Inside the Game: Liberty Hawks 41, Mendota Aztecs 7
Player of the game: For the second straight week, Kaleb Roth led his team both offensively and defensively. Last week, Roth earned Player of the Game honors with his brother, but earns the award by himself this time despite getting outrushed by his brother. Roth carried for 124 yards and averaged more than 10 yards a rush, including a career-long 50-yard run. He also led the team with 20 tackles. He’s the first Liberty player in a few years to record 20 tackles in a game. He had four solo tackles and assisted on 16 others.
Unsung hero of the game: Nick Hayes is a starter on both the offensive and defensive lines and is a leader as a junior. He recorded five tackles with a tackle for a loss. He also hustled down the field to recover a Mendota fumble, which led to a Liberty touchdown. On offense, most of the Liberty inside running plays go behind the left tackle and he opened holes for 385 yards rushing and more than 950 yards rushing in the last two games.
Plays of the game: There were many plays to choose from. Wyatt Roth had a energizing 24-yard touchdown run in which he broke four tackles for the touchdown. However, the plays of the game also came from the Roth brothers. Kaleb Roth took a handoff behind right tackle and went across the field for a 50-yard run, which led to a 27-0 Liberty lead in the second quarter. Wyatt Roth went up the middle in the fourth quarter and split the Mendota defense for a 56-yard run when he was tackled on the one, although he says he scored. However, he got the carry on the next play and went into the end zone to complete the 41-7 victory.
Drive of the game: Mendota opened the second half with a methodical 15-play, 53-yard drive to cut Liberty’s lead to 27-6 with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Hawks put any thoughts of a comeback to rest with a seven-play, 75-yard drive of their own. The key play in the drive was a 32-yard run from quarterback Greyson Hoelzel on a naked bootleg on third-and-7. Two plays later, Kaleb Roth scored up the middle from 17 yards out for a 34-7 lead with 1:31 left in the third and put the game away.
