For the first time in its 115-year school history, Liberty High will have a football team practicing and playing during the week of Thanksgiving.
Friday night’s 35-15 quarterfinal win over rival Heritage sent the Lions (9-2) into the NCS Division I semifinals for the first time in school history. The program won its first playoff game three years ago, against Amador Valley in the first round, but lost to California in the quarterfinals that season. They had not been back to the playoffs since that game.
The first 20 minutes of the game on Friday were largely uneventful, as both defenses held their ground. Late in the second quarter, however, the Lions broke the ice with a 67-yard scoring drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Jay Butterfield to Sione Vaki. Things then took a bad turn for Heritage when quarterback Luke Lang was intercepted on the first play of the ensuing Patriots’ drive by Max Lawrence, who returned the ball to the Heritage five-yard line.
It took just two plays for the Lions to capitalize, as Vaki scored for the second time in the game, this time on a three-yard run for a 14-0 lead at the half.
“I really attribute our defensive performance tonight to my defensive coordinator, Brian Reel. He told me during the week that we would be leading 14-0 at the half, and he was confident in his game plan,” said Liberty head coach Ryan Partridge. “It was a complete team effort on that side of the ball.”
Liberty’s defense held Heritage (7-5) to just 73 yards in the first half, but the Patriots found a spark midway through the third quarter, when senior Aidan Quinn broke off back-to-back runs of 34 and 28 yards, followed by a short one-yard touchdown run. When Quinn, serving as the holder on the extra point, pulled the ball off the ground and raced around the left side for the two-point conversion, the Patriots had cut the lead to 14-8 with 5:53 left in the third quarter.
The Lions did not take long to respond to the Heritage score, as Jerrin Easter-Williams returned the ensuing kickoff to the Patriots’ 41-yard line. John Fio capped the short drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put the Lions back up by two scores, 21-8. Senior defensive back Devon Willis then came up with an interception on the next drive for the Liberty defense, and Butterfield hooked up with Zane Hinojosa on the very next play. The sophomore quarterback lofted a ball to the right corner of the end zone, where Hinojosa reached around the Heritage defender for an amazing catch and 31-yard touchdown to go up 28-8 by the end of three quarters.
“I say it every week, (Hinojosa) is my get out of jail free card,” Partridge said. “Jay and Zane really have something going on. They worked out all off-season together, and it’s just awesome. Zane is a heckuva receiver, and Jay is a heckuva quarterback.”
Liberty put the game out of reach for good midway through the fourth quarter when Butterfield found fellow sophomore Peyton Borrelli down the middle for a 39-yard touchdown pass. Quinn added his second touchdown of the night, on a three-yard run less than a minute later, as the Patriots accounted for the final tally.
Quinn led the Heritage attack with 127 yards on the ground, but was the only real bright spot offensively, and 112 of his yards came on just four of his 18 carries.
Tyerell Sturges-Cofer ran for 98 yards on 18 carries for Liberty, while Butterfield completed 12 of 20 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Hinojosa was amazing all night, adding to his highlight reel with all four of his catches, which totaled 117 yards.
Now, Liberty looks forward to not only playing in its first-ever semifinal game, but also hosting the game, facing either San Leandro or Foothill back at Ohmstede Field next weekend.
“We just need to clean everything up,” Partridge added. “I think that, just settling in after our first playoff game, everything will be cleaned up.”
The Lions' win at home over Heritage was the first win by the home team in the cross-town rivalry since 2011. It was also the first time ever that Liberty beat Heritage on its home field.
Harker cruises past Piedmont
Third-seeded Harker made a statement in its quarterfinal win over six seed Piedmont, racing to a 24-point lead at halftime before eventually winning 38-12 to reach the semifinals for the first time in school history.
Nate Kelly hit Floyd Gordon for a 10-yard touchdown pass on the Eagles’ first possession of the game, following a long kickoff return by Angel Cervantes. After Harker forced a Highlanders’ punt on their first possession, the Eagles’ offense went back to work. Kelly hit both Gordon and Anthony Contreras to move the ball into Piedmont territory, and Aaron Smith carried the ball into the red zone. Kelly completed the drive with another touchdown pass to Gordon, this time from 13 yards out for a 14-0 lead.
A Piedmont fumble late in the first quarter gave Harker another opportunity, and the Eagles capitalized once again as Kelly connected with Gordon to move the ball deep into Highlander territory. Kelly then ran for the end zone, but fumbled the ball at the two-yard line, only for it to be recovered by Contreras for the Harker touchdown. Dominic Cea closed the first half with a 26-yard field goal for the 24-point advantage.
The visiting Highlanders closed the gap in the third quarter, when quarterback Jacob Prager scored on a two-yard run, and Piedmont gained more momentum when Darryl Tjogas intercepted Kelly on the next Harker drive. The Highlanders were unable to do anything with the turnover, however, and Harker cemented the win early in the fourth quarter when Kelly’s one-yard capped a 95-yard scoring drive.
Jared Anderson accounted for the final Harker points when he returned an interception for a touchdown with under two minutes remaining.
Fortuna overwhelms Moreau Catholic
Senior JB Lewis scored five times in the first half, as Fortuna crushed Moreau Catholic, 60-6, in the Division IV quarterfinals. The Huskies advance to play the winner of Saturday’s San Marin at St. Bernard’s game.
Lewis added a sixth touchdown in the third quarter, his fifth rushing score, before Adam Medeiros capped the scoring with his five-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Middletown advances with win over Ferndale
Middletown got a pair of rushing touchdowns from Nash Field, who also had an interception, and cruised past Ferndale for the 34-6 win and a berth in the Division V semifinals.
Field scored on a pair of short runs, but the big blow happened early in the third quarter, when quarterback Luke Holt connected with Devin Ross for an 85-yard touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 20-0 lead at the time.
Jacob Kelly’s 20-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter gave Middletown a 34-point lead before the Wildcats got on the board late in the game on a pass from Landon Gomes to Jackson Wagner.
Other Friday scores
Open Division – De La Salle 45 Clayton Valley 7
Division I – Freedom 38 Amador Valley 20
Division II – Campolindo 44 Maria Carrillo 20
Division II – Granada 56 Casa Grande 28
Division III – Cardinal Newman 49 Encinal 32
Division V – St. Patrick-St. Vincent 52 Stellar Prep 12
