Patriots whack Wildcats 38-28 in season finale
November 3, 2009
By Tim Pfarr
Cameron Talley, Liberty senior tight end, is wide open to haul in a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Trey Wheeler to give the Patriots a 31-20 lead on the way to a 38-28 win Oct. 30 over Mount Si. By Greg Farrar
In a back-and-forth battle Oct. 30, the Liberty High School Patriots defeated the host Mount Si Wildcats, 38-28 in the final 3A/2A KingCo Conference game of the season.
Mount Si started hot, holding Liberty and scoring a touchdown less than two minutes into the game.
However, Liberty’s offense quickly responded on its next drive, marching down the field and scoring on a 16-yard touchdown run from junior running back Chandler Jenkins just one minute later.
For the remainder of the first half, Mount Si struggled to hold Liberty’s offense as the Patriots continued to move the ball, scoring on passes from junior quarterback Trey Wheeler to senior wide receiver Troy Colyer and Jenkins.
Mount Si kicked a field goal at the end of the second quarter, bringing the score to 24-10 at halftime.The Wildcats shut out the Patriots 10-0 in the third quarter, closing the Patriots’ lead to 24-20, but Liberty found success again in the fourth quarter, scoring on a pass from Wheeler to senior tight end Cameron Talley and another Jenkins run. With 46 seconds remaining in the game, Mount Si scored a final touchdown, but it was too little too late.
“Chandler pounded the ball real hard all night,” Wheeler said. “The O-line played really well, and we made some crucial catches when we needed them.”
Jenkins fumbled the ball in the third quarter, but he recorded an interception on defense midway through the fourth quarter.
“I kind of faced some adversity myself with the fumble, but I just kind of had to keep my head in the game and come up with something big on defense to get the ball back,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins finished the game with 252 yards on 22 carries. He also caught three passes for 21 yards. Wheeler hit 10 of 18 passes for 139 yards.
Liberty head coach Steve Valach said the team knew the game would be a battle.
“Mount Si’s a really good football team,” Valach said. “We knew that, and we knew it was going to be a ball game where you have to play four quarters.”
The Patriots finished second in the league standings with a 5-1 mark.
Liberty, 8-1 on the season, travels to Camas Nov. 6 to take on Camas High School in a postseason preliminary round match to earn entry into the 3A state playoffs. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcas@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
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