Liberty defense shuts down Omaha in 39-14 win
Heron O'Neal knows he doesn't have to waste his time babysitting the Salina Liberty's defense.
Considering that the offense is packed with rookies, that's a comforting thought.
"Basically the whole season, we knew that we would lean on them," O'Neal said after the defense pitched a first-half shutout Saturday night in a 39-14 Champions Indoor Football victory over the Omaha Beef at Tony's Pizza Events Center. "That's where most of our veterans really are.
"They play well together. They really coach themselves, that's how well versed they are."
The Liberty, who improved to 3-0, gave up just 127 yards, including 3 on the ground, to complement an efficient ball-control offense.
"It was great to see everybody attacking," said defensive tackle Rusty Becker, one of just two new starters from the Liberty's 2019 defense. "We were just dialed in.
"We just came out with a mindset and wanted to show that we were prepared, we were ready, and we put it all together."
The Liberty never trailed, taking the opening kickoff and marching 37 yards with Tracy Brooks scoring on a 7-yard run. It was the first of four touchdowns for Brooks, who led the CIF in rushing two years ago before last season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. Omaha's first possession ended in a safety when Jake Lattimer blocked a field goal try, and Brooks' 18-yard touchdown run with 5 minutes left in the opening quarter stretched it to 16-0.
"I'm just glad we were able to come out and execute our game plan the way our coaches wanted us to," said Brooks, who finished with 95 yards on 16 carries and caught three passes for 11. "We're a running football team. That's what we do."
The Liberty tacked on a 38-yard Jimmy Allen field goal with 5 seconds left in the opening quarter to lead 19-0, which remained the score at halftime. After getting a defensive stop to start the second half, they put together a 35-yard drive with Brooks again scoring from 4 yards out.
"Our offensive line really controlled the game," said O'Neal, who added former Friends University product James Tabor to the roster two days before and installed him at left tackle. "(Tabor) has played here before, so he knows the scheme pretty decently.
"He didn't come to practice, but we coached him up (Saturday) and we had him ready to go, and he played like a warrior."
Of the Liberty's 180 yards total offense, 130 came on the ground. Rookie quarterback Tyrie Adams was an efficient 10 for 14 passing for 50 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown to Nelson Brown on the first play of the fourth quarter that made it 32-8.
Defensively, the Liberty harassed Omaha's Andrew Jackson — Salina's starting quarterback on the 2019 CIF runner-up team — sacking him twice and limiting him to 17 for 32 passing for 127 yards with two interceptions.
Becker, playing between veteran ends Lattimer and Travis Taylor, got one of the sacks and had four solo tackles. He had two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a blocked field goal as well.
"In my previous years here, we haven't had a pass-rushing nose guard who can play the run well and make the quarterback move," O'Neal said of Becker, who played at the Division I level at California. "I don't think I've had that since I coached at Billings back to 2016.
"He's definitely a difference-maker."
The Liberty also got a late sack from rookie end Shaq Bradford, the former Kansas Wesleyan All-American, and interceptions from Dontra Matthews and Isiah Barfield.
Brooks noted that Salina's defensive veterans, had the added incentive of going against former teammates Jackson and receivers Rashad Pargo, Anthony Jones and Tyler Jones.
"You always want to compete against your best friends and beat them," he said with a smile.
In O'Neal's eyes, the fact that the Liberty showed improvement across the board over last week's 52-27 victory against Wichita, was the greatest takeaway from the game.
"We have less work to do this week than the previous week," he said.
The Link LonkApril 11, 2021 at 11:17PM
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Salina Liberty football defense in win over Omaha: Where's the Beef? - Salina Journal
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Beef
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