Liberty wins its first league title with last-second touchdown

By Paige Mendez, Correspondent

The Liberty High School football team clinched its first league football championship with a 37-34 win over Tahquitz Friday night.

The game came down to the final minute, after Tahquitz took its first lead at 34-30 with 46 seconds remaining. The Bison (9-1) had to drive 66 yards in a hurry and won the game on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Quinones to Zach Velasco with just five seconds left on the clock.

It was a frantic final minute for Liberty head coach Adam Contreras, who said that at that point in the game he and his coaching staff really had to keep their attitudes in check to make sure their players did the same.

"These kids reflect what they see from us," he said. "When we're low they're low, so we had to really stay even keeled."

That composure became even more necessary as Quinones took the field at the Liberty 34-yard line following Tahquitz’s kickoff. With his first two throws not reaching a receiver, Quinones needed to cover 66 yards in what was now under 30 seconds.

He and Andre Skelton ran the same smooth behind-the-back play they had scored with earlier and covered 20 of those yards on the next play.

"It's a great feeling to know that I can make little mistakes but they'll make up for it," Quinones said of the last drive. "That's what you need on a football team."

Brent Burroughs, a senior wide receiver, did his part in making up for those little things with a 50-yard reception to the 2-yard line with just nine seconds to go. On the next play, Quinones stepped back, working with enough time thanks to a block from Skelton, and found an open Velasco in the end zone.

"I honestly don't know how I ended up so open," Velasco said of the final play. "I froze like it was a run, so I think that's how I got the DB. But that was a must-get after the two I missed earlier, so it felt good."

The Titans had two plays to try to change the outcome of the game but couldn't convert anything and the game ended with a Bison victory.

The program’s first league title is something Contreras is excited about because of what it says about his team and their future.

"This all goes to my staff and my kids; they're the ones putting in the work and getting this done," he said of the title. "Man, they're good! I think it's going to be hard to stop these guys."

Velasco agrees, saying his team isn't one to get down, even if the going gets tough.

"We're resilient," he said. "We're not going to back down. We're going to try our best even if there's only 30 seconds left and we're at the 50."

The Bison will learn their first-round CIF playoff opponent on Sunday.

The Bison started the game with a 13-0 lead before the end of the first quarter. Tahquitz had an answer around the seven-minute mark in the second quarter in a quick four-play touchdown drive after forcing a Liberty turnover on their own 12-yard line. Liberty led 23-14 at halftime.

The opening drive for Tahquitz in the second half was riddled with Bison penalties, which put them in the end zone in just six plays. They had 55 yards to cover on that drive and Liberty penalties accounted for 30 of them.

With just a two-point difference in the score, Liberty was forced to punt on their next drive, after not progressing the ball past the 50.

The Titans had four penalties of their own to hold them back on the following drive, however. Once they were past the 50, that drive ended with a forced fumble recovered by Liberty's Dylan Backer.

Eddie Smith brought the ball into the end zone on the end of that drive to bring to put the Bison up 30-21 just before the end of the third quarter. But Tahquitz's DJ Bryant ran the ball for 36 yards total on their following drive, and David Toney tallied 37 of his own, getting to the end zone and putting their team within two points.

Quinones was looking for a touchdown to widen the gap on the scoreboard with just six minutes to go, but, just two plays in, he threw an interception.

The Titans had a slow and steady push, but only reached the 19-yard line by fourth down and lined up to attempt a field goal.

The crowd erupted when the Bison blocked the attempt, but a flag was thrown in the midst of the excitement and Liberty was penalized for roughing the passer. With many players frustrated with the call and showing it, the officials threw another flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. The result was a first down around the 5-yard line for Tahquitz.

With emotions high on both sides, Bryant scored a touchdown for the Titans with just 46 seconds left on the clock, but was stopped in the two-point conversion play. That put Tahquitz ahead 34-30 heading into the wild finish.