Most teams are banged up when the playoffs start, but since it’s do-or-die time, teams that push through adversity the easiest are usually the ones that raise the championship trophies.

Friday night’s 6A opening round playoff game for #7 seed Liberty was the beginning of that test. Facing a La Joya squad that entered the night riding a 7-game winning streak, the Lions knew they needed a quick start.

Boy did they answer the bell.

After a 26-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play by frosh phenom Zeke Cooper, Liberty (7-4) went on to score four more touchdowns over the next 12 minutes, shooting out to a 35-14 lead.

The blitzkrieg was just the set up for a near-6A record 76-28 win over the Lobos in Peoria.

With the win, the No 7 seed Lions move on to the quarterfinals at home next Friday versus No 15 Mesa Mountain View, who shocked No 2 seed Brophy with a 35-19 win.

“We wanted to come out and play well in the first half,” said Liberty coach Mark Smith. “We have been getting guys back into the lineup lately, so it was important we played well from the start.”

One of those guys that recently got back on the field was Cooper.

Playing in just the final few games after missing the start of the season with a broken foot, Cooper’s first varsity playoff game looked like just a regular day at the office.

The first-year back ran around and through the La Joya defense, racking up 134 yards on just 11 carries in the first half.

“I just wanted to come out and give it my all. The offensive line did all the work for us tonight,” Cooper said.

And while Cooper set the tempo from play one, Liberty quarterback Jonah Guevara had a game for the ages.

The senior through for six touchdowns, and ran one more in, all in just one half of work. It was a half that saw the Lions take a mind-blowing 63-21 halftime lead.

“We just wanted to come out fired up and inspired tonight. I think we did that,” said a smiling Guevara.

After the aforementioned Cooper touchdown made it 7-0, the Guevara to Carter Hill show took front and center.

Guevara first found the tight end Hill wide open on a 26-yard scoring strike, upping the lead to 14-0 less than two minutes later. It would be the first of four touchdowns on the night for the senior duo.

La Joya (8-3), who had a season to remember, got on the board at the 7:48 mark of quarter one when Lobos’ back Arthur Jordan scored from 4 yards out trimming the lead to 14-7.

But Guevara and company responded in a huge way.

Touchdown passes to Hill (20 yards), Jaiden Pina (20 yards) and Hill again (15 yards) offset another Jordan touchdown (61 yards), suddenly the close game turned into a 35-14 Liberty lead just seven seconds into the second quarter.

The hosts would never feel threatened again.

“We were already playing without our No 1 and No 2 receivers, so when he (Deandre Robinson) went down, (Liberty) just exploited our defense. That is what they are supposed to do,” explained La Joya coach Devin Dourisseau.

The play Dourisseau referred to was at the end of a 45-yard run by Robinson less than 5 minutes into the game.

The junior suffered a major knee injury after being tackled inside the Liberty 20-yard line. His loss was felt more on the defensive side as he is tasked with covering the other team’s tight end.

Without him, the No 10 seeded Lobos struggled to keep Hill in check who went on to score tree more times after Robinson exit.

Chandler and Phoenix Pinnacle are tied for the 6A playoff record. Both teams had a 77-point game in 2017.