A fumbled snap by two-time defending Open Division champion Liberty in the first minute of play was enough to give No. 6 seed Red Mountain an effortless three-point advantage early. 

From that point on, the Lions decided handouts were off the table. 

At points, their offense looked unstoppable, and through the entire contest, their defense was inevitable.

No. 3 seed Liberty (10-1) pummeled the Mountain Lions all night in a 48-23 win in their Open quarterfinal matchup at Mountain Ridge, which means they’ll face No. 2 seed Basha (10-1) in the semifinals next week.

“We had two weeks to prepare. I think our guys were really ready to play. We can be cleaner, but for the most part it was a lot of positives,” Liberty Coach Colin Thomas said.

The clash between the cats featured three turnovers in just the first seven minutes. Red Mountain failed to capitalize on opposing mistakes. Liberty did not.

A blown coverage on fourth down resulted in a 45-yard touchdown catch by junior Braxton Huynh for the Lions’ first points of the game. Then an interception by Hudson Dunn and a fumble recovery by Darius Stephens minutes later led to senior quarterback Jayden Pico’s first two of three rushing touchdowns on the night.

“There’s a reason they’re the team to beat in Arizona,” Red Mountain Coach Kyle Enders said. 

It started out hot getting the turnover on them, but then we started turning the ball over and couldn’t get the field position and gave up the big plays. Credit to them for forcing us to make mistakes. Kind of uncharacteristic for us but all the credit to them.”

The reigning champs came out of their bye with a ferocity the Mountain Lions weren’t prepared for, as if they were mad they’d missed out on a week of action.

The week off and the venue change did not phase the Lions, who played in the Open Division after a bye for the sixth consecutive season. Liberty is 6-0 in Open quarterfinals and 2-1 in playoff games at Mountain Ridge.

“We’ve been here before,” Thomas said. 

Liberty’s defensive stars were the main culprits in Red Mountain’s misery Nov. 21. It started with senior safety Zeth Thues, who seemed to be on the imposing side of every bone-crushing hit that rang out into the parking lot.

For Red Mountain, the lone bright spot was senior Tyreke Cornett, who closed out the game with a touchdown on each side of the ball and a flashy one-handed interception. 

Toward the end of the first half, Cornett decided enough was enough and took matters into his own hands - literally. The senior corner managed to rip the ball away from a Lions runner mid-tackle and took it 50 yards to the house, making the score 34-10. 

Cornett’s interception came less than a minute later, setting up the Mountain Lions on Liberty’s 45-yard line with a chance to shrink the deficit to 17 before halftime. 

Once again, the offense didn’t budge, and the score stayed the same.

“Each week it’s somebody else, but Tyreke came up tonight and we needed a momentum swing and he definitely did that before halftime,” Enders said.

It’s a great way for him to go out his senior year.”

Red Mountain’s offense managed to make the score a little more respectable with two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes, but the game had ended a while ago. 

“It’s a tough draw,” Enders said. 

Liberty’s No. 3, but everyone knows if you watch any film they’re really No. 1. You’re going to have to play them eventually, it sucks it had to be this early into the Open for us.”

The season didn’t end how Enders would have liked, but he loved the resilience his players showed when things weren’t going their way.

“Getting down early, the mentality was just to keep fighting, not to roll over and to try and get stops and still play our style of football,” Enders said. 

Win and lose with class, play a very physical game, and we fought till the very end and I’m super proud of my boys for that.” 

For Thomas and his group, all energy will be spent preparing for a showdown between Lions and Bears next week. 

It is a rematch of the 2024 Open title game, a 35-17 Liberty win. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29 at Corona del Sol High School, 1001 E Knox Road, Tempe.

“We’re playing a really good Basha team this week, so if we get through that then we’ll worry about the next one, but we’re all focused on that right now,” Thomas said.