BRENTWOOD - For the second straight week, Liberty found itself staring at the possibility of an overtime game against a top opponent within the North Coast Section. And after surviving in overtime last week against Clayton Valley when the Eagles' extra-point attempt in the extra period went awry, the Lions survived on similar fortune against Monte Vista when sophomore Nathan Price's 37-yard attempt to tie the game with nine seconds remaining in regulation bounced off the crossbar and back into the end zone, giving second-ranked Liberty a thrilling 24-21 victory.
"I told him, 'You're going to make big kicks for us, learn from happened and we will be better the next time we go out there'," said Monte Vista coach Matt Russi. "I'm very proud of the effort our guys gave and the way we fought until the end. We had a sophomore kicker attempting his first varsity field goal, and that's a tough spot to be in. But I'm happy with the way we competed against a very good opponent."
After finishing the first half trailing 14-10, Liberty (4-0) had one goal coming out of the locker room, and that was to wear the defense down. The Lions certainly did that, with their 13-play opening drive, which absorbed the first nine minutes of second half play. This approach transcended throughout the game, with the Lions running 38 more plays than the opposing Mustangs (2-1). The main contributing factor to this style came from bellcow back Darrion Bartley, who capped off the third quarter drive with a two-yard touchdown. The senior ran for 189 yards on 40 attempts, averaging close to five yards per carry. With his 25 receiving yards, he gained well over 200 all-purpose yards in the game.
“He’s like a bowling ball, I swear, he's like a pinball machine. He’s got big legs and he’s shifty, like a little Le’Veon Bell, so he’s hard to stop,” commented Monte Vista two-way standout Nate Rutchena.
Rutchena had a great game as well, with his third touchdown coming from quarterback Jack Stewardson, to bring the team within three, late in the fourth quarter as he caught a curl route underneath and sliced through three Liberty defenders. He finished with five catches for 109 yards in the game.
With 1:16 left and only needing a first down to clinch it, Bartley made his first, and only, mistake of the game. After gaining the necessary yardage on third down, he stayed up, and the ball popped loose, recovered by Monte Vista defensive end Chip Menard. Bartley was visually very upset with himself as he headed to the sideline.
“I need to perform way better. I need to hold the ball, and I’m just glad I have a good team that uplifts me every time,” Bartley commented.
This fault gave Monte Vista a chance, and the Mustangs nearly capitalized on it. After a costly Liberty pass interference penalty and a 34-yard pass to Jacob Oliphant, the Mustangs were set up with first-and-goal from the Lions' 10-yard line, with under a minute remaining. A holding penalty and a dropped pass, however, left Monte Vista facing third-and-goal from the 20-yard line with nine seconds left and no timeouts, for a 37-yard field goal attempt, they looked to tie the game up with nine seconds remaining.
The low, knuckleball kick which bounced off the crossbar triggered a celebration from the Liberty sideline as Jay Butterfield took the snap in victory formation.
After a win that he was not fully proud of, Liberty head coach Ryan Partridge said that his Lions looked like a “very, very, very poorly coached football team," and that he never wanted to have to rely on Bartley that much in any game the rest of the season.
The Lions look to improve their winning streak to seven games (including the last two games of the last season) this coming Saturday night against Cardinal Newman at Freedom, while Monte Vista aims to redeem itself at a winless Bishop O’Dowd team.
