Newman throws three TD passes, leads Patriots into Sunrise semifinals

Liberty’s football team wanted to make a statement in its Division I Sunrise Region quarterfinal Friday.

While the three-time defending region champs rolled to a 41-27 victory over visiting Silverado, it was hardly the statement performance the Patriots envisioned.

“We were able to move the ball both on the ground and in the air,” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said. “On defense, we gave up a couple of big plays and we had a lot of penalties that extended their drives. We were not disciplined and gave up 15-yard penalties that allowed them to keep their momentum on offense.”

The game got out of control after Silverado scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Armani Jones-Sailor to Austin Hunt with 10 seconds remaining. It appeared Hunt may have gotten away with a push on the defender on the play, and the Patriots’ sideline argued the call, eventually drawing two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. The referee even indicated one coach was ejected.

On the ensuing kickoff, there was another scuffle on the field trying to recover an onside kick. Liberty eventually came up with the ball as the final 10 seconds ran off the clock.

“Obviously, they didn’t want the score to look as bad in the paper,” Muraco said. “They wanted it to seem like a closer game than it was. They kept their ones in the whole game, while we had our third-string defense in there. They scored a touchdown, and I thought that was a little cheap. They called a timeout with 10 seconds left to throw a pass and score a meaningless touchdown.

“We were a little upset about that – that’s not sportsmanship. Then they go onside kick like they wanted to get the ball back and tempers flared.”

Muraco said he was not clear if any players were ejected, which would make them ineligible for next week’s game.

“We’ll have to read the report,” he said.

The final 10 seconds did not dampen Tyler Newman’s stellar performance. The senior quarterback threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Patriots.

Senior Drew Hladek had five receptions for 131 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown strike that put the Patriots up 34-14 in the third quarter.

“They are best friends,” Muraco said. “They’ve been playing together for three years, and two years ago they were lighting up JV together. All season long they’ve done a great job.”

The Skyhawks actually led 8-7 early in the game after junior running back Jujuan Bell scored on a 2-yard run, and Jones-Sailor connected with Rohan Walters on the 2-point conversion. Silverado had chances to extend its lead, but two fumbles eventually led to a 27-yard touchdown run by Liberty’s Ethan Tuilagi that put the Patriots up, 14-8.

Liberty scored again on a 22-yard pass from Newman to Deseon McQuaig after Ethan Dedeaux intercepted a Jones-Sailor pass. Silverado answered with an 88-yard scoring pass from Jones-Sailor to Walters, which cut Liberty’s lead to 21-15 late in the second quarter.

The Patriots scored again before halftime on a 9-yard pass from Newman to Chris Reed.

The Skyhawks were led by Walters who caught seven passes for 147 yards.

The Patriots will have to cut down on penalties when they host Canyon Springs next week. The Pioneers advanced with a 12-7 win over Coronado.

“Every week you advance from here on out the teams get better and better,” Muraco said. “Your margin for error gets less and less. If we were playing in a closer game, those penalties could really cost us. We are going to stress that all week and work on it, and play a cleaner game and get another ‘W.’ “