Liberty Christian holds off Touchet 58-50 for SE 1B title

For the record, Liberty Christian defeated Touchet 58-50 on Thursday at Hanford High School.

That gives the Patriots (10-0) the Southeast 1B’s top seed into the state football playoffs, which begin next week. Touchet drops to 8-1 and will be the conference’s No. 2 seed into the playoffs.

But Thursday’s big showdown was much for than stats and figures. It was a contest tied five different times, and the lead changed hands another five times.

If a 58-50 game can be a defensive struggle, this was it.

Both teams, used to finishing their contests with huge leads and a running clock, had to go the distance.

Players started cramping up. John Lesser, Liberty Christian’s star quarterback and holder of many state records in 8-man football, could be seen on his back during the fourth quarter behind the Patriots bench getting a leg massage to battle cramps.

“That’s part of it,” said Lesser. “But can you tell me how carries did I have?”

When told he had 50, he exclaimed “Holy crap! I’m feeling like I had 50 carries.”

It was no wonder Lesser had leg cramps.

Yet when the moment of truth came, it was Lesser who made the play of the game when it counted most. Well, he and Cameron Godwin.

With the contest tied at 50-50, the Patriots had the ball on the Indians’ 30 seconds left in the game and overtime staring down both squads.

Lesser had been using the quarterback draw to his advantage for much of the game. But on this play, Lesser lobbed a pass down the left sideline towards a streaking Godwin — who was covered tight by the Touchet defense.

But Godwin, despite some bumping, was able to work inside of the defensive back and caught the ball in the end zone. And when Lesser ran in the 2-point conversion, the Patriots had a 58-50 lead with 25.5 seconds left.

“We ran the 94 (play) with Cameron doing a fade,” said Lesser. “We knew they were looking to jump the short routes. They’d been doing it all night. I knew the kid covering Cameron was shorter than him, so Cameron could go up and get it.”

At one point in the second half, Touchet had a 44-30 lead. But the Patriots defense began to step up.

In the Indians’ seven offensive possessions in the second half, Liberty Christian’s defense stopped them five times when it had to. That included the Patriots D pitching a shutout in the fourth quarter.

And when Connor Mote intercepted Touchet quarterback Andrew Flagstead near midfield following the final go-ahead touchdown, the Patriots clinched the victory.

But this may not be the last time these two teams meet.

If they both can continue to win in the state playoffs, they could meet Thanksgiving weekend in the state 1B semifinals.

For Lesser, he finished with the 50 carries for 489 yards rushing, scoring six touchdowns. He also passed for 126 yards, and the game-winning TD pass.

Now it’s time to fix those leg cramps.

“Time to break out the pickle juice,” said Lesser.

NOTES: Leo Garcia led the Indians offensively, rushing 22 times for 115 yards. ... Mote led the Patriots defensively, with 10 tackles and that interception. Mitch Godwin had eight tackles for Liberty Christian, while Nico Shupe added seven more. ... Carlos Rincon led Touchet defensively with a monster game, collecting 13 tackles and a pass breakup. Caleb Shanks added 10 tackles, while Titus Miller added eight tackles.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Liberty Christian holds off Touchet 58-50 for SE 1B title."