Wildcats come up short in second-place game
October 31, 2008
By Ryan Piersol
Mount Si’s final heave into the end zone was knocked away by two defenders.
When the dew on the field settled, the Wildcats also found themselves behind two league foes.
Mount Si wide receiver Ryan Frazier makes his way upfield after catching a pass in the Wildcats’ 25-20 loss to Liberty.
The Liberty football team hooked up on a 51-yard touchdown pass with less than three minutes to play to lead the Patriots to a 25-20 win against Mount Si Friday night. The final helped the Patriots finish second in KingCo 3A/2A, while the Wildcats end up third.
Mount Si will go on the road next weekend for a Class 3A playoff qualifier contest at Peninsula.
The Wildcats had one final chance for a comeback against Liberty, but a fourth-down bomb into the Patriot end zone fell incomplete with 1:29 left. It was the fifth turnover of the night for Mount Si.
“When you play in big games, you can’t turn the ball over. And we did,” Wildcat head coach Charlie Kinnune said. “We needed to avoid the negative plays tonight and we just had too many negative plays.
“We knew it was going to be tough. When you have turnovers, it makes it even tougher on you.”
The game was tied 13-13 at halftime. Liberty mounted its first lead of the contest when it went 77 yards in 11 plays on the initial possession of the second half. The extra-point kick attempt, however, was botched and the score remained 19-13.
Late in the third, the Wildcats regained the lead when senior Sean Snead busted loose up the middle for a 77-yard touchdown romp. His longest run of the season, followed by an extra-point kick, gave Mount Si a 20-19 lead.
The Wildcats still led when they received the ball on their own 3 with 10:29 to go in the game. They rattled off four consecutive first downs and moved the ball inside the Liberty 35, looking to seal the win with one final touchdown. But an illegal procedure penalty put Mount Si into a fourth-and-8 play and they turned the ball over on downs at the 36.
The Patriots wasted little time, striking on the 51-yard game-winner four plays later. They were unable to convert a 2-point conversion and led, 25-20, with 2:25 remaining.
On Mount Si’s final chance, the Wildcats moved the ball to the Liberty 47, before a holding penalty drove them back. Their final pass attempt, which fell incomplete in the end zone, came on fourth-and-8 from the Patriot 45.
Snead finished with another monster game, going for 229 yards and two scores on 25 carries. Still, even that wasn’t enough on this night, mostly due to a pair of turnovers in each half – two fumbles and two interceptions.
“I think everybody in the country would feel good when their running back goes over 200 yards,” Kinnune said.
Liberty coach Steve Valach – like Kinnune – said he had to re-emphasize the importance of not turning the ball over at halftime. After three turnovers in the first half, the Patriots had none in the second.
“My comment at halftime was, ‘Those guys wearing Liberty out there are doing a pretty good job against our offense,’” Valach said. “That’s not to take anything away from Mount Si, but we needed to quit turning the ball over and hurting ourselves.
“Every time we play Mount Si, it’s a war. It’s a fun football game. And it wasn’t perfect tonight, but sometimes you just have to win anyway you can.”
Liberty sophomore quarterback Trey Wheeler tossed for 256 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
The Wildcats scored on the game’s first possession, as Snead had six carries for 40 yards and a 2-yard touchdown plunge on the drive. The extra point was good and Mount Si led, 7-0.
Liberty answered when Dan Eck intercepted a pass and returned it to the 3-yard line. The Patriots scored on a 1-yard run three plays later, yet missed the point after, and it was 7-6.
On the ensuing kickoff, Mount Si’s Rossco Castagno returned the ball for a touchdown, but a clip late in the play moved it back to the Patriot 15. Two plays later, the Wildcats scored on a 13-yard pass from Tyson Riley to Castagno. The point after was missed and it was 13-6.
Liberty tied the game up, following another Mount Si turnover on the Wildcat 42. The Patriots scored on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal to make it 13-13 with 2:00 to go before halftime.
Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.
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