By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
With two games remaining in the regular season, the Salina Liberty have put themselves in an excellent position to defend their crown, and will look to secure even more of a foothold ahead of this year’s CIF playoffs.
At 6-2, Salina sits alone in third place, behind only 9-0 Omaha and a 7-2 Wyoming team that they will travel to play on the campaign's final day.
The only other squad within striking distance is Sioux City, who the Liberty will host this week, looking to permanently push the Bandits to arm's length.
In addition to already having locked up a playoff spot, Salina has secured a first-round home game, which they could trade in for a first-round bye and a second-round home game if they can win out and defeat the Mustangs in Gillette.
While this has undoubtedly been another successful season in Salina, it has not come without its fair share of hardship and adversity, but despite critical injuries, frequent turnover, and some internal drama, the Liberty have pushed through and overcome it all to stand where they do now.
“This is probably the toughest season I’ve ever been through, but I’ve been pleased with the perseverance I’ve seen from these guys,” Salina head coach Heron O’Neal said. “This team has been through it all, and we’ve needed a lot of hard work to keep putting our best foot forward but we’ve been able to do that and to churn out wins.”
While several key returners have made their impact felt on this team, this has been far from a “run it back” type of year, as a litany of newcomers have been called upon in big ways right out of the gate.
Despite the lack of experience, several of these new additions have risen to the challenge and will look to continue playing their best football down the stretch and into the playoff push.
“We need to continue evolving on the defensive side of the ball to hunt down some more turnovers,” O’Neal said. “We’re very young on that side of things with six rookies and inconsistent play comes with that sometimes.”
Around those rookies, several veterans have re-established themselves among the league’s best, as Travis Taylor leads the CIF with 10.5 sacks from the trenches, and Deetray Matthews sits fourth in the league with four picks.
On the other side of the ball, it’s been yet another dominant season for former league MVP Tracy Brooks, who leads the CIF with 432 rushing yards, and sits in second with 13 scores on the ground, leading all players at his position.
Despite working with four different quarterbacks it’s also been a year of excellence for the Salina receiving corps, as Dee Wash and Anthony Love have terrorized opposing secondaries, combining for 658 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The latest and greatest to deliver those passes is former FCF MVP Ed Crouch, who through three games, is already third in the league in yards per game (144) and could very well be the missing piece to back-to-back CIF titles for Salina.
“We’re awfully close to having all of the pieces to the contender that we want to build,” O’Neal said. “We could still use a little more consistency but I believe that now we have the personnel.”
The Liberty will return to the gridiron for one final regular-season tilt at home this Saturday when they host the Sioux City Bandits, before closing out the regular-season in Gillette to face the Mustangs on May 27th.
For continuing coverage of Liberty football all season long, stay tuned to the Salina Post.