Liberty Ranch thumps Bear River in first round of CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D-VI football playoffs

It seemed like it was going to be a tight game on Friday night in Galt when Bear River High School lineman Luke Jeffers returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the opening minutes, but from there Liberty Ranch rolled to extend its season and end the campaign for the Bruins from Lake of the Pines.

Star junior running back Joseph Brown broke free on a 51-yard touchdown run to tie the game after the blocked punt to kick start at 49-18 victory for the Hawks over Bear River in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI opener.

Brown then made an interception to set up the Hawks’ next scoring drive. The Hawks’ other big rusher, junior Oscar Romero, had a 33-yard touchdown run to establish a lead that they never lost, ensuring a shot at top-seeded Sutter in a quarterfinal next week.

Brown continued his breakout performance in the second quarter when he got another 1-yard rushing touchdown, then another interception, followed by a 62-yard rushing touchdown to lead off the second half. Romero had three additional rushing touchdowns, two for 18 yards and one for 17 yards, to close out the Hawks’ big night at home.

This has not been an easy season for the Hawks, though this victory cured a lot of ills. Coming off a heartbreaking playoff loss a year ago after a 10-0 regular season, the team was dealt a big blow when senior quarterback Kymani Fenika suffered a season-ending injury. That led to junior Wyatt Blevins taking over.

Brown was not on the team a year ago. He moved to Galt in July from Fresno. He’s not new to the halfback position, playing it at powerhouse Central High in Fresno for his first two prep seasons, but he is still new to this region, learning on the fly.

“I thought I ran the ball really well,” he said. “Probably could have made a couple more plays defensively, but I have to shout out our defense. We shut them out.”

Brown is optimistic heading into the next round.

“I think we’ve got the pieces to win,” Brown said. “So long as we just play our game, we are and easily can be the best team in the section.”

Liberty Ranch coach Warren Schroeder praised his running back.

“Amazing player,” Schroeder said. “He’s got such great vision. He’s that kind of kid you can just do anything with. Just a special kid who’s willing to learn new things. He’s new to the system this year and has picked up so quickly to become an outstanding athlete and important leader on our team.”

Schroeder said he is excited about this team. He mentioned how many of his top players last season were seniors, including anchors in star running back Arthur Draeger and star tight end Cody Smith. It took a new batch of seniors to step up.

“This is a young team,” Schroeder said. “It’s a fresh group who are ready to build up. They’ve done a great job with a huge amount of adversity. Losing our quarterback can be a killer, but we’ve found a way to play through and get big wins like this.”

Fenika was injured in Liberty Ranch’s win against Rosemont, which was followed by a blowout loss against Bradshaw Christian and a loss against Union Mine, all in Sierra Valley Conference action. Liberty Ranch won that league going away last season. The Hawks bounced back in a regular-season finale with a 42-13 win over crosstown rival Galt. The team is 6-4.

Schroeder said he is confident that his team can pull off an upset at Sutter, where the Huskies are hard to beat.

“We have regrouped,” Schroeder said. “Coming back to Galt, and seeing what we did here tonight, we haven’t missed a beat. As coaches, we regrouped, and some of the big adjustments we made worked tonight and I think that we can use that momentum to carry us through against Sutter.”

He added: “I think these kids have what it takes to do it,” Schroeder said. “We’ve got to work on a couple of things, but with this momentum, we just might have what it takes to shock the world.”

The team was pumped up after the game. A Hawks assistant coach shouted out all 40 players on the roster, emphasizing unity. Liberty Ranch shut down the Bear River offense until the final minutes when senior quarterback Cole Stowers threw a 58-yard pass to senior receiver Brady Moorlag to get the Bruins to the 1. Senior running back Kaden Cavolt finished off the drive with with a run.

Bruins coach Tanner Mathias was proud of this Bruins team for making the postseason.

“Bear River worked their butts off this season,” Mathias said, recapping his team’s season. “We got back to playoff football where Bear River belongs. We put ‘Tradition of Excellence’ on all our stuff, the same thing we had when our former coaches were here. I kind of wanted to emulate that and bring back that fire. This season, we did exactly that.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 11:56 PM.