Complete Box Score and play by play
As soon as he reached the end zone for the first time, Wentric Williams III could feel the tide starting to turn.
Bottled up for most of the game, Liberty’s standout running back found his groove at precisely the right moment and sparked his team to a remarkable comeback victory, 38-35, on Friday night against Lee’s Summit North.
“Once I scored, I could tell the momentum was just going with our team,” Williams said. “We all got hyped, and when we came out on offense, we just told our team, ‘Let’s go. They cannot stop us. Let’s go.’”
The Blue Jays (3-0) scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in a back-and-forth battle of unbeaten teams, and kicker Alek Rottjakob provided the biggest exclamation point with a 48-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining to give Liberty the win.
Senior quarterback Luke Smith played a huge role in keeping Liberty’s perfect record and said he was proud of how resilient the entire team was to overcome so much adversity.
“It feels amazing, especially on senior night to get that ‘W’,” Smith said. “Coach always talks about peaks and valleys, and we were in a big valley. All we could do was just ball.
“We just started balling, and we won the game.”
The Blue Jays set the tone early and didn’t trail during the first half thanks to Smith’s connection with receiver Caden Dennis, who scored three times in the first half. Dennis’ third touchdown saw him break two tackles on a highlight-reel run that showcased his big-play ability and put Liberty up 21-14 late in the second quarter.
“I’ve been throwing to him all my life. He’s so good,” Smith said about Dennis. “He’s basically un-guardable, so I can throw it wherever, and he’s going to make plays for me.”
But Lee’s Summit North (2-1) was no stranger to coming through in the clutch after winning its first two games by a combined 11 points and recaptured the momentum immediately after Dennis’ third touchdown.
Broncos quarterback Tre Baker led three consecutive touchdown drives, including touchdown passes to Devin Blayney and Logan Muckey, to give Lee’s Summit North a 35-21 lead late in the third quarter.
Baker racked up 311 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Muckey was his favorite target with 189 receiving yards and two touchdowns on eight catches. The Broncos also displayed a balanced rushing attack and got touchdown runs from Elijah Mozee and Edger Hundley.
But Liberty stood firm and wrestled back the momentum by getting Williams going in the run game. The standout junior couldn’t get much going against a tough Broncos defense but scored early in the fourth quarter on a short screen pass to pull within a touchdown, 35-28.
On the Blue Jays’ next drive, he burst through the line for a 28-yard score that gave the team even more belief that a comeback was possible.
“They have a great defensive line. It’s hard to run the ball on Lee’s Summit North,” Liberty coach Chad Frigon said. “We knew that going in and just kept at it and finally broke away.
“I was just proud of our o-line for adjusting.”
Even against a difficult defense, Williams finished with 161 rushing yards, along with 54 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns. Meanwhile, Dennis continued his breakout season with 156 receiving yards and three scores.
Liberty’s defense got a crucial stop near midfield by forcing a turnover on downs, which set the stage for Rottjakob’s clutch kick. With just more than a minute remaining, he blasted a 48-yarder through the upright for the game-winning score. Michael Quigley snagged an interception to end the Broncos’ final drive and keep the Blue Jays undefeated.
Even with three signature wins to open the season, Frigon understands the road won’t get any easier the rest of the way. But he said he’s been thrilled with how his team has progressed and looks forward to the next challenge.
“We’ve played some great teams, and we know playing great teams is going to make us better,” Frigon said. “… We just have to make sure our kids every week come in with the belief, not only to win, but to play hard.
“And if they do that, good things will happen.”
