The Open Division semifinal showdown between top seed and #14 nationally ranked (by MaxPreps) and defending champion Saguaro Dec. 3 was the epic nearly every prep football fan and analyst in the state predicted - and more.

And in the end, the difference maker for Saguaro in its 2021 Open title did it again. Senior quarterback Devon Dampier led the Sabercats back from a 42-28 deficit in the final 11 minutes, making a series of clutch throws after decimating the Lions with his ability to run in the first half.

The storyline for this one was an easy sell. Top seeded Liberty ran roughshod over Arizona’s best all fall – plus Colorado big division runner up Valor Christian – and were the last remaining undefeated team in the state. The only team to lose to the Lions by single digits? Saguaro in a 26-17 Liberty win Sept. 30. That came the week after the Sabercats’ loss at Chandler and the week before the Lions traveled to Basha and gave the Bears their only loss (35-7). Saguaro was 2-3 after the Liberty game. They have not lost since, beating Hamilton 45-35 in last week’s quarterfinal. The defending champs were back and ready for a rematch. Liberty was facing its toughest test in a dream season. I don’t put too much stock in these things, particularly since these two schools never played before September, but there were two juicy history-based storylines – Saguaro won as the 5 seed last year, while Liberty suffered heart-wrenching losses at Chandler in the last two Open Division semifinals. More relevant to this game, in my opinion, was the unofficial MVP of last years Open Division (Saguaro senior QB Devon Dampier) on one side and the unofficial MVP of the 2022 regular season (Liberty junior QB Navi Bruzon) on the other.

All the trappings of a big time game were there at Mountain Ridge, 4.5 miles away from Liberty’s campus. The stands were packed. All manner of print, TV and online media filled the sidelines along with the usual contingent of Liberty administrators and supporters. Kicking off at 6 p.m. in the rain lent gravitas toward the proceedings. While it was the rainiest day of the year, the weather only really affected the first quarter and maybe the opening stages of the second. Both teams had far more success running the ball in those opening moments.

Dampier's stats are eye popping on their own (152 yards rushing and 278 yards passing, four passing touchdowns and a rushing score) and still do not quantify how special his performance was. He started as Saguaro's primary ball carrier.

More known for his ability to run after last years three-game run to the Open title, Dampier again proved his bona fides as a passer. As the game went on and the pressure increased, his accuracy only improved on throws of 20+ yards. At least three big plays near the sidelines nearly added to his total but the catches were ruled just out of bounds.

Most impressively, Dampier did his best work after what seemed to be the killer mistake for Saguaro. A miscommunication on an option route allowed Liberty senior defensive back Wesley Grim to step into an easy interception and return in 63 yards for a touchdown. Liberty led 42-28 with 11 minutes remaining.

Dampier shook it off and immediately led an 82-yard touchdown drive. Then senior defensive end Dionte LaMaide batted down Bruzon's third down pass and forced a punt, which Liberty downed at the Sabercats 6.

For the second time in the half, Dampier would have to lead a 94-yard drive for a shot to tie the game. For the second time, he did.

Dampier ran for two yard on fourth down and 1 at the Sabercats' 40. The he threw for 22 to Chris Nimcheski on fourth and 11 from the Lions' 46.

Then there was the third fourth down conversion of the drive, which is detailed below.

"Our quarterback is so unbelievable. He's so underrated, one of the most disgustingly underrated players that's ever come out of this state. He's a competitor and a winner. He's a dynamic kid who makes everybody around him better. He makes me better. Everybody fights for him and fights for each other," Saguaro coach Jason Mohns said. "That's the best player in the state. If you haven't given out your awards yet, make sure you reconsider it. Everything about him is great. I've had tremendous competitors before, great kids before and winners before. But I don't know if I've had a better combination of all those than that kid."

Dampier would toss the winning two-point pass to senior running back Zaccheus Cooper after this play, but the coup de grace was the touchdown that gave the Sabercats that opportunity.

Saguaro faced fourth and eight on the Liberty 23 with a bit more than a minute left. But they were not content with a nine-yard pass.

As you would expect with Mohns, it was a well designed downfield route combination. Nimcheski runs an out in the 10-12 yard range, drawing two defensive backs to to stop a first down conversion, meanwhile sophomore Mason Whittaker took several steps beyond Nimcheski before heading to the corner of the end zone.

The result was a textbook 23-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-41 and give the Sabercats momentum for their winning two-point try.

"I told our sophomore Mason, 'Hey, just get open.' He ran a beautiful route and got open," Dampier said. "We went to the sideline all happy and the coaches held up their fingers for two. And we pulled out the play we had been holding all game. I'm happy it worked out."

(Below is my accidental video of the play in slow mo. It actually turned out pretty well, but you'll want to turn the volume off. Trust me.)

Dampier: “When we were 2-3 everybody kind of wrote us off. As a team we said we were done losing and we were going to stop that,” Dampier said.

“Our whole o-line was new except Amare (Taase). We struggled a little bit with me calling protection calls. I got really close with those guys and we built a bond that every game they tell me, ‘Dev, I love you bro, I’m going to block for you every game.’ I’ve got full trust in them and they did a hell of a job blocking today. On the defensive side, obviously they had struggles getting some stops but when we needed them they said, ‘Dev, I got you.’”

Mohns: “They didn’t want this to be a dogfight. They wanted to be comfortable in the fourth quarter. We knew it was going to be a dog fight, so if we got into that situation it plays into our hands,” Mohns said. “Honestly, I could not be any more proud of the fight in these guys.”

“Our mentality was going to be that we’re going to throw everything we’ve got at them. We’re going to push our chips all in,” Mohns said. “I had that play dialed up like three different times and my co-offensive coordinator Andy Johnson kept saying, ‘save it.’ I told our kids when we installed the play on Tuesday that if we had a chance to go for two and win the game we were going to use that play. You got a good team like that and you’re on the road, you’ve got nothing to lose.”

“An offensive line, who at the beginning of the year all that was written was about how bad they were. They just kept fighting and getting better every week. Coach Martinez, Coach Offenberger and Coach Alley have done a great job getting those guys to buy in and believe. It starts with those guys giving Devon time to buy time and make some plays,” Mohns said.

“Chris Nimcheski, nobody’s said his name in an article. He just makes plays every game. When we lost Dajon Hinton, Jakobi Spence, who’s a tremendous player and has kind of been an in-between guy – he plays our nickel but JoJo does too, and he plays our X but so does Daejon - made some huge diving catches in big situations.”

Liberty coach Colin Thomas: “We were a team. All year long we were good in all three phases of the game. Different guys made plays each week. We had a lot of fun doing it, and playing one of the best schedules in Arizona, we really had a dominant season,” Thomas said. “Tonight we did not play very good in the first half. We had to get through some adversity. We took control in the fourth auarter early. But then we didn’t make the plays and they did.”

“Devon’s a heck of a player. They got to seven and we had been scoring all of the second half. We had a third and three and got a false start. Which … we’ve been really clean this year. So we punted and put them back 95. They made play after play. I had no reason not to trust our defense.”

On whether offensive pass interference should have been called on the 47-yard touchdown pass to Jojo Clark that brought Saguaro within : “From my angle I thought it was a possibility, but without watching film … it is what it is,” Thomas said.

“Our goal was to finish the job and that didn’t happen. But when I took over a couple years ago we were already at a great level, and I was excited to think maybe we could be a top 100 program (in the U.S.). Then because of this team’s hard work and ability, we were able to be a top 15 program going into tonight. We’re thankful – the seniors raised the program to that level and set the bar really high. We need to continue that. But we’ve had some great seniors that were unreal. They’ve been a pleasure to work with every day.”

He only attempted six passes in the first half, but it was clear Dampier was playing at a special level early, probably on his 28-yard run on the opening drive that included two broken tackles and a hurdle over a defender. He added a 46-yard touchdown run. But no Sabercats at the skill positions were rising to meet his level until Clark in the second half. Clark broke a tackle to turn a short pass into a 49-yard gain, which set up his 5-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 28. Then came the controversial one, the 47-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 42-35 with about eight minutes remaining.

· If the stats from the September game are accurate, the Lions did not have a sack in that one either. Regardless, a quick check of the gamecast reveals Dampier had more time to throw in the semifinal, and the Saguaro line also had more of a push in the running game in the rematch as well. Mohns and his staff transformed the group into a force after the first Liberty game.

· Both teams lost key players in the second quarter. Several Lions disputed the call of a fumble on Bruzon and Liberty’s top offensive lineman, Idaho commit Layton, Vining received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and was ejected. On the scoring drive resulting from that fumble, Hinton caught a fourth down pass near the 5 to convert, but took a heavy hit. Hinton was able to walk off but did not return.

· Several times this year, during a regular season where Liberty averaged 414 points per game and allowed 7 ppg, I said on #WhatupWestside that to beat the Lions a team would need at least a plus three turnover margin. That didn’t happen. Both teams had two turnovers. But Liberty hurt its cause to finally reach the Open title game. Penalties, many of them unforced errors outside of game action. Three false starts killed the Lions’ opening drive and set up Saguaro nicely to take the lead. Liberty also picked up a couple unsportsmanlike conduct flags arguing calls. And another false start was crucial in allowing Saguaro the chance for its memorable game winning drive. Leading 42-35 in the middle of the fourth quarter the Lions moved the ball steadily on the ground. Three straight runs for 18 yards set up third and 3 at the Saguaro 39. The offense had plenty of options on the ground or to catch Saguaro’s defense on a run/pass option – or to simply let Bruzon create. Convert on that play and Liberty is set up for a decisive field goal or touchdown later in the fourth quarter. Instead, a false start made it third and 8 at the 44, which led to a more predictable range of plays to defend and once the pass was batted down, made going it for 4th and 8 near midfield incredibly risky – unlike 4th and 3 or 1 or whatever. Liberty was a very good team in 2020 and 2021 but penalties held them back in a couple crucial games. The 2022 Lions were great in part because they dramatically reduced the number and importance of the flags against him – until this night.

· It wasn’t Liberty’s best game, and a good portion of that was due to Saguaro. But in addition to that Bruzon was not as freakishly accurate as he was in the regular season (72 percent of passes completed during the first 11 games, and we’re not talking a bunch of screens). The defense that had 30 sacks this year could not even get much pressure on Dampier. Because of that, and Dampier’s ability to extend plays, the pass defense was exposed downfield like never before. Yet, Liberty still scored 42 points, led for most of the second half and probably should have won the game. Even with some sputters, the Lions cranked up their machine-like precision at times, setting up a touchdown by recovering a fumbled squib kick and adding its first interception return for a touchdown. This was a special team and deserves to be remembered differently than “the third straight Liberty team to lose an Open Division semifinal.” This team and its players maxed out their potential and seemingly every kid who stepped on the field in the game contributedt. And I do think this team will be remembered for more than this loss. On the very rare occasions a top 25 nationally ranked Arizona team loses a playoff semifinal, that team usually drops out of the top 50 unless its name in Hamilton or Chandler. In Monday’s MaxPreps rankings Liberty, a team with a small national profile until this fall, only dropped to #25 – one spot behind Saguaro. The 2022 Lions focused everyone’s attention on an emerging powerhouse.·

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