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Liberty fullback Jordan Kapeli launches over Del Sol’s Chris Marshall during their game Saturday, October 2, 2011. Liberty won 34-0.
Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011 | 12:53 a.m.
Prep Sports Now
Gorman's national contest precedes Saturday slate
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Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Case Keefer and Ray Brewer go across the valley and break down the upcoming week of high school. They give their picks on every game and spend extra time debating Del Sol vs. Liberty and Servite (Calif.) vs. Bishop Gorman.
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In an age of football where a printed game plan can sometimes exceed the length of a novel, Liberty’s attack strategy Friday night against Del Sol could have fit on a Post-it Note.
It was this simple: Line up and run straight ahead. The Patriots ran the ball 29 times in a row to start the game and dominated the Dragons on the ground en route to a 34-0 victory.
“I’d love to be a spread guy and throw the ball and run all over the place to have exciting games,” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said. “But ultimately, it’s about wins. We know we can physically match up with our division very well. That’s what we plan on doing.”
Junior running back Niko Kapeli flirted with breaking the school rushing record he set last week before settling for 208 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries. Kapeli had 23 attempts in the first half and only ran outside of the tackles once.
There was no reason to go anywhere but straight ahead with Liberty’s fullbacks and middle of the line, led by senior guard P.J. Taeao, clearing the way. That much became apparent early when the Patriots went 77 yards on 13 plays during their first possession of the evening.
“Coach said he wanted the first drive to be a statement drive,” Taeao said. “We wanted to keep the ball as long as we could and just keep pounding it.”
Kapeli scored the first four touchdowns for Liberty while senior Stevan Ware took in the final score from a yard out. Quarterback Kai Nacua added 52 rushing yards, and senior running back Arthur Wilkens had 40.
In total, Liberty ran for 348 yards.
“The coaches preached all week that the game was on us — the o-line and the defense,” Taeao said. “It was about hitting them hard and letting our running backs follow our blocks.”
As dominating as the Patriots were on offense, the defense was at least equally as effective. Del Sol never got inside the red zone and had less than 125 total yards.
Senior running back Chris Marshall, one of the valley’s best players, had 13 carries for 48 yards and one catch for 15 yards. It was a far cry from last year, when Marshall exploded for nearly 300 yards against Liberty in an overtime loss.
Muraco reminded his defense of that game throughout the week in preparation for the Dragons.
“I took the blame for Chris Marshall running so much last year,” said senior defensive end Kimo Seau. “I came out here determined.”
Seau looked the part. He sped off of the edge for three sacks of Del Sol quarterback Nathan Kirschbaum and also wrapped up Marshall numerous times.
It was a shocking outcome in what many hailed as a battle between the two best teams in the Southeast Division. Liberty and Del Sol are the Sunrise Region’s last two champions, but the Dragons are now mired in their first two-game losing streak in five years.
“We felt our offensive line could be our best defense and keep Chris Marshall off the field,” Muraco said. “We feel our o-line is one of the best in the city, and we proved that this week.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or case.keefer@lasvegassun.com. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
Clearly Liberty is the better team by virtue of their smash-mouth running behind a dominant middle of their offensive line.
Their running back ran hard and follows those big guards well, too.
The teams are a bit of a closer matchup than the score reflects as Chris Marshall had two long TD's called back in the first half on penalties that had no impact on the play...
A slight case of over-officiating...That took the wind out of the sails of Del Sol.
I was very impressed with Chris Marshall's football speed and open field moves, as well as both of Liberty's offensive guards.
I was unimpressed with the low number of Del Sol fans in attendance.
This game was the epitome of teamwork. Liberty proved what an unstoppable team they have if everyone contributes and executes their assignments. If we continue this course, we will be State contenders to be sure.
Taking nothing away from Del Sol's tough team and Marshall's incredible talent, the win was important to Liberty to prove the naysayers how wrong they are about our athleticism.
It's all good though, any and all haters just help motivate the boys even more. Especially when they are heavily supported by their fans. Good game fellas.
This is another example of how weak this division is. Liberty got steam rolled by Arbor, then rolled Del Sol who is Ray Brewers 2nd favorite team behind Gorman. This shows that again the NW is the best division in town, as has been the case for years. All these teams in the SE would be 4th-5th place teams in the NW.
LVFootball.... That's how Del Sol goes when it comes to attendance. In 2009 State semifinal game played AT Del Sol, Basic has at least 1/3 more fans than Del Sol did...and for the state Championship game against Gorman that year, Del Sol had less fans than Servite brought from 5 hours away for the game last weekend.
Just goes to show how hard it is for teams to succeed without the support. I feel for the coach at Del Sol.. Look at programs like Vegas, Liberty, Palo, Gorman...they have school, parents, players and community support.
MamaLiberty, i was really hoping you guys would have won against McQueen last year so you would have played Gorman in final. You guys have the size and the style to give them a fight. Maybe this year they'll meet in Semi's if you guys win SE and beat the NE champ (again)
GURU, i think the SE last year was the best in town, but that was an anamoly. This year they're back to how they were before...better than the NE and SW but well below the NW. I think Liberty would be fighting for the last playoff spot if they were NW.
I'm glad liberty got things going... I guess this should mean Moapa will move into top 5 or 6. They were up 49-27 on Del Sol before they put back ups in. I wish we could fast forward a month and start the playoffs already the potential match ups are exciting.