Liberty edges Springfield Catholic 12-8

The Springfield Catholic Fighting Irish had a rough start to their season, going 0-6 and getting outscored 217-36 in that stretch. But, with 17 seniors, Catholic eventually got things figured out. Midway through the season, the Irish switched from the spread to a flexbone offense. That switch helped them score 49, 30, and 33 in their last three regular season games. Catholic rolled in the “Eagles Nest” riding the three-game winning streak and were full of confidence.

 

On the other side of the field, Liberty had their own 3-game winning streak on the line. They were fresh off their last second “walk-off” touchdown winner against the Houston Tigers, 6-0.

 

The game started disastrously for Liberty. On the second play from scrimmage, Catholic pressured Liberty and forced the quarterback to throw the ball away backed up into his own end zone. No receiver was close and therefore resulted in a safety and an early 2-0 Irish lead. 

 

After the kickoff, Catholic moved the ball into Eagle territory. The Liberty defense held Catholic to a 41-yard field goal try, but the snap was over the holder's head and resulted in a turnover on downs. 

 

Moments later, the Eagles got on the scoreboard. Gavin Reese found Parker Tune, who crossed through the middle of the field and raced for a 38-yard score. The conversion was no good, but Liberty held its first lead 6-2. 

 

A Catholic three-and-out gave Liberty the ball back at the 49-yard line. The Eagles took advantage of momentum and Tune turned a QB keeper into a 46-yard gain to the Catholic 5-yard line. Jaren Rutledge capped off the drive with a run up the middle, giving Liberty a 12-2 lead. 

 

With all momentum swinging in Liberty's favor, Catholic needed to gain it back. Propelled from a successful fourth down conversion, the Irish marched down the field. Running back Sam Boster cut the game to 12-8 at the 2:58 mark in the second quarter with a touchdown scamper of his own.

 

The defenses shined in the second half. Both teams were able to put together long, clock-chewing drives but, we're unable to score.

 

After an excellent defensive series, forcing Catholic backwards, Liberty got the ball back with a little over 3 minutes remaining in the game. With a first down, they salted away the rest of the clock on their way to victory.

 

A rematch awaits the Eagles now. Houston upset Ava in a 40-32 thriller. The Tigers will try to make it two upsets in a row when they face the Eagles Friday night in Mountain View.