Liberty Bell quarterback Greyden Paz (No. 6) directed the Mountain Lion offense to a come-from-behind victory over Meridian.
Greyden Paz provided some late game fireworks with a 42-yard touchdown scamper that ignited the crowd and proved to be the game clincher as the Liberty Bell High School Mountain Lions stormed back from a 27-18 halftime deficit to defeat 1A ranked Meridian, 30-27, at Liberty Bell High School Friday night.
It was the first game of the 2026 season and lived up to the pre-game expectations of the matchup between the top-15 ranked 1A class Trojans and 2B No. 9-ranked Liberty Bell.
“Meridian’s a great team, well coached,” said Liberty Bell coach Jeff Lidey post-game. “We expected a tough game from them and we got that.”
The Trojans just missed an invite into last year’s state championships in a league where three teams went to the post-season, Mount Baker and Lynden Christian both qualifying for the WIAA state semi-finals.
The Mountain Lions jumped to a 6-0 lead with their second possession of the night, as Paz found Weston Peterson in the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try failed.
On the ensuing kickoff, Meridian’s Kasey Brennan took in Luke Sawyer’s kick at about the 30-yard line and headed upfield, making a move to his left to avoid the first wave of defenders and from there it was clear sailing to the endzone to tie the game at 6-6. Strong-footed kicker Luke Kulhanek was true with the point after touchdown conversion, and with 8:10 left in the first quarter the Trojans had taken the lead at 7-6.
Liberty Bell took the lead back with 1:07 left in the opening quarter. Paz’s second touchdown pass of the night went to Cole Otte from 20 yards out. Another failed two-point try set the score at 12-7.
Meridian quarterback Trey Alexander went to work early in the second quarter, finding wide receiver Braydon Fisher over the middle and the speedy sophomore was off to the races for 50 yards and the touchdown. The Trojans opted for the two-point try and were denied, leaving them with a one-point lead at 13-12 at 9:56 of the second quarter. The Mountain Lions responded with about four and a half minutes remaining before halftime, as a 6-yard run by Paz put the Mountain Lions back on top, 18-13.
The Trojans then went to work, scoring a pair of touchdowns before halftime. The first came off a long drive after the Liberty Bell score, a 2-yard run by Jaxson Pfannenstiel for a 19-18 lead. The second score came on a pass interception and return by Trey Alexander. Add on a two-point conversion and with 1:29 left, Meridian had momentum and a 27-18 lead going into the intermission.
Liberty Bell had a last chance to close the gap, driving all the way down to the Trojan 2-yard line, set up by a long pass from Paz to Otte. Liberty Bell, out of timeouts, made two running attempts that were stopped short as the clock ran down.
Something happened in the meeting room somewhere in the back halls of Liberty Bell High School during the 18-minute break, because the Mountain Lions came out a different team. They completely shut down the Meridian offense, holding them scoreless in the final 24 minutes of play, while getting enough out of their offense to post a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns and come up with a pair of touchdown saving defensive plays.
Several players had breakout games, including junior wide receiver Cole Otte, senior defensive linebacker Grady Thrasher, who is back in the pads for the first time since eighth grade, and Kimball Smith, gone for a year.
“Grady really came through for us tonight,” said Lidey regarding Thrasher’s linebacking.
Otte, a junior, has returned to the lineup after a lengthy recovery from a hip injury suffered during the spring track and field season. With his two touchdown catches, several more catch and run plays, and a late deflection of an Andrews pass that was intercepted by Lion senior Mason Michelsen to thwart a late scoring drive, he looked at full strength.
“We just wanted the team to go out and play hard, get better and see where we are,” Lidey said. They certainly did all that, and got the win, too.”
VarsityWA polling for the week puts Liberty Bell up two spots to No. 7 in the 2B class, with Adna still at No. 1 and Okanogan, after their 20-6 Backyard Brawl win over neighboring Omak Friday night, remains at No. 2.
The Mountain Lions travel to Royal City in the Columbia Basin on Friday. They take on 2025 defending 2B state champion Tri Cities Prep. The Jaguars took down the Mountain Lions rather rudely in the state quarterfinals last season, 55-12. They have lost many starting players to graduation, but VarsityWa has them as receiving votes for the top 10 again this year. Kickoff at Royal High School is early, at 4 p.m. the first game of a twi-night doubleheader.
