By Richard Smith
Twitter: @rsmithYWV

Almost every time Liberty committed a drive-stalling penalty on offense or coverage error on defense Oct. 18, visiting Phoenix Pinnalce made the Lions pay.

The Pioneers shook off a sluggish offensive start to score three second quarter touchdowns and grab a 27-7 halftime lead. Liberty (5-3, 1-2 Desert Valley Region) moved the ball but could not threaten in the second half of a 41-17 loss.

While it took two trick plays to get the Pinnacle (7-1, 3-0) offense untracked, the defense that has this program ranked No. 5 in the state and on the precipice of the inaugural open division was in control throughout.

"It starts with my defensive coordinator Andrew Hurley. He's a former player of mine who is in his third year as DC. And it's taken three years for our defense to buy in, so I've really got to give him the credit. The seniors out there were sophomores when he arrived so they don't know anything different on the varsity level," Zupke said. "As fr as unsung heroes back there you've got (safeties) Trevor Crawfor and Clay Zupke, my son. They're the quarterbacks and they're not necessarily flasy but they're always in the right place."

Liberty made the first big play of the night, as Jace Accurso recovered a Pioneers fumble inside his own 30. But a Lions hold wiped out a long pass play and forced a punt.

On fourth down at the Lions' 48 senior quarterback and punter J.D. Johnson took the snap at punt depth and calmly tossed a 15-yard out to senior Cameron Tardio for the first down.

Senior Matt Goodlowdashed for a 30-yard touchdown on the next snap. The ensuing extra point sailed wide for a 6-0 Pioneers lead.

After forcing another punt to start the second quarter, the visitors picked another surprise. Johnson handed off to junior receiver Nate Hull who stepped back and lofted a 52-yard touchdown to senior Marcus Libman — all alone near the end zone.

A sucessful two-point pass stretched the lead to 14-0. While some aspects of the game plan were specific to Liberty, Zupke said offensive coordinator Mike Brown is more than comfortable with a trick play.

"They're a very aggressive defense but if you know anything about my offensive coordinator, coach Brown is going to do it anyway," Zupke said. "It's just a part of what we do and we have a lot of confidence in it."

A false start and illegal man downfield scuttled the next Liberty drive. Michigan-bound Johnson hit Cade Horton downfield near the sideline and the senior cut back across the field to complete the 50-yard touchdown play.

Liberty regrouped  and drove 80 yards in less than three minutes. Accurso got open on a skinny post and senior quarterback Jonah Gievara connected with him for 26 yards and a touchdown.

Pinnacle shut off the momentum before halftime, first recovering an onside kik at the 40.  An offensive pass interference call on Horton wiped out his touchdown catch and set up second down and 30 for the Pioneers.

But a delayed draw caught the Lions defense expecting a pass and Goodlow got 26 of those yards back.

On third down Johnson rolled out and connected with Hull for an eight-yard score. Despite starting with 26 seconds until half Liberty nearly scored thanks to two Pioneers personal fouls.

Junior safety/kicker Shane Pitts pushed a 38-yard field goal attempt just wide.

"We can't beat ourselves. We can't kill ourselves on drives with penalties. If we get stopped, then we get stopped," Liberty coach Mark Smith said. "Once you get yourself behind the chains, it makes it rough. And that's good football team. That's a good defense."

The Lions began the second half with a purpose, converting fourth and six at their own 40. Their drive stalled in the red zone and Pitts hit a 33-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 27-10.

Then Liberty stopped a fake punt and got the ball back to Guevara, who was in the midst of a 15-completion streak. On fourth and five at the Pioneers' 18 though, the visitors' front four forced Guevara into an innacurate throw while scrambling.

On third down Johnson supplied the dagger, going over the top on a 57-yard completion to Horton. Three plays later, Johnson found senior tight end Shane Sunday in the corner of the end zone from six yards out.

Johnson finished his 324-yard passing night burning the Liberty secondary one last time on a 63-yard bomb to Libman.

"This class, from the time they were freshmen have always showed they really care about each other. They don't want to use the guy next to them down.  Zupke said. "They trust each other. They trust my defensive coordinator

Junior bakup quarterback Brock Mast directed the last scoring drive. He hit senior Jacob Pagliarulo for the 17-yard score in the final five seconds.

While Pinnacle powers toward the open division for the top eight ranked teams in 6A-4A, Liberty saw any hope of doing the same dashed.

It figures to be a back to basics type of week in North Peoria before next Friday's trip to O'Connor.

"The biggest focus is to get better — learn from our mistakes, fix them. We have, 'Tell the truth Saturday.' The fil doesn't lie," Smith said. "They made a lot of explosive plays tonight. We've got to be able to hold upin those situations. We as coaches have to look at what we're doing in those situations."