Liberty football team defeats Freedom in Bell Game

“I told them (at halftime) we were undisciplined in practice, and I told them we are undisciplined right now, but we are finishers and we are winners,” said Partridge.

Liberty running back Tyerell Sturges-Cofer led the second-half charge, gaining 223 of his 284 rushing yards in the third and fourth quarters. As a team, Liberty outgained Freedom 366-60 in second-half total yards.

“Our coach told us we needed to keep running the ball, and they couldn’t stop the run game,” Sturges-Cofer said. “My linemen did an amazing job, and we just kept running.”

The Lions were unstoppable in the second half, scoring touchdowns on five of six possessions, including Sturges-Cofer’s 66-, 42- and 3-yard runs, Brenden Bell’s 1-yard scamper and Adrik Lamar’s 33-yard catch.

In that same period, Freedom (5-2, 1-1 in the Bay Valley Athletic League) punted four times, turned the ball over on downs once and committed one turnover – when quarterback Joey Aguilar pass ended up in Vaki’s hands on Freedom’s first possession of the second half.

The Falcons came within a few yards of scoring late in the contest, but time expired before they could find the end zone.

“Our coach gave us a chat (at halftime),” said Vaki, who finished with three catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns, including a 90-yard score that saw him break two tackles and elude a third en route to the end zone. “We had to bring the team together. We put the pieces together.”

The Lions’ second-half dominance was a far cry from the opening two quarters, when the league rivals went back and forth.

Three times Liberty pulled in front – on Cofer’s 4-yard run and Vaki’s 49- and 90-yard catch and runs – but a pair of 2-yard touchdowns by James Dziedzic and Giles Jackson and Jackson’s 44-yard catch left the score tied at 21 at halftime.

Partridge said he noticed a change in the team entering the second half.

“Coming out of the tunnel, there was a new energy,” he said.

Jackson finished with seven catches for 127 yards, and Mekel Ealy chipped in with four receptions for 79 yards.

Liberty, the reigning North Coast Section champions, must still face 6-1 Antioch, 5-2 Pittsburg and 1-6 Heritage but looks capable of going undefeated.

“We just have to stay disciplined, stick to the game plan and come out and dominate,” Vaki said.

Sturges-Cofer agrees.

“We have to take it one game at a time, go hard in practice and improve every week,” he said.

In other action around the Bay Valley Athletic League, Antioch (6-1, 1-1) defeated Heritage (1-6, 0-2) 38-7, and Pittsburg (5-2, 2-0) knocked off Deer Valley (3-4, 0-2) 62-0.

Liberty travels to Antioch, Pittsburg hosts Freedom, and Deer Valley heads to Heritage Oct. 5, at 7 p.m.