Nevada high school football: Liberty beats Kailua of Hawaii

It appeared Liberty’s football team was going to surrender a touchdown to Kailua (Hawaii) Saturday night on the game’s opening drive.

But Liberty’s Carter Christensen had other ideas. The sophomore intercepted a pass near the goal line, and the Patriots capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown six plays later.

Liberty never looked back. The Patriots, No. 3 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, forced six turnovers on their way to a 33-0 win over Kailua in the Ninth Island Classic at Liberty.

“Anytime you can get a big defensive stand and then (Ezra Sanelivi) busts a couple nice, long runs, it’s definitely a momentum shifter for us,” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said. “When you go into a game, you don’t really know what’s going to work, what’s not going to work. You have a game plan and when they start working, you feel really good. Most of the stuff we had planned was working well.”

The Patriots (1-1) came up with four interceptions, two from Christensen, and returned two fumbles for touchdowns. They held Kailua (1-2) to 172 yards of total offense.

“Our defense played amazing,” Muraco said. “(Kailua) only really had a couple of plays that were successful for them. We had a lot of turnovers; (the) defense basically won 12-0. When you can pitch a shutout and score two defensive touchdowns, it makes things a lot easier for the offense.”

Quarterback Selby Griego, a junior making his second start, completed 14 of 21 passes for 200 yards with a touchdown and ran for 61 yards and a score, and the Patriots had no turnovers.

“To be able to come out here and be on the team and lead the team being the starting quarterback, it’s a great opportunity,” Griego said. “(The coaches) keep pushing me every single day. They make sure I don’t get comfortable and keep me on my toes to make sure I’m playing the best that I can be.”

Sanelivi, a three-star junior running back, helped Liberty capitalize after the first interception with a 12-yard TD run, giving the Patriots a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter after a missed extra point.

Then Griego showed off his wheels with a 9-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal to put the Patriots ahead 13-0 midway through the second quarter. That score held up into halftime.

“Early on in the first half, we only had four offensive possessions, we had two touchdowns and a missed field goal, so I felt like we were clicking,” Muraco said. “(Sanelivi) was running the ball hard. Selby was making plays; he reminds me a little of Johnny Manziel out there.”

Griego added a score through the air in the third quarter, as the right-hander hit Ameche Baldwin for a 50-yard touchdown pass.

Then on the ensuing possession, the Patriots scored with their defense. They pressured Kailua quarterback Isaiah Keaunui-Demello and he lost the ball near the goal line, and defensive lineman Tafatoluomalua Atualevao recovered the fumble in the endzone for a touchdown to put Liberty ahead 26-0.

Rysen Dacosin-Arcala recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter and raced more than 50 yards for a touchdown for Liberty’s final score. Omar Mbang and Laakila Mulivai each had an interception for Liberty, and Aiden Webster and Jonathan Ioane each recorded a sack.

“For us to capitalize off (the first interception), it was great,” Griego said. “It was super important. If the defense can’t get stops, then we can’t score, so kudos to them.”

Sanelivi finished with 70 rushing yards on 15 carries with a touchdown for Liberty, and Jashawn Crayton had three catches for 50 yards.

Keaunui-Demello completed 11 of 20 passes for 114 yards with four interceptions for Kailua.

Liberty lost to Skyridge (Utah) 45-27 last Friday. The Patriots continue their nonleague schedule with another out-of-state opponent at Casteel (Arizona) at 7 p.m. Friday.

“This week we were worried about the run and our defense did a great job of stuffing the run and then we were very opportunistic in the pass game with getting some pressure and getting some picks,” Muraco said.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.