After having a much needed 21 days to rest and heal some injuries, the Salina Liberty jumped back into action Saturday night at the Tony’s Pizza Event Center against the Quad Cities Steamwheelers. Going into the game, Salina knew a victory would solidify a home playoff game for the first time in franchise history.
The game started with both teams trading two touchdowns and a missed Liberty extra point was the difference as Quad Cities led, 14-13. Then a break for the Liberty as they pushed Quad Cities into a field goal attempt, the Steamwheelers lost the football out of the back of the end zone for a safety. With 3:35 left to go in the first, Salina took their first lead 15-14.
The Steamwheelers would start the second quarter with the football and regain the lead on an EJ Hilliard touchdown run at the 9:31 mark, 21-15 Quad Cities. Salina would have a short field and capitalize on a Derrick Bernard two yard touchdown run and Michael Pursley’s extra point would give the Liberty the lead, 22-21 with 7:39 left in the first half.
Quad Cities would not trail long after scoring on a one play drive and adding the extra point, taking the lead back 28-22 with 7:09 left in the second quarter. Each team would score one more time and Quad Cities would take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
Isiah Barfield would open the second half with a 50 yard kick return for a touchdown and Pursley’s extra point tied the game at 35. Quad Cities would have their ensuing drive stall out but manage a field goal to regain the lead, 38-35 with 9:18 left in the third quarter.
The score would remain in favor of the visitors as the fourth quarter stared, still holding at 38-35. Quad Cities would take a four point lead after trading touchdowns with Salina and lead 45-41. Then Salina capitalized on good field position with a Dominique Carson 7 yard touchdown run. Derrick Bernard would find Rashad Pargo on the 2-point conversion pass to take the lead, 49-45 with 9:57 left.
The Steamwheelers would march down the field and score to take the lead on a Hilliard touchdown run, but miss the extra point leaving the score 51-49 with 5:13 left. With 3:10 left to go, the Liberty would come back and take the lead on a 25 yard touchdown pass from Derrick Bernard to Julian Stafford. A 2-point pass from Bernard to Dominique Carson gave the Liberty a six point lead, 57-51 with 3:10 left in the game.
EJ Hilliard would tie the game with a 7 yard touchdown run for Quad Cities. A bad snap would contribute to a missed extra point for the Steamwheelers and the game remained tied at 57 with 1:55 left to play.
Derrick Bernard would score on a 1 yard quarterback sneak with :33 seconds left to go. The Liberty would elect to go for two once again, and it would pay off with a Bernard scoring run. Liberty lead 65-57 with :33 seconds left.
Quad Cities would score with no time left to play on a jump ball pass from Hilliard to Keyvan Rudd. Hilliard would run the 2 point conversion in to tie the game at 65 to force overtime.
In a “college style” overtime, Quad Cities would win the coin toss and give Salina the football. The Liberty would come up empty on their possession giving the Steamwheelers the ball and a chance to win.
The Steamwheelers would score on a 16 yard touchdown pass to Tyler Jones to end the game by a score of 71-65.
The Liberty (7-3) will be in action next Saturday on the road in Wichita for a meeting with the Force. Game set for a 5:05 pm kickoff at Intrust Bank Arena.