The Liberty Bell High School football team avenged a season-opening loss to Bridgeport on the Mustangs’ home field last Friday (Oct. 25), rallying for a come-from-behind, 36-28 victory.
Both teams opened their season at Mountain Lion Stadium on Sept. 6, when Bridgeport topped Liberty Bell by 32-20.
The teams’ fortunes have gone opposite directions since then. Liberty Bell has won four straight games, while Bridgeport’s win over the Mountain Lions was its sole league victory. Liberty Bell is 5-2 in league play, and 5-3 overall, in its return to 8-man football this year.
Mountain Lion coach Jeff Lidey’s comments reflected the turn of events that should have put Liberty Bell in a more commanding position against the Mustangs.
“Lately it appears our team plays to the level of our opponents,” Lidey said. “It makes for great football but very stressful. After beating both Wilbur-Creston and Soap Lake, I was expecting to beat Bridgeport by more than a touchdown but that wasn’t the case. At half we were losing, 20-6, so I’m just glad the boys found their rhythm.”
The Mountain Lions again mounted a strong running attack. Senior Magnus Treise gained 109 yard on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns; junior Bodie Paul picked up 92 yards on 14 carries; and freshman quarterback Riley Lidey ran for 55 yards on eight carries and scored twice.
Lidey was 4-6 passing for 80 yards, without an interception. Junior Tyler Darwood caught two of those passes for 75 yards.
On defense, Treise tormented the Mustangs with 20 tackles and one sack. Paul added 10 tackles, Lidey nine and Darwood eight. Sophomore Alex Tareski had an interception.
The Mountain Lions will be challenged to keep their winning streak alive when they host powerhouse Almira-Coulee-Hartline (ACH) on Saturday (Nov. 2). Kickoff is at 4 p.m. In league play this year, Liberty Bell lost to Entiat, 72-20, and ACH beat Entiat 74-36. ACH was the state tournament runner-up in 8-man football last year.
Post-season play would begin the following weekend.
