Jun 13, 2021

Late surge by Beef leads to first Liberty loss of 2021

Posted Jun 13, 2021 1:22 PM

By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor

This Salina Liberty recap is presented by Ryan Roofing
This Salina Liberty recap is presented by Ryan Roofing

For the first time in their 2021 season, the Salina Liberty added a tally to the loss column as they fell to the Omaha Beef on Saturday by a final score of 39-35.

Many in league circles had hyped up this matchup as a potential championship preview and it delivered, as the top two teams in the CIF went toe to toe until the final whistle.

The Beef struck first on a 24 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew Jackson to former Salina wide receiver Rashad Pargo.

Salina responded with three unanswered touchdowns and found themselves up 21-13 at the half.

On the other side of the break, Omaha looked refreshed and regrouped, striking for the first points of the half on a short TD run by Deshawn Jones.

The Liberty came right back with two more touchdowns, both to Juahem Byrd, who hauled in four TD passes on nine catches for 96 yards, to put Salina ahead 35-19 in the third quarter.

Unfortunately that would be the last time Salina would score, as Omaha began to chip away at the Liberty lead.

Deshawn Jones capped off the third quarter by hauling in a touchdown pass from Jackson and following a huge Liberty turnover the Beef struck again on a six yard TD run from Norman Darden to cut the lead to three.

Salina was stopped on downs deep in Omaha territory with under a minute to play but Omaha drove the length of the field and took their first lead since the first quarter on a touchdown pass to another ex-Salina receiver in Tyler Jones.

With twelve seconds to play, the Beef led 39-35, and nearly handed the Liberty excellent field position on the ensuing kickoff thanks to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but Salina reacted, offsetting the foul and forcing themselves to drive the length of the field in under 12 seconds.

The Liberty battled but couldn’t find the end zone, falling to the Beef in their first loss of the season 39-35.

Omaha remains one of the hottest teams in the league, having won five of their last six at 6-3.

With their first loss of the season, Salina moves to 8-1 and will have another shot to lock down the one-seed and home field for the playoffs with a win or an Omaha loss next week.

The Liberty return home for the final game in a best of three with Sioux City while the Beef play host to the Dodge City Law, a team they defeated just a week ago.

For more on the Liberty in 2021 stay tuned to the Salina Post.