It was a perfect temperature night with a light breeze in the Ranchos of Madera on September 19th, 2014. The undefeated Liberty Hawks played host to the also undefeated Fowler Redcats. Fowler came in as the underdog, but their undefeated record showed they were ready to play football. Both sides of the stadium were filled with passionate fans eager to see their team win this night. With the purple sky in the background, these two teams were ready for kick-off.
Fowler received the ball to start the game, but Liberty came up with the first score. Liberty quarterback Zach Richie throws a touch pass into the hands of Sawyer Howe. The pass initially appeared to be incomplete when Sawyer lost control of the ball as it was batted down by a Fowler defender. But the referee said Sawyer held onto the ball long enough and had both feet on the ground to consider it a catch. This gave Liberty the quick 7-0 lead. This was the only score of the first quarter as both teams played good defense.
In the second quarter, it was more Liberty. Wade Wallace used his speed to reach the end zone pylon for a 3 yard rushing touchdown (14-0). Both teams played physical defense in the second quarter, and Fowler kept it to only a two score game. The second score of the quarter also went to Liberty when James Hernandez kicked a 25 yard field goal (17-0). The field goal came after Fowler quarterback Clint Hoover fumbles the ball while being sacked deep in Fowlers own territory. This had given the Hawks good field position to start that scoring drive. At halftime Liberty had a 17-0 lead on Fowler.
Liberty added to their lead in the third quarter. Wade Wallace showed his elusiveness as he sliced and diced the defense for a long and impressive 50 yard touchdown run. Fowler blocks the extra point to make Liberty’s lead (23-0). On the following drive, Clint Hoover fumbled the ball deep in Fowler territory for the second time in the game. This appeared to have big consequences as Liberty scores on the very next play; Richie Brandt ran it in for an untouched 11 yards touchdown run. Fowler once again blocked the extra point to make Liberty’s lead (29-0). The Hawks fast paced offense wore down Fowler’s tired defense. Liberty managed to drive the ball downfield for a third, third quarter touchdown. Zach Richie avoided the sack and tossed the ball down the middle of the field where he led receiver Danny Cervantes for a 14 yard touchdown pass. Fowler blocked the extra point for a third time this quarter to make the score (35-0)
The fourth quarter was very fast as the Hawks tightened their grip, and just ran down the clock. They had the ball for 11 of 12 minutes in the fourth quarter. Their offense quietly ran the clock down to expiration and converted on first down four times to secure the 35-0 victory over The Fowler Redcats. Liberty improved to 4-0, and Fowler suffers their first loss to drop to 2-1.
Fowler suffered a bad loss, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked. Not only did Fowler hold Liberty to the fewest points they have scored all year, but 10 of those point came off turnovers that gave Liberty good starting field position. Due to penalties, and the inability to convert first downs; Fowlers offense never found its rhythm. The Redcats defense held strong most of the game, but were exhausted from never having a chance to get quality rest. I look for this defense to dominate most of their games this season.
Liberty’s Wade Wallace is a talented running back with good stop and go speed. He is able to turn the corner on a sweep very well, and has good vision when running down field. I look for him to be a standout this year as Liberty continues their outstanding season. Liberty’s offense was able to control the tempo of the entire game. They had long drives, and ran a fast paced offense. I look for them to be a favorite to win all their remaining regular season games this year.
Game Notes
Fowler Redcats
Passing- Clint Hoover: 1-10, 13 yds
Rushing- Izaiah Moreno: 11 car, 58 yds
Receiving- Thomas Ash: 1 rec, 14 yds
Liberty Hawks
Passing- Zach Richie: 8-13, 98 yds, 2 TD’s, 1 int
Rushing- Wade Wallace: 14 car, 124 yds, 2 TD’s
Receiving- Sawyer Howe: 2 rec, 67 yds, 1 TD
CA Central Section’s Top 25 Rankings (before the start of week 3)
1. Edison Tigers 3-0
Result: Won by 1 point against a Top 3 team
Next: Oct 3rd vs (7) Clovis West
Impact Game: Oct 9th vs. (17) Memorial
2. Bakersfield Drillers 1-1
Result: Won decisively against a Top 200 State team
Next: @ Top 200 state (Salesian)
Impact Game: Oct 3rd vs. (4) Ridgeview
3. Clovis North Broncos 2-1
Result: Lost by 1 point against number 1 team
Next: @ Top 150 state (Merced)
Impact Game: Oct 10th vs. (7) Clovis West
4. Ridgeview Wolf Pack 2-0
Result: Won by 7 against a Top 300 state team
Next: Vs. Top 300 state
Impact Game: Oct 3rd vs. (2) Bakersfield
5. Liberty Patriots 2-1
Result: Won decisively against a Top 25 team
Next: @ Top 100 state team
Impact Game: Nov 7th vs. (2) Bakersfield
6. El Diamante Miners 3-0
Result: Lost by 6 against Top 20 team
Next: vs Top 400 state team
Impact Game: Oct 30th vs. (9) Lemoore
7. Clovis West Golden Eagles 2-1
Result: Bye
Next: vs (8) Bullard
Impact Game: Oct 3rd vs. (1) Edison
8. Bullard Knights 2-1
Result: Lost by 3 against a Top 20 team
Next: vs (7) Clovis West
Impact Game: Oct 24th vs. (17) Memorial
9. Lemoore Tigers 3-0
Result: Won by 5 against a Top 300 state team
Next: @ (15) Redwood
Impact Game: Nov 7th vs. (13) Hanford
10. Liberty Hawks 3-0
Result: Won decisively against a Top 650 state team
Next: @Top 550 team
Impact Game: Oct 24th vs. Washington Union
Moving Up: Liberty Patriots
Moving Down: El Diamante Minors
Outside looking in: Memorial Panthers
11. Mission Oak Hawks 2-1
12. Centennial Golden Hawks 2-1
13. Hanford Bullpups 3-0
14. Central Valley Christian Cavaliers 3-0
15. Redwood Rangers 3-0
16. Central Grizzlies 0-3
17. Memorial Panthers 3-0
18. Dinuba Emperors 2-1
19. Clovis Cougars 1-2
20. Tulare Redskins 1-2
21. Bakersfield Christian Eagles 1-2
22. Sunnyside Wildcats 1-1
23. Buchanan Bears 0-3
24. Wasco Tigers 3-0
25. Frontier Titans 1-1
Other Games:
(1)Edison 21, (3) Clovis North 20 – Edison: DeAndre Lockhart – 7 car, 44 yds, 1 TD
(16)Central 24, (8) Bullard 21 – Central: Tamar Johnson – 10 car, 50 yds, 2 TD’s
(22)Sunnyside 28, Clovis East 21 – Sunnyside: Malcolm Williams – 35 car, 160 yds, 1 TD
(9)Lemoore 27, Sanger 22 – Lemoore: Cort Groathouse – 23-30, 258 yds, 3 TD’s
Monache 24, Washington Union 14 – Monache: Lupe Ramos – 24 car, 156 yds, 1 TD
McLane 55, Farmersville 21 – McLane: Mikequan Jones – 85 yard kickoff return for a TD.
Roosevelt 51, Yosemite 0 – Roosevelt: Elijah Martin – 3 rushing TD’s
Madera 54, Hoover 21 – Madera: Undefeated 4-0
Selma 37, Coalinga 12 – Selma: Paul Thomas – 18 car, 269 yds, 5 TD’s
Fresno 24, Hilmar 21 – Fresno: Wesley Graves – 17 car, 162 yds
(20)Tulare 49, Kingsburg 28
(14)Central Valley Christian 44, Chowchilla 6
(5)Liberty-Bakersfield 48, (23) Buchanan 20
(19)Clovis 21, Stockdale 20
(18)Dinuba 28, (6) El Diamante 22
(25)Frontier 34, Golden Valley 14
(11)Mission Oak 43, Mt. Whitney 0
(13)Hanford 33, Porterville 7
(12)Centennial 17, (15) Redwood 6
(4)Ridgeview 49, (21) Bakersfield Christian 42
(2)Bakersfield 48, Crenshaw 12
(17)Memorial 44, Garces 13
Bye: (7) Clovis West, (24) Wasco
Featured Game of Week 4: (7) Clovis West Golden Eagles vs. (8) Bullard Knights
(Scores, stats, and rankings courtesy of Maxpreps.com, and The Fresno Bee)
- Immanuel makes it look easy; Golden Eagles soar past the Grizzlies - February 14, 2015
- Immanuel and Fresno High unstoppable; Central making a late run. - February 4, 2015
- Central stuns Clovis West, Roosevelt stumbles but not out. - January 27, 2015
Leave a Reply