Big catches lead Liberty past Hawaii school — PHOTOS
Jayden Robertson had already made several big catches for the Liberty football team in a tight game against St. Louis (Hawaii) on Saturday night.
The senior wide receiver had one more catch left in him as the Patriots rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit. Robertson made a 29-yard one-handed catch that set Liberty up with first-and-goal at the 5-yard line.
Senior quarterback Tyrese Smith scored on a 5-yard run on the next play as Liberty rallied for a 34-30 home win over St. Louis as part of the Island Classic.
“In my opinion, (Robertson) is one of the best players in the state,” Patriots coach Rich Muraco said. “He plays both ways for us, returns kicks. He’s clutch. He makes the tough catches. He makes the big catches when you need them. He’s a threat every time you touch the ball.”
Robertson had 10 catches for 245 yards, including touchdown catches of 77, 26 and 40 yards.
“The connection I have with my quarterback, the offensive line blocking, that’s a whole team win right there,” Robertson said.
Liberty (1-1) forced a three-and-out on the following St. Louis offensive possession. Senior running back Isaiah Lauofo had a key run on third down in the final minute to keep the clock running as the Patriots secured the win.
“I was impressed with the way we were able to handle some adversity and stick in there. We fought back,” Muraco said. “We were down by 10 points in the second half, and guys stepped up and made plays.”
Smith completed 19 of 27 passes for 368 yards and three touchdown passes and added two rushing touchdowns. Lauofo rushed for 109 yards on 23 carries.
Liberty trailed 23-13 with over eight minutes left in the third quarter after a 1-yard TD run from Keola Apduhan.
Robertson made a 31-yard catch diving toward the sidelines later in the quarter that set the Patriots up at St. Louis’ 1-yard line. Smith scored on a quarterback sneak on the following play to cut the deficit to 23-20.
The Patriots took a 27-23 lead early in the fourth quarter when Smith connected with Robertson on a 40-yard touchdown pass.
The lead was short-lived, as St. Louis marked down the field and took a 30-27 lead with 6:19 left in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run from quarterback Kaunaoa Kamakawiwoole.
Smith was sacked on the following possession, but a St. Louis facemask kept the drive alive, leading to Smith’s 5-yard touchdown run with 2:48 left that proved to be the game-winner.
“I was impressed (with our offense),” Muraco said. “We ran the ball pretty well tonight at times. Tyrese was pretty accurate. So I was overall a lot happier this week with our offense.”
Robertson’s touchdowns of 77 and 26 yards came in the first half as Liberty led 13-7 early in the second quarter.
Kamakawiwoole threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Titan Lacaden and a made 52-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give St. Louis a 23-13 lead going into the break.
“We have to do a better job of getting pressure without having to blitz,” Muraco said. “Once we get our defensive line more active and engaged, I think we will be a dangerous defense.”
Liberty will host Campbell (Hawaii) at 7 p.m. Friday to conclude the Island Classic. St. Louis will remain in Las Vegas to play Desert Pines at 4 p.m. at Liberty in the event’s opening game.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.