Liberty High blows 21-0 lead in 22-21 loss to Hesperia

Trent Hallis finds some running room in Liberty's game against Hesperia. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Everything was going great for the Liberty High School football team, which led Hesperia by a 21-0 score midway through the third quarter Thursday night.

Then came the remaining 17 minutes. Final score: Hesperia 22, Liberty 21.

Hurt by penalties throughout the game and failing to connect on a potential winning touchdown in the final minutes, the Bison and their head coach were left to wonder what hit ‘em. It all seemed to happen so fast…

After Trent Hallis’ 16-yard touchdown run and PAT gave the Bison a 21-0 lead with 8:25 left in the third quarter, it took the visiting Scorpions just seven plays to get on the scoreboard on a 16-yard run by senior running back Zamar Malveaux. The Scorpions began that drive with good field position (their own 47-yard line) and were led on the drive by quarterback Darius Williams, who completed passes of 17 and 15 yards.

Two plays into Liberty’s subsequent possession, senior Parris Peacock appeared to have scored on a 77-yard touchdown run. A holding call on the Bison nullified the play, however. The Bison were forced to punt three plays later, and it took the Scorpions just four plays to score another TD, this one on a 13-yard run by Da’lon Williams. Suddenly it was 21-14.

As the fourth quarter began, the Bison moved the ball to midfield before two consecutive penalties took them from a 4th-and-1 to a long deficit that required a punt. When Hesperia had to punt the ball right back, it appeared the Bison had an opportunity to eat up much of the remaining time on the clock.

Yet on the next possession, a holding penalty contributed to a shortened drive that required a punt back to Hesperia with 3:49 remaining. Four plays later, the Scorpions scored on an 8-yard run by Malveaux to cut Liberty’s lead to 21-20.

To add insult to injury, Darius Williams passed to Xzavier Murgo for a two-point conversion, giving the Scorpions the eventual winning margin. Liberty almost stole the lead back when quarterback Devin Dillard’s pass of about 70 yards went through Dominic Hall’s hands for an incompletion near the goal line, however.

“We’re still making some of the same mistakes we were making early on,” coach Adam Contreras said about the penalties by the Bison, who are 1-2 this season. “I’m happy the guys came out aggressively, but we can’t let that affect the game as far as penalties. That’s tough to overcome. I like the aggression, but if it can be a controlled aggression, I would be happy with that.”

The loss overshadowed impressive offensive performances by running backs Hallis and Peacock, who are becoming a force as a one-two punch in the backfield. Peacock rushed for 113 yards on 14 carries and caught a touchdown pass. Hallis rushed for 99 yards on 15 carries for one touchdown and he also caught at TD pass.

“Trent and Peacock, they’re grinders,” Contreras said. “They’ve been doing great for us all year. It seems pretty balanced with them. They’re team guys, they’re both captains, and they’re happy with their roles. The other guys rally around them.”

Liberty almost fell behind early, but a potential 80-yard touchdown drive for Hesperia stalled at the 8-yard line, and a field goal attempt hit the right post. The Bison went right down the field and scored on an 8-yard pass from Dillard to Hallis.

On Liberty’s next drive, Dillard hit Peacock with a 7-yard touchdown pass.

“The defense started strong. They shut them down,” Contreras said. “We’re going to have to go back and look and see what happened there. But give credit to Hesperia. They weren’t going to back down and give up.”

Parris Peacock had a big game, running for 113 yards and catching a TD pass. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Johan Camacho (5) leads the defensive charge against the Hesperia QB. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Daxton Laurer hauls in a pass on the sideline for Liberty. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Teddie Tisdale (41) sacks the quarterback for the Liberty defense. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Quarterback Devin Dillard drops back to pass for the Bison. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)