Liberty rolls past North Kitsap 52-17
November 10, 2008
By Jim Feehan
Liberty’s vaunted ground attack rushed for 516 yards as the Patriots slammed North Kitsap in the opening round of the state playoffs, 52-17.
The ninth-ranked Patriots (8-2) advance to the next round of the playoffs to play at Kennedy.
Senior running back Greg Ericksen rushed for a 30-yard touchdown, capping a five play, 80-yard scoring drive to open the game. His second touchdown was an electrifying 74-yard run in the third quarter. Ericksen, who led the Patriots in rushing during the regular season, ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries.
Sophomore running back Chandler Jenkins rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, senior running back Joseph Yea had 77 yards on 10 carries and senior running back John Kirksey rushed for 100 yards on two carries.
Sophomore quarterback Trey Wheeler completed 9 of 18 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown.
“Offensively, this was our most consistent game we’ve played all year,” Patriots coach Steve Valach said. “We have a habit of shooting ourselves in the foot with costly turnovers or penalties, but we had zero turnovers in this game. It’s good to see our offensive come together.”
Defensively, Liberty held North Kitsap (7-3) to one first down in the first 23 minutes of the game. The defense held North Kitsap to 97 yards rushing, including one 54-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and 43 yards the remainder of the game.
Senior defensive back Taylor Hamman turned in another stellar performance with two key interceptions.
Twenty-four hours after the game, Valach was at Highline Stadium in Burien scouting the Kennedy-Camas game.
The Kennedy Lancers (9-1) built a 28-3 halftime lead behind three touchdowns from Tre Watson and then fought off a vigorous second-half rally by the Camas Papermakers to win 35-23. The Lancers feature two of the top players in the state in Watson and Nolan Washington. Watson is the leading rusher in the region with 1,703 yards so far this season.
“Kennedy is certainly explosive with Watson and Washington,” Valach said. “They’re definitely the fastest players we’ve seen all year.”
Camas (6-4) rallied in the second half to score 20 unanswered points before Washington scored on a 55-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to put the win out of reach for Camas.
All the while, Valach said he was secretly rooting for Kennedy. Liberty will play the Lancers at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Highline.
“We’re excited by the matchup,” he said. “I’m glad to be playing locally for our fans. I like the fact we’ll be riding 25 minutes to the game instead of a couple of hours to Camas.”
Reach Reporter Jim Feehan at 392-6434, ext. 239, or jfeehan@isspress.com.
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