The Liberty Bell High School football team took a 20-12 lead into the halftime, added a touchdown and two-point conversion in the third quarter and then had to withstand a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Colfax Bulldogs, 28-26, last Friday night at Colfax.
Senior quarterback Greyden Paz threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for the other two touchdowns in leading the Washington 2B No. 10-ranked Mountain Lions to their fifth win on the season against three losses in the final game of the regular season for both schools. Colfax, from the Northeast 2B League, is ranked 15th in the WIAA RPI poll.
Colfax opened the scoring with a prolonged drive off the opening kickoff, mostly on the ground, the finishing play a 4-yard pass into the endzone. The Mountain Lion blocked the extra point kick and with 8:14 on the first-quarter clock, the Bulldogs were on top 6-0.
Liberty Bell responded with two touchdown drives, the first only three minutes later. Greyden Paz found receiver Caleb Thomson all alone at about the 10-yard line, and Thomson did the rest to tie the game at 6-6.
Liberty Bell took a 12-6 lead on an early second-quarter run by Paz from the Colfax 27-yard line, breaking free at the 20 and sprinting “to the house.”
The Mountain Lions made one more drive. Paz located Grady Thrasher in the center of the end zone from the 7-yard line. Paz again found Thrasher for a two-point conversion and a 20-6 Liberty Bell lead with 1:36 on the clock.
Lightning struck for Colfax in the first half’s waning seconds on a 27-yard “Hail Mary” pass with no time left on the clock. The pass bounced off a Mountain Lion defender, over the head of another and landed in the arms of a Colfax receiver for the six points. Once again, the Mountain Lions got a hand on the extra point kick, and the half ended with the Mountain Lions up 20-12.
Those two blocked attempts came up big late in the game. Midway through the third quarter the Lions put together a long drive, going most of the length of the field. It was capped by a 4-yard run by Greyden Paz and a two-point conversion, Paz hitting Logan Hughes in the back of the endzone for a 28-12 lead.
The fourth period saw the Bulldogs score twice, first converting a two-point try to draw within eight points at 28-20, then scoring with 1:48 to go on a 4-yard run to draw within two points at 28-26. On the conversion attempt, Liberty Bell defensive back Owen McAuliffe tackled the Colfax runner at the 1-yard line to preserve the win.
The Mountain Lions host the River View Panthers on Friday night. Kickoff is at 6 p.m., at Mountain Lion Stadium. The game is the state qualifier. The winner moves into the 2B Football Classic, a 16-team seeded tournament opening Nov. 13-14 around the state.
A win for Liberty Bell will mean their sixth straight state invitation. With the No. 10 ranking in the WIAA RPI poll, there is the possibility of another home game. Those seedings and sites will be announced Sunday afternoon on the WIAA’s website, wiaa.com.
