Liberty overcomes slow start with backup QB, whips Foothill — PHOTOS
The game situation wasn’t exactly what Liberty coach Rich Muraco was expecting Friday night, but the final outcome generally was.
Muraco scratched his starting quarterback shortly before game time, but the second-ranked Patriots dominated the second half to roll past host Foothill 34-6.
Junior Colin Gregorio filled in for anticipated Liberty starter Jayden Maiava for undisclosed reasons and needed a little time to find his groove. He eventually found it, completing 14 of 23 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
“Jayden was a late scratch,” said Muraco, whose team improved to 3-0. “Colin did a great job, especially since he didn’t get a ton of reps.”
Even so, the Patriots struggled to take control early. They jumped ahead on a 37-yard pass from Gregorio to Germie Bernard midway through the first quarter and extended the lead to 13-0 when Gregorio connected with Marques Johnson for a 62-yard scoring pass with 8:15 remaining in the first half.
But the Falcons, who were playing their opener after their game was canceled last week, cut the deficit to 13-6 late in the second quarter when Kendric Thomas hauled in a 5-yard Cameron Paul pass.
For the third consecutive week, Liberty’s defense committed multiple drive-extending penalties, a fact that Muraco said was among his top concerns.
“I love my defense,” said Muraco, whose squad held Foothill to 82 first-half yards. “There’s a lot of talent there, but they just have to learn to play within the rules of the game. We want them to be aggressive, but they’ve just got to learn to stop before the whistle.”
Muraco said he lectured his defense at halftime, and it seemed to work. The Patriots dominated the second half, scoring on a 2-yard run by Champ Kapanui, a 3-yard run by Cliffton Weber and another TD pass from Gregorio to Johnson.
Gregorio completed 10 of his 13 second-half passes.
Bernard had seven receptions for 91 yards for Liberty, and Johnson finished with 80 yards on three receptions.
Thomas carried 17 times for 79 yards to lead Foothill.
A previous version of this story misidentified Marques Johnson as Koby Kinser.
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.