Story by The Bakersfield Californian
Photos by: @joeproactionshots
The No. 3 Patriots, who lost to the Bears in a game called early in the fourth quarter due to a lightning storm, shook off a slow start, took control and then held on to defeat No. 2 Buchanan 28-20 to reach the Central Section Division I title game for the second straight year.
“It’s a great feeling to come back (and win),” Patriots senior lineman Grant Buckey said. “It sucks to not be able to finish a game, but we learned a lot about our team that game, a lot about our mistakes and what we need to do to get the job done. So it was a good learning experience for us in the playoffs and to play good ball when it really matters.”
Liberty (10-2), the defending section D-I and Northern California Regional Division I-A champion, will host No. 4 Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (10-2) in the D-I championship game next Friday. The Panthers upset top-seeded Clovis West 30-20 in Friday’s other semifinal game.
“I think they had motivation, but I also think they understood what this game means and the magnitude of this game to be able to go play in a Valley championship and practice on Thanksgiving Day,” Liberty coach Bryan Nixon said.
Trailing by two scores late, Buchanan scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to pull within eight points and had the ball twice in the final 7 minutes with a chance to tie the game.
Senior Xander Chisholm halted the Bears’ first possession with his second interception of the game, and after Grant Meadors missed on a 36-yard field goal attempt with 1:24 to play, Buchanan had one last possession when it took over at its own 20.
But the Patriots forced three straight incomplete passes, including one that Tre Fulton nearly picked off, and when Bears quarterback Jayden Mandal’s desperation throw on fourth down to Mckay Jones fell to the turf, Liberty began to celebrate, taking over on downs with 56.6 seconds to play.
“The defense played lights out tonight,” Nixon said. “They really got after it. That’s a tough offense to defend. They do so many things and our guys … assignment, alignment, we talk about that, and they flew around and made things happen tonight.”
The Patriots, who lost to the Bears 35-27 on Sept. 9, dug themselves an early hole when Mekhi Johnson stepped in front of a Cole O’Brien pass and returned it 25 yards for a score to give Buchanan (9-3) an early 7-0 lead.
Liberty responded with an eight-play, 59-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard scoring pass from O’Brien to Kresean Kizzy (six catches for 80 yards), but the Bears countered with a long scoring drove of their own and retook the lead on a 12-yard TD run by Kannon Campbell to make it 13-7 on the first play of the second quarter. The extra point was missed wide to the right.
But the lead lasted just 46 seconds.
Ermiah Harrision returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to the Buchanan 10, and three plays later O’Brien rolled to his right and found Chisolm in the end zone to give the Patriots the lead for good. Chisholm had three catches for 55 yards.
“I don’t show much emotion, but it felt good to start slow and to come back,” O’Brien said. “Our defense played an amazing game and they saved us at the end.”
O’Brien had his hands in all four touchdowns for Liberty and shook off three interceptions to finish with 166 yards on 11 of 18 passing, and also rushed for 60 yards.
“We started kind of slow,” O’Brien said. “We had some guys open and didn’t capitalize, but we picked up in the second quarter and started moving the ball.”
The junior quarterback scored on a 5-yard run just before the half and then added a 1-yard plunge to cap his team’s opening possession of the second half to build Liberty’s lead to 28-13.
“We put a lot on him,” Nixon said. ”We knew we were going to have to run the quarterback a little bit and he really did a good job, made some plays with his feet, and (I) was really pleased with how he progressed today.”
The two teams have met in the section semifinals the past four seasons, with Liberty (10-2) winning three times, including the last two.
“Hats off to them,” Nixon said. “Four years in a row and it’s been a battle every year we play them up here. I’m just really proud of our kids. We talked about it being a 48-minute ballgame and they came out and played 48 minutes.”
Story by The Bakersfield Californian
Photos by: @joeproactionshots