By TYLER HENRY Salina Post contributor<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618021366432.png" alt="This Salina Liberty preview is brought to you by Ryan Roofing." />
 <figcaption>This Salina Liberty preview is brought to you by Ryan Roofing.</figcaption>
 </figure>The Salina Liberty will be back in action at 6:35pm on Saturday night when they host the Sioux City Bandits in a heavyweight bout between two of the best teams in the CIF.Salina enters this game a perfect 4-0 fresh off a 63-32 beatdown of the Wyoming Mustangs while Sioux City comes in at 3-0 after defeating Omaha 33-22 last week.The Liberty have been firing on all cylinders lately, especially as the offense has begun to gel, scoring on all but one of their offensive drives last week.“I like the way we were only stopped once all night and for the second week in a row we didn’t have any turnovers from the quarterback position,” Salina head coach Heron O’Neal said. “If we can continue to do that we’re going to be hard to beat.”Sioux City will provide Salina with their biggest test yet, as the Bandits have outscored opponents by an average of four possessions so far this season.The Bandits strength lies in their front on both sides of the ball. On defense, Claude Davis, Ben Pister and Devon Bridges form a wrecking crew of former CIF defensive players of the year who have seven sacks on the season already.Offensively, the line features center Chris Schleuger, a former lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Montreal Alouettes flanked by two tackles that were highly recruited heading into this season.“I think the best battles will be the fronts on both sides matching up against each other,” O’Neal said. “If you know football you’re going to see some of the best line play in the game.”Backing up that defensive line is hard-hitting linebacker Zac Schleuger, and a secondary featuring Xavier Spann, who has three interceptions in as many games this season.“They have two guys back there who are physical ball hawks,” he said. “Defensively we’re going to have a battle with all the names that they have on that side of the ball.”Offensively Sioux City runs the ball more than almost any team in the league, with nine touchdowns on the ground compared to just one in the air this season.Fred Bruno leads the rushing attack averaging 41 yards per game on the ground behind a stout offensive line that Salina will have to wear down throughout this game.While Sioux City is a worthy opponent, it’s worth noting that coming into this game, Salina leads the league in points per game, rushing yards per game, sacks and turnovers, and has allowed the second fewest points per game this season.Kickoff between the Liberty and Bandits is scheduled for 6:35pm at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center and as always the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio.This will be the last home game for the Liberty until the team hosts Dodge City on May 29th.

Liberty battle Bandits for final undefeated record in CIF