Lions claim victory to cap 3-0 "Big Game" road trip
WEEKLY BLOG: 10/7/22
Anyone still questioning whether Liberty, ranked No. 2 in the latest Composite Team Arizona Varsity Rankings, was for real had that question answered Friday night with a resounding "yes"!
Liberty scored touchdowns on five of its first seven possessions while the defense shut down a previously-undefeated Basha team that came in averaging 51 points per game, particularly on critical third and fourth downs.
Following a 90-minute weather delay in Chandler, the Lions came out on fire after waiting it out in the visitors' locker room. It all translated into a 35-7 victory in what MaxPreps deemed as one of its top 10 games of the week.
"They're tough," Liberty head coach Colin Thomas said of his team. "They're going to come ready to play and the bigger the moment, they're going to rise to the occasion. Our energy was at a level that was unmatched."
Liberty will carry a 5-0 record on to its last freedom game (at home in Peoria) against Brophy (1-4) next Friday. Basha falls to 5-1 and will have a bye week before 6A Premier Region play begins on Oct. 20 against Hamilton (5-1).
The Lions lead with their defense and it's one that swarms to the football at all three levels. In a game that began under a light rain, Basha fumbled on its opening possession. Junior linebacker Keaton Stam recovered it at the Bears' 38-yard line. The defensive players for the Lions celebrate big plays by putting a hand to their forehead in the shape of a shark fin. First adopted by Ole Miss, they call it the landshark.
"We threw up that landshark against Basha and it brings energy," Stam said. "Everyone started going crazy after that."
Given the short field, the offense wasted no time. Junior Navi Bruzon completed a screen pass to Prince Zombo. The senior took it down to the 1-yard line. From there, Bruzon plowed through the middle of the line on a QB keeper to put the Lions on the board. A blocked extra point kept it at 6-0.
"It definitely set the tone of the game," Bruzon said of the team's first drive. "We could have faced adversity (from the delay) and to start like that was great."
Liberty could have actually been practicing for the delay by the odd week it had. Monday's practice was canceled due to weather, the Tuesday practice was extended as a result. Then, Thursday's practice ended early due to more weather.
Basha crossed midfield on its next drive, but reached fourth down. The Bears attempted a fake punt, but were stopped. Starting at its own 42, the Lions got going again.
Bruzon connected across the middle for a touchdown with tight end Braylon Gardner. Making up for the previous block, the Lions got creative with the two-point conversion. Bruzon got rid of the ball right before getting sacked and threw it to 6-3, 275-pound defensive lineman My'Keil Gardner for a 14-0 lead.
Basha had its best drive of the half late in the first quarter. The Bears got inside the 10-yard line, then went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 5. Junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr. pitched it on the outside to Deshaun Buchanan, but he was stopped by Dom Ochoa.
Ochoa is an interesting story because he shared snaps behind center with Bruzon all year in 2021. While Bruzon was named the starter, Ochoa could have sulked or seeked a transfer. But that's not the way this Liberty team is. They're a cohesive bunch that is multi-talented. Ochoa has been part of a Lion defensive crew that has held opponents to 38 points all season (7.6 points per game). And when it was fourth down, he read the play, got in position, and wrapped up the ball carrier short of the goal line.
The upside of going for it deep in your opponents' territory is they are backed up at their goal line and if you can make a stop, you can get it back with decent field position. Unfortunately, that strategy didn't work against this Liberty offense either.
Starting from their own 4, the Lions progressed the ball down the field once again. Liberty ran the same play from its first drive with a wide receiver screen to Jaqua Anderson this time, and he went 62 yards to get inside the 5-yard line. From the 3, senior Zach Wallace bolted through the middle to put LHS up by three scores.
Liberty wasn't phased by the rain that came down throughout most of the first half.
It was a dominant first half for Liberty. Bruzon, who came into the game completing 81 percent of his passes, actually exceeded that. He was 12-of-13 in the first half and ended the night 17-of-20 for 248 yards.
About the only thing you could complain about from the Liberty side of things was the penalties. The Lions were flagged for 70 yards in the first half. They improved on that with just a single penalty in the second half.
"We had a few more penalties than I would like," Thomas said. "Overall, the team played really well."
Basha crossed midfield for the third time on its first drive of the second half reaching the Liberty 33-yard line. However, fourth-and-long came and the Bears missed a long field goal.
"They just executed better," Basha head coach Chris McDonald said. "They sustained drives and executed on third and fourth downs better than we did."
Starting on its own 20 after the field goal attempt, the Lions consumed the last six minutes of the quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, the Lions used misdirection with a pair of backs flanking Bruzon. Neither player actually took the handoff and Bruzon found Gardner (lined up in the backfield) running to his left for an easy two-yard touchdown. The pass was 15th TD of the season for Bruzon (who had 10 last year).
There would be one more touchdown pass from Bruzon. That was a 32-yard throw to Brunelle, who was running a go route. He accounted for four of the Lions' five touchdowns with three through the air and one on the ground.
His offensive line protected him (just one sack allowed). Liberty didn't turn the ball over and finished with an even 400 yards of offense. A rare OL-shoutout to Ryan Wolfer, Donnie Hoeltge, Tucker Allred, Layton Vining, and Nick Spence.
For a while, it looked like the Bears would be shut out for the first time since 2019. However, they were able to get the vertical game going late. A touchdown pass from Williams Jr. (his 15th of the season) went 38 yards to junior Bryson Dedmon to get the Bears on the board.
"We kept battling," McDonald said. "We didn't quit. We have to learn from this loss. This is the sixth game of the season. That's all it is."
Liberty was playing back on defense to take away potential explosive plays (the Bears had just two plays of 20+ yards). The Lions were giving Basha a six-man box, but its linebackers and D-line were stopping the run.
Basha, which had scored in all four quarters in each of its last two games, is midway through its two-week fall break. Because of no school and its upcoming idle week, the Bears will have Monday and Tuesday off before getting back to work with practices on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
For Liberty, this caps a three-game in four weeks road trip. It started with a 13-hour bus trip to Colorado to face Valor Christian, who played for the 5A championship last year. The Lions led 43-0 at halftime before winning 50-7. After a bye, it was a roadie to defending-Open champion Saguaro. Liberty took that one 26-17 as Bruzon had four TD passes.
In MaxPreps' national football rankings, Basha was at No. 29 while Liberty was No. 43. The Lions are looking to see if they can make another climb up and reached that coveted top 25 level.
"It means a lot," Stam said of the win. "Hopefully, we can climb up on that national rank for MaxPreps. After that Chandler loss (last December), we just have revenge."
Through five weeks, Liberty has allowed just five touchdowns. Linebacker Anthony Ruiz registered his fifth sack of the season. Thomas recognized the powerful offense they went up against from Basha and knew what his team had to do.
"The Buchanan kid is a great runner," Thomas said. "The quarterback is tremendous. They have speed on the outside. We had to tackle really well and on fourth down, we just found a way."
After the game, Thomas told his team there would be accolades coming to them from the media. There is still work for the Lions to do, but it's important to remember that this team was just two plays away from playing in each of the last two Open championships (both overtime losses to Chandler in the semifinals). It's a team that shouldn't get too big-headed from any outside affection that should come its way. This is a group whose seniors were freshmen in 2019 when the Lions won the 6A Conference championship. They've positioned themselves for a shot at the most prestigious gold ball in the state and at the season's midway point, have a very good chance at it.
It's refreshing that their on-field leader is looking at that big picture.
"It's Week 5," Bruzon said. "We've got nothing to be satisfied over."
First Quarter:
Lib - Navi Bruzon 1 yard run (kick blocked), 9:51
Lib - Braylon Gardner 10 yard pass from Bruzon (My'Keil Gardner pass from Bruzon), 4:02
Second Quarter:
Lib - Zach Wallace 1 yard run (Nathan Hawkins kick), 7:09
Third Quarter:
No Scoring
Fourth Quarter:
Lib - Gardner 2 yard pass from Bruzon (Hawkins kick), 11:55
Lib - Grant Brunelle 32 yard pass from Bruzon (Hawkins kick), 7:49
Basha - Bryson Dedmon 38 yard pass from Demond Williams Jr. (Timothy Tynan kick), 5:50
