PEORIA — One huge gamble paid off big time for Liberty on Friday night as the Lions held on for a narrow 33-27 victory over the Pinnacle Pioneers in a 6A Desert Valley Region contest at Liberty High School.
Leading by six points with two minutes left in the game, Liberty faced a 4th-and-1 at its own 28 yard line. Instead of punting the football away, Liberty Head Coach Colin Thomas decided to go for it.
“We go by analytics,” Thomas explained. “We figured if we make it, they have no timeouts left and the game is over.”
Cue Liberty sophomore quarterback Navi Bruzon, who knifed up the middle through the Pioneer defense for the two biggest yards of the game that iced the six-point triumph.
“Anytime we have a chance to end the game, we are going to take it,” Thomas said. “And that’s what we did.”
After the tight region win, Bruzon said he was confident he could get the needed yardage in crunch time.
“That’s a play we practice quite a bit,” he said. “Call my number, I’m going to get what we need.”
Liberty (6-2, 2-0) looked to be poised for a fairly easy win but Pinnacle had other ideas as the fourth quarter wound down. Pioneers backup QB Ethan Wall, in for an injured Zach Wren, lofted a 64-yard touchdown pass to Chris Cappellini who was untouched down the right sideline. The PAT was blocked but Pinnacle was within 33-27 and Liberty was left to sweat out the final 4:38 of the game before Bruzon’s deciding scramble allowed everyone to exhale.
“Why does it always have to be so close?” Liberty defensive back Noah Gutierrez joked as the clock ticked off the final few seconds.
Early in the game, the Lions’ offense was no joke — quickly jumping out to a two-score lead before Pinnacle knew what hit them.
Liberty’s first offensive series ended with Bruzon finding Darin Barrows with a 10-yard touchdown pass. The PAT bounced off the left upright but the Lions still led 6-0.
Liberty’s defense was already digging in and forced a Pioneers punt at the Pinnacle 32. Punter Nathan Mongovan was then leveled by the Lions’ Collin Shannon before he could get a kick away, giving Liberty the ball inside the Pinnacle 25.
The Lions got ground gains from Jordon Guevara and Jaqua Anderson before Bruzon found Guevara for 12 yards on 4th-and-4. Two plays later, Bruzon crossed the goal line from 3 yards away:
Liberty standout defensive lineman My’Keil Gardner hauled in a 2-point pass from Bruzon and the Lions led 14-0 with 4:22 left in the first quarter.
It appeared Liberty might run away but Pinnacle bounced back with a 13-play, 85-yard drive to get on the board. Big catches by Baylor Adams, Mac Richards and Myles Libman keyed the drive before Cappellini nabbed a 5-yard scoring strike from Wren:
Jackson Green’s PAT brought Pinnacle within 14-7.
Momentum continued with the Pioneers as linebacker Bobby Weaver intercepted Bruzon on Liberty’s next drive. Pinnacle could do nothing with the ball, though, as Liberty’s Anthony Ruiz swatted down a Wren pass on fourth down at the Liberty 44.
The Lions went three-and-out and had their punt blocked, leading to a remarkable 14-yard TD run by Libman:
Green’s PAT tied the game at 14-14 with 3:30 left before halftime.
The Lions quickly answered as Bruzon and Anderson led the ground attack down the field. It took just seven plays to score as Anderson did the honors from 17 yards out. The PAT was blocked and Liberty led 20-14 with 1:13 before halftime.
Pinnacle responded to grab the lead at the break. Two costly Lions penalties — including one on a play where Wren slid late and was hit hard by Liberty’s Jax Stam — ultimately led to backup QB Ethan Wall calmly tossing a 14-yard TD to Libman with 23 seconds left before halftime:
Green made the point after and Pinnacle took a 21-20 lead into the break.
The Lions came out fired up to start the second half, quickly taking the lead back on more 4th down magic — first it was a clutch pass from Bruzon to Barrows and later a 20-yard TD run by Anderson:
“Our offensive line were leaders tonight,” Thomas said. “You got a couple sophomores in the backfield and those seniors led the way.”
The 2-point conversion failed and Liberty held a 26-21 lead at the 7:49 mark of the third.
Pinnacle fumbled on its next series and Liberty’s Connor Whyte pounced on the loose football.
Bruzon did the honors from there, cruising in for a 16-yard rushing TD:
“I feel like my teammates are starting to respect me more,” Bruzon admitted. “I’m just playing ball. I feel like I’m getting better each week and I’m excited for the future.”
Nathan Hawkins made the PAT to give Liberty a 33-21 lead midway through the third.
The teams would then trade possessions until Cappellini’s long TD catch made things interesting in the final four minutes.
Despite the defeat, 6A #11 Pinnacle (3-5, 1-2) will still likely take one of the 16 spots in the 6A playoff bracket. It doesn’t hurt their chances that several other 6A teams seemingly will ascend to the Open bracket at regular season’s end.
“A lot of credit to Pinnacle,” Thomas said after the game. “They fought. I’ve got a lot of respect for those coaches and that program.”
Following a tough home loss to Queen Creek, Liberty has rebounded with region wins over Chaparral and Pinnacle. The Lions next host improved Brophy (6-2, 3-0) in a matchup of unbeaten Desert Valley Region teams. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5.
With other results Friday night playing out in Liberty’s favor, the Lions (ranked #6 in 6A and #9 in Open) are likely to find themselves among the top 8 teams in the Open Division rankings this Tuesday morning. That’s just where they want to be.
“The goal is to get to the Open,” said Bruzon. “We are all about the competition. We want to make that bracket and see what we can do there.”
Matt Loeschman
Editor | Daily Independent
@MattLoeschman
mloeschman@iniusa.org
I have edited and written about almost everything in my 20-year journalism career, but I have a strong passion for sports since my father was a teacher and coach when I was young.
My job has allowed me to meet many influential people, including Hillary Clinton, Al Gore (I have a brief, on-camera part in his second movie), George Strait, Matthew McConaughey and several world-class athletes.
I have worked for Independent Newsmedia on two separate occasions – 2000-09 and 2018-present – after studying journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.
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