By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
After surviving a quarterfinal shootout with Colorado and surviving the semis on the final play in Pueblo, Salinaās supply of late-game magic ran out in Dodge City on Sunday, as the Liberty came up one play short in the National Arena League championship game.
The Southwest Kansas Storm capped off a dominant 11-1 season with late heroics to win the title, as Trae Self found a diving Mason Pierce in the end zone with two seconds remaining to deliver a lead, and eventual 43-28 victory to the Storm.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Salina one final shot from the Southwest Kansas nine-yard line, but the Liberty couldnāt find an open man, falling on the final play of the game.
This championship game lived up to the billing, with a back-and-forth battle played entirely within two scores.
Southwest Kansas took a 35-23 lead late in the third, but the Liberty stormed back, scoring on back-to-back drives, and forcing their first two stops of the game to claim a 38-35 advantage.
Salina marched their final full drive of the night into Storm territory, trying to kill the remainder of the clock, but the drive stalled, and a pair of false starts forced the Liberty to attempt a field goal which sailed wide of the uprights.
With just 18 seconds on the clock, the Storm got the ball inside the red zone, and spiked the ball, setting up a do-or-die third and goal.
As the final seconds ticked down, Mason Pierce ran a quick out route at the goal line, laying out to beat the coverage and deliver the Storm the lead on a dot from Trae Self.
One more stop and that was that, as Salina finished another season just one step shy of the ultimate prize.
Despite the runner-up finish, the Liberty have much to hold their heads high about, finishing a still-stellar season at 8-5, and competing in a fifth national championship game.
Under Heron OāNealās leadership, the Liberty have finished above .500 for an eighth consecutive season, and will be back in the hunt in 2027.