BY STEPHEN LYNCH
Liberty quarterback Haden Mann had only one thought when he saw teammate Ramon Henderson streaking down the middle of the field wide open on the Patriots first offensive play against Ridgeview on Friday night.
“I just told myself, ‘don’t miss’, and I didn’t,” Mann said.
He certainly did not. Mann fired a perfect deep strike to the speedy Henderson, who caught the ball in stride and raced to the end zone untouched for an 85-yard touchdown.
“They manned one of the best receivers in the Central Section, so we figured we’d take a shot on them and it ended up working out,” Mann said. “Those plays where the receiver is wide open are the hardest ones to throw.”
The long scoring pass gave Liberty the early momentum in a hard-fought non-league game that ended with the Patriots holding on to beat the host Wolf Pack 21-13.
Mann threw three first-half touchdown passes, including a pair to Henderson, as Liberty built a 21-0 lead against a Ridgeview team that struggled to score points all night against an aggressive and athletic Patriots defensive unit.
Liberty’s defense held Ridgeview to just 240 net yards of offense. The lone touchdown allowed by the Patriots’, a second quarter, 16-yard pass from Justin Hinzo to Shawn Allen, was setup by good starting field position and two Liberty penalties for 25 yards.
Those weren’t the only costly penalties committed by the Patriots, who were flagged 18 times for 157 yards.
Early in the third quarter Liberty (2-0) had a 64-yard punt return touchdown by Jojo Montecino, called back due to a holding penalty.
That missed opportunity for the Patriots to add to their lead left the door open for Ridgeview (1-1) to mount a comeback.
However, the only points the Wolf Pack managed to muster in the second half came on a pair of fourth quarter field goals Fabien Guillen.
Liberty finished with 404 yards of offense but was shutout in the second half.
The Patriots first three possessions after intermission ended in turnovers.
Liberty’s offense was much more prolific and a lot more careful with the ball in the first half.
A red-hot Mann completed six of his first nine passing attempts for 175 yards.
Leading 7-0 following his early-game, quick-strike bomb to Henderson, Mann capped off Liberty’s third possession with a short slant to Dylan Tooker that resulted in a 31-yard touchdown.
Seven minutes later, after forcing Ridgeview to punt for a fourth time, Mann went to work again, directing a seven-play drive that ended with him pump faking and finding Henderson wide open for a 24-yard touchdown.
“The first half we played really well,” Liberty coach Bryan Nixon said. “The second half, offensively we had three turnovers. Our defense was on the field the whole second half. Time to get better. Glad to come out with a win.”
Mann finished the game 11 of 20 for 220 yards. Henderson had five receptions for 147 yards to help Liberty improve to 6-4 all-time against Ridgeview.
“We started off strong,” Mann said. “We just got to work on our penalties. We had a lot of penalties in the second half. We got to work on finishing in the end zone. But all and all we’re 2-0 and that’s how we wanted to start (the season).”
Hinzo was 17 of 31 for 175 yards passing. The senior quarterback threw one touchdown and one interception.
Despite the loss, Ridgeview coach Rich Cornford was pleased with the tenacity and determination that his team demonstrated.
“Our kids played hard and fought all four quarters,” Conford said. “I have no qualms with our effort tonight. We just need to execute better…Liberty’s awful good. I think we’re awful good too. When we start cleaning things up, we’re going to be great.”
Liberty 21, Ridgeview 13
Liberty 14 7 0 0-21
Ridgeview 0 7 3 3-13
First quarter
L-Henderson 85 pass from Mann (Blevins kick
L-Tooker 31 pass from Mann (Blevins kick)
Second quarter
L-Henderson 24 pass from Mann (Blevins kick)
R-Allen 16 pass from Hinzon (Guillen kick)
Fourth quarter
R-Guillen 32 FG
R-Guillen 38 FG
Individual statistics
RUSHING-Liberty: Boone 17-75, Muniz 13-50, Mann 9-37, Mariscal 2-12, Shores 2-11, Henderson 1-0, Team 1-(-1); Ridgeview: Amos 3-36, Hinzo 13-26, Ramirez 2-2, Allen 5-1.
PASSING-Liberty: Mann 11-20-1-220; Ridgeview: Hinzo 17-31-1-175.
RECEIVING-Liberty: Henderson 5-147, Tooker 1-31, Boone 2-24, Oliver 2-20, Harless 1-(-2); Ridgeview: Allen 6-60, Hall 6-50, Amos 2-36, Casteel 2-19, Lucas 1-10.
JV: Liberty 42, Ridgeview 8.
Photos by Nick Ellis
