Friday recap: Liberty heating up ahead of Arbor View showdown

The Patriots played their usual grueling out-of-state schedule and dealt with several injuries.

In the past, Liberty has taken its lumps, as coach Rich Muraco put it, against some of that nation’s top teams. But playing quality competition often pays off for the Patriots late in their season.

Muraco said he feels like that’s happening again to his team.

“It’s hard when you’re going through those tough times for everybody to understand that you’re not as bad as some of the results,” Muraco said. “I schedule those games because I want the team to go through some adversity, and usually it pays off for us when we get to this time of year.”

Liberty (3-5, 2-2 Class 5A Division I) cruised past Foothill 40-7 on Friday night for its second consecutive win. That sets up a marquee game Thursday when the Patriots, No. 5 in the Review-Journal’s 5A rankings, host No. 2 Arbor View (6-1, 3-1) at 6 p.m.

The Patriots still have a shot to grab the No. 3 playoff seed and get on the opposite side of the bracket from Bishop Gorman to avoid the Gaels until the state title game.

Liberty and Arbor View have long been competing behind Gorman for supremacy in the state. The Patriots have won their past five meetings with the Aggies.

The gap appeared to close this season when Coronado (5-3, 3-1) blew past Liberty 47-7 on Sept. 20, and then Arbor View defeated Coronado the following week 28-21.

Arbor View has one of the state’s top offenses. Muraco said he feels like Liberty’s defense has jelled in recent weeks. He credited Oregon State commit Jeremiah Ioane and UNLV commit Eliah Logo for leading the defense.

“We’re going to have our work cut out for us defensively,” Muraco said. “I feel like our defense has played well. Hopefully, we can rise to the challenge and slow up their offense. On the flip side, we got to execute (on offense). … It should be a great game next week.”

Sophomore running back Ezra Sanelivi has become an anchor for Liberty’s offense. He ran for three touchdowns against Foothill.

Patriots quarterback Elijah Espinoza has also found his footing. The former Las Vegas High quarterback missed 3½ games with a thumb injury.

Espinoza is “feeling it right now,” Muraco said. “He’s doing a good job of managing the offense, he makes good reads, and it’s what we hoped we would have seen the whole season.”

4A showdown looms

Mojave coach Wes Pacheco said his team was upset after its 16-7 win at Cimarron-Memorial on Friday. Why? The Rattlers’ defense had its five-game shutout streak snapped.

Pacheco said that’s a good sign for Mojave (8-1, 5-0 4A Desert League) with what’s ahead in its regular-season finale. The Rattlers play at Losee (8-1, 5-0) at 6 p.m. Thursday for the league title.

“They have high expectations for themselves because they’ve been playing great ball,” Pacheco said. “Six out of the first eight games, we had a shutout. It’s a credit to them because they played so well.”

Pacheco said Mojave focused on being more physical this offseason to prepare for Losee and the Lions’ triple-option offense. Along with controlling the line of scrimmage, Pacheco said the Rattlers have to be more disciplined.

“We knew as a coaching staff that we’ve got to beat Losee two times to get to Allegiant Stadium (for the 4A state title game),” Pacheco said. “We know it’s going to be a battle.”

Mojave has been led by senior AJ Tuitele. The two-way standout has recently picked up FBS offers from Arizona, Washington State, New Mexico and New Mexico State.

On Friday, Tuitele had 12 tackles on defense and broke off a 99-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give the Rattlers some breathing room against Cimarron-Memorial.

Tuitele “drives our team culture in terms of how we play, how we go about our business and by being a good teammate,” Pacheco said. “He models all the things we expect everyone to do that’s been one of the critical aspects of our success. … He’s a one-of-a-kind player, and the proof is in the amount of offers he’s been getting the last two weeks.”

Up next

All games next week will be played Thursday due to the Nevada Day holiday. It will be the regular-season finale for everyone except 5A Division I teams, who finish the regular season Nov. 1.

One of the biggest games next week will take place in Mesquite when Virgin Valley (6-2, 3-1 3A Southern League) hosts Moapa Valley (7-1, 3-1) in the “Hammer Game” at 7 p.m. Virgin Valley, Moapa Valley and SLAM Academy (5-4, 4-1) are logjammed atop the league standings.

Virgin Valley defeated SLAM Academy 26-16 on Oct. 10 to hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bulls. A win would give the Bulldogs the 3A Southern League title, a first-round playoff bye and the ability to host a 3A state semifinal against a Northern opponent.

Other games to watch include a pair of key 5A Division III Southern League matchups. First-place Las Vegas High (7-2, 4-0) hosts Centennial (3-5, 3-1), and Desert Oasis (5-3, 2-2) plays at Durango (6-3, 3-1).

Las Vegas defeated Durango on Friday, and the Wildcats can secure the league title with a win over Centennial.

Faith Lutheran has locked up the No. 1 seed in the 5A Division II Southern League playoffs, but Legacy, Green Valley and Shadow Ridge are jockeying for seeding. Shadow Ridge (6-3, 3-2) hosts Sierra Vista, and Green Valley (5-3, 3-2) hosts Silverado. Legacy (6-4, 4-2) has concluded its regular season.

Also on Thursday, Bishop Gorman (7-1, 4-0) hosts Desert Pines (2-7, 1-4) at 7 p.m., and Coronado (5-3, 3-1) plays at Foothill (5-3, 1-3) in 5A Division I action.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.