Jalen Murphy talked about the importance of family, being part of a Liberty High football family, after the running back and his Patriot teammates turned in a dominating 42-6 non-league home victory Friday night over the Independence Falcons.
"Every day we're always working on getting better as a team. We always break (the huddle) on the word family," he said. "It's family first."
On Friday, it appeared Liberty's family did quite well with a varied attack.
The Patriots had the fortune of a dual quarterback threat. Clayton Turk only completed two of three attempts for 50 yards, but a beautifully thrown ball over the middle was caught by Luke Baiamonte for a 42-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
Then it was Gavin Parham's turn. He and Daviyon Day hooked up on a 27-yard touchdown that Day momentarily bobbled before hauling it in. Parham then concluded the first half scoring with a keeper from eight yards out to give Liberty a commanding 21-0 halftime lead.
Independence showed some energy as it got its lone scoring drive to start the third quarter. The Falcons recovered a fumble and put together a quick four-play drive culminating with a 29-yard touchdown pass play from Gunther Golla to Davian Medrano with 9:46 left and cut Liberty's lead to 21-6.
Independence (3-3) was unable to really stop the versatile offensive attack displayed by Liberty (3-3).
The second half showed Liberty's dominance as the defense made a stop, forcing the Falcons to turn the ball over on downs with 4:33 left in the third quarter at its own 42. Liberty's Elmo Whitten broke away from a group of tacklers on the ensuing play for a 42-yard run to make it 28-6.
Parham's 20-yard touchdown run made it 35-6 with 11:46 left in the fourth quarter. He finished with 47 yards rushing on only four carries to go along with 5-of-7 passing for 57 yards.
Murphy, who had 79 yards on 18 carries, closed out the scoring with a six-yard run with 6:14 to play.
"To beat a great team like Liberty we would have had to play a little bit over our heads. I thought our kids battled, but (Liberty) got some big plays and you can't make mistakes against a team like this," said Independence head coach Paul Golla after the postgame handshake exchange between the teams.
Golla's son, Gunther, struggled to connect throughout the game due to Liberty's defensive pressure, but had a few good scrambles when the situation called for it.
Liberty head coach Richie Bolin enjoyed seeing his two quarterbacks contribute "good moments," but remains mum on choosing one over the other anytime soon. Then again, why change if it means seeing good results from both signal callers. "We'll keep working on it. We compete every day. That's Liberty football."
And this Liberty squad does look ready to be one to beat in the South Yosemite River League. The Patriots open league play Oct. 11 at Frontier.
"It was really good for us to have a game in which we played well in all three phases," he said. "This gives us the confidence we need. We've played a tough schedule so far. We have a bye week and then we'll be ready for the start of league."
Independence also has a bye week to prepare for its Southwest Yosemite Valley League opener on Oct. 10 at home against Ridgeview.