. Guevara finished with 91 yards on the ground and completed 7-of-13 passes for 84 yards.
“They just kind of ran us over,” Fell said. “We were trying, but they were just too physical for us.”
Mountain View never quit and even sliced the lead to 11 points when Brandon Nieto connected with Ethan Davidson for 61-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 31-20 with 3:15 left in the third.
But Liberty answered with a 7-play drive that ended in pay dirt when Forney broke a 27-yard touchdown run, his third of the game.
“We have a stable of running backs,” Smith said. “The best thing about it is there is no selfishness on this football team. They feed off each other and are great friends.”
Forney finished with 157 yards on 13 carries while backfield mate Zaccheus Cooper rushed for 135 yards on 18 carries. Evensenuir linebacker Jace Accurso got into the act with a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth.
“I just feed off Joe,” said Cooper, who is only a freshman. “We have a lot of fun and have bets with each other.”
Besides dominating on the ground, the Liberty defense gave up some big plays but had timely turnovers. Mason Ramirez intercepted a pass midway through the second quarter and Shane Pitts stepped in front of a pass late in the third.
“It is about having one more point than the other team and advancing,” Smith said.
