No. 1 Liberty lights up Salpointe Catholic in dominant 49-0 win

They have been ranked No. 1 in The Republic’s Super 10 for almost the whole season, and Friday night was just the latest example of why Liberty is considered to be the best team in the whole state as they demolished Salpointe Catholic 49-0.

It was 28-0 with 1:15 left in the first quarter.

As has been the case for most of their games in Arizona this season, a running clock was put in the second half.

The win is another impressive one for Liberty (6-1) against a previously undefeated team as the Lions continue their march to the Open playoffs.

“I thought overall, we played well,” Liberty coach Colin Thomas said. “I was really happy with the defense. They needed a good night. The last two games haven’t been ideal, so they played really well. It felt good to have a good team win. To face that level of pass rushers was good for us to see because we’ll continue to see those throughout the season.”

Here are three key takeaways from the night.

Missed opportunity

Before this game got out of hand, Salpointe Catholic (6-1) was presented with a golden opportunity when junior linebacker Nathan Spivey intercepted Liberty quarterback Navi Bruzon on the third play of the game.

The Lancers got the ball in Lions’ territory and began driving, getting the ball down to the 24-yard line before Salpointe Catholic junior quarterback Adan Koch-Rodriguez fumbled and gave possession back to Liberty.

“We seized momentum when they created turnovers, we got the ball right back,” Thomas said. “It was important. We referenced the Cowboys and Niners last week, kind of the same thing. Christian McCaffrey fumbled, the defense got it right back. We talked about it all week, respond defensively if you get put in spots. And they did a great job.”

Liberty only needed five plays to reach the end zone for the first touchdown of the evening.

The fumble was a huge chance for the Lancers to get on the board first. It probably wouldn’t have changed much in the final outcome, but momentum is a real thing in football, and Salpointe Catholic didn’t seize on an opportunity to build some when it really needed it.

There is one positive from the night that the Lancers can draw upon: the play of Spivey. He finished with three interceptions.

“He’s argubaly one of our best,” Salpointe Catholic coach Eric Rogers said. “He’s one our best athletes. He plays offense, defense, does everything for us. He had a rough week last week and I knew he would going to respond. I knew he was going to come out here and play lights out. He’s a great, great football player. He’s a Division I football player, there’s no question about it. And he doesn’t have an offer — he needs to get one. So all you colleges, you should look at number 8.”

Liberty’s high-octane offense

Simply put, Liberty just looks bigger and faster than the teams they play. That was very clear in Peoria as the Lions only needed 10 plays to reach their first 21 points.

The first three touchdowns were all passes: a 15-yard pass from senior quarterback Navi Bruzon to senior wide receiver Ryan Jezioro, 62-yard pass from Bruzon to senior wide receiver Braylon Gardner and then a 55-yarder to Jezioro.

Then the defense got in on the action as Liberty junior defensive back Malachi Holliday intercepted Salpointe Catholic junior Koch-Rodriguez and returned it for a touchdown to make it 28-0.

After a missed field goal from Salpointe Catholic, Liberty put together a quick 3-play drive that ended with a 31-yard pass from Bruzon to Gardner. The senior wide receiver high-pointed the ball to complete the touchdown.

The scoreboard read 35-0 at the end of the first quarter.

It was a night to remember for Gardner with his two big touchdowns — he was also named Homecoming King.

“Probably one the best nights of my life,” Gardner said. “10 out of 10. Best night I’ve ever had.”

At the 1:15 mark in the third quarter, junior quartertback Hayden Fletcher entered the game for Bruzon.

The Lions were able to add two more touchdowns in the second half. Senior running back Jon Wilson scored on a 7-yard run and Fletcher ran it from 5 yards out.

Lions contain Elijah Rushing

One of the most anticipated matchups on the evening was Salpointe Catholic senior defensive end Elijah Rushing against the vaunted Liberty offensive line.

Rushing is the top-ranked prospect in Arizona and is viewed as one of the best pass rushers in all of America.

On Friday night, he was nowhere to be seen.

The assignment was given to tackles Kaden Haeckel and Nicholas Spence, both whom shut down the highly touted Rushing. Zero sacks were given up on the evening.

Haeckel did his best to keep things simple in the gameplan leading up to the week. Thinking too much can get you wrapped in your head.

“It’s just another player, he’s in high school just like us,” Haeckel said. “We watched enough film, we can figure out what he’s doing. He’s a great player, good to go against him, win most of the reps. It was nice.”

Haeckel had to get used to the frame of Rushing, who is 6-5 and weighs 250 pounds.

“His length – his arms are really long. He was reaching on me before I was getting to him. I was able to make it up with my kick. He’s quick off the ball. He has the play recognition that’s the best I have ever seen as a defensive end as of right now. I feel like I had a great game overall. I didn’t allow up any sacks, which is great. Quarterback was untouched. My left guard, Cameron Uresti, is always there to help too.”

Moving forward

While Liberty’s overall goal is to get over the hump in the Open semifinals that have ended their season the past two years, Thomas is taking it week by week.

With Scottsdale Saguaro coming to town next week, it’s a chance for the Lions to enact some revenge on the team that beat them in the playoffs last year to send them home.

While the Sabercats are only 4-3 on the season, the team is always dangerous with its history of winning.

“We’re focused on next week,” Thomas said. “Just going 1-0. You got a long way to go. This isn’t our first time having success, we’ve been here before. We’re just trying to keep geting better. We play a really good program next week. When that day (Open semifinal) comes, we’ll be ready to go.”

For the Lancers, they have no time wallow in their sorrows with a huge game against Phoenx Mountian Pointe.

It’s a chance for Salpointe Catholic to redeem themselves in 6A after the tough loss facing a solid Mountain Pointe team.

“We gotta lick our wounds, we gotta get back to work,” Rogers said. “It’s a huge week week for us. We’ve got Senior Week, last home game. We want to honor those seniors, send them out the right way. A good Mountain Pointe team coming to play us. One of the top running backs in the country, so we’re going to have our hands full again. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: No. 1 Liberty too much too handle for Salpointe Catholic in 49-0 win