An overtime loss is the only blemish on the Liberty High School football team’s near-perfect record so far.

The Patriots are 3-1 to start the year, with five regular-season games still to be played, including matchups against Bellevue and Mount Si.

By Greg Farrar
Joseph Cunningham (right), Liberty High School senior running back, slips past Hazen sophomore safety Jaeger Scheppe (7) to the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run during the third quarter of their Sept. 11 football game.

Liberty began the season with a 14-6 win over Lakewood in a game that will be remembered as the debut of junior defensive end Mikey Walter. Prior to Sept. 4, Walter never played a down of high-school football.

He has made his name on the hardwood, starring on the Patriots’ varsity basketball team since he was a freshman. But this year, he decided to hit the gridiron, much to the delight of Liberty football coach Steve Valach.

In the Lakewood win, Walter caused a ruckus in the backfield, picking up three sacks in his very first game. The Seattle Times lauded his play as one of the top-10 performances of the night.

Running backs Joseph Cunningham and Dulin Hayden each had 4-yard rushing touchdowns to give Liberty all the offense it would need that night.

Liberty earned the right to chant “We run Renton” after its 28-6 win over Renton rival Hazen High School in Week 2.

The Patriots clicked on all cylinders, overcoming a slow first quarter to eventually overwhelm the Highlanders.

Quarterback Nate Solly found some success through the air, going 10 for 18 passing. But the ground game is where the Patriots truly did their damage.

Cunningham and Hayden each picked up rushing touchdowns for the second consecutive game, while senior Preston Mitsui and junior Austin Regis joined the scoring with runs of 4 and 5 yards, respectively.

Liberty’s defense held the Highlanders to just six points, with Walter again starring on the field with six tackles. Julian Bruce had four tackles, while Hayden did damage defensively, too, collecting four tackles.

The Patriots improved to 3-0 after a 38-27 win at Interlake that required a gutsy second-half comeback.

After heading into halftime down 20-10, the Patriots outscored Interlake 28-7 to clinch their first league win of the year.

Liberty’s Max Batali and Cunningham each had two rushing touchdowns and ran for more than 100 yards. Batali had 128 yards on 16 carries, while Cunningham had 149 on 23 carries. Quarterback Solly also added a 14-yard TD run.

Batali had an equally productive day on the defensive side, where he had a team-leading seven tackles. Cunningham and Walter each had four tackles and junior Juan Flores had five.

Lake Washington handed Liberty its only loss when the Kangaroos edged the Patriots, 20-17, in an overtime win on Sept. 25.

Cunningham continued his scoring streak with a 27-yard TD run in the first quarter. Solly completed a 27-yard TD pass to Isaiah Owens, and kicker Tyler Wray added a field goal to put the Patriots up 17-0 after the first quarter.

Liberty wouldn’t score again as Lake Washington meticulously chipped away at the lead. A touchdown in the second quarter, a third-quarter field goal and fourth-quarter passing TD left the score tied at 17.

In overtime, the Patriots won the toss and elected to start on defense. They held Lake Washington to a 25-yard field goal, but when Liberty’s turn came, Wray’s 40-yard attempt was no good.

Liberty, sits at 1-1 in league play.

As the season approaches the halfway point, not much is going right for the Hazen High School football team.

The Highlanders are just 1-3 on the year, and two of those losses were double-digit blowouts.

By Greg Farrar
Kaleb Magee (34), Hazen High School senior running back, runs the ball against Sam Harrington (left) and Alex Olague, of Liberty, during the third quarter of their Sept. 11 football game at Renton Stadium.

Hazen kicked off the season with a 35-7 nonleague loss at Lake Washington on Sept. 4. It was a game the Kangaroos dominated from the start.

Lake Washington’s Jake Steele picked up two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter, while quarterback Jake Steele threw two passing touchdowns in the second quarter to put the Kangs up 28-0 at halftime.

Lake Washington added one more score in the third quarter to put the game even further out of reach. Hazen earned its only points when Austin Buza rushed for a 32-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Renton Memorial Stadium’s atmosphere was electric Sept. 11 as the Highlanders took the field flanked by ceremonial bagpipers for the team’s home opener against rival Liberty High School.

Both teams took some time to get warmed up in the gridiron battle of the two Renton Highlands schools. But in the end, it was the visiting Liberty student section that earned the right to chant “We run Renton,” as the Patriots secured the 28-6 win.

The Patriots struck first when junior Austin Regis scored on a 5-yard run. Liberty missed the extra point but took a 6-0 lead as the first quarter came to an end.

Liberty’s Preston Mitsui then punched it in from 4 yards out to put the Patriots up 12-0 in the second quarter. Dulin Hayden carried it in for a successful two-point conversion, and Liberty went into halftime with   a 14-0 lead.

Liberty extended its lead to three touchdowns in the third quarter as running back Joseph Cunningham carried it in from 3 yards.

Hazen finally put points on the board late in the third when senior safety Cody Stillings recovered a Liberty fumble and ran it in for the score. The Highlanders missed the extra-point try.

Hayden added a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth to put the Patriots up 28-6.

Hazen’s lone win came in Week 3, when the Highlanders absolutely dismantled Seamount League opponent Evergreen, 52-0.

There were a lot of stars in the blowout, but none shined brighter than senior running back Kaleb Magee, who rushed for 185 yards and a TD, and added a 23-yard TD reception.

For that performance, Magee was named a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Athlete of the Week.

All varsity-level students in good academic standing at their schools are eligible to receive the WIAA Athlete of the Week award. Winners receive a letter of recognition from the WIAA executive director, a commemorative WIAA Athlete of the Week beanie and a certificate.

Hazen couldn’t maintain a 13-6 halftime lead against Foster, and the Bulldogs went on to win in overtime, 32-29, on Sept. 25.

After yielding 20 unanswered points in the third quarter, Hazen had to overcome a 26-13 deficit as the final quarter began. A resilient Highlanders squad answered the challenge, forcing overtime. But Foster pulled out the win.

Hazen, which owns a 1-1 league record, has five more games this regular season.

Hazen High School running back Kaleb Magee earned Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Athlete of the Week honors for his Sept. 17 performance against Evergreen.

Magee rushed for 185 yards and a touchdown in the Highlanders’ 52-0 win. He also added a 23-yard touchdown reception.

All varsity level students in good academic standing at their schools are eligible to receive the WIAA Athlete of the Week Award. Winners receive a letter of recognition from the WIAA executive director, a commemorative WIAA Athlete of the Week beanie and a certificate.

View a full list of winners here.

The Hazen High School mascot is a Highlander, but this year, the football team has wolves on its mind.

It stems from the squad’s 2015 motto, “Legs Feed The Wolf.” If a wolf wants to eat, it needs legs to hunt down its prey, Hazen quarterback Michael Mason explained.

By Christina Corrales-Toy
David Kilpatrick-White, Hazen High School’s head football coach, leads his team through warm-ups at an Aug. 26 preseason practice.

“Every guy represents the legs of the wolf, and for the wolf that is Hazen football to eat, we’ve all got to do our share and put in the work,” he said.

The message conveniently encapsulates many of the expectations head coach David Kilpatrick-White hopes to get across in his second season at the helm.

Coming off a 4-6 season, the Highlanders have some work to do as they look to make a move up the Seamount League pecking order. But they will have to do it with a young squad, after losing most of their 2014 all-league players to graduation.

“We are very young and we’re very inexperienced,” Kilpatrick-White said. “That being said, I think we’re going to continue to grow as the season moves along.”

Mason, a senior, takes over for quarterback Nolan Hoover, now a freshman player at Pacific Lutheran University.

Sitting behind Hoover, Mason didn’t get much playing time last year. This year, he will get his chance and he’s poised for a breakout season, Kilpatrick-White said.

“For the most part, I’m quarterback because of my feet,” Mason said. “I’m decent at running the ball and I’m pretty quick making the decisions on what to do with it.”

Kilpatrick-White added that Mason is like “your classic high school quarterback,” who is hardworking, coachable and willing to lead.

Running back Kaleb McGee should take some pressure off Mason. McGee, who earned all-league honorable mention honors last year, is quick, strong and is as good at catching the ball as he is at carrying it, Kilpatrick-White said.

On the defensive side, look for defensive backs Kevin Govea and Cody Stillings to lead the team in tackles, the coach said. Stillings also earned an all-league honorable mention nod last year.

“He’s very aggressive, really understands the game well and just has a natural way of finding the ball,” the coach said of Govea.

The defender who will likely make fans’ heads turn is defensive end Tommy Woodbridge.

“He’s the one that’s going to be making most of those plays that kind of pop out on game day,” Kilpatrick-White said.

Hazen’s second-year coach said he learned a lot in his first season. Kilpatrick-White said he now has a better understanding of his team’s strengths and the Highlander community in general.

One of the things his staff is working against, he said, is a Hazen football culture that seems to accept mediocrity.

“It’s definitely a problem on the football team, where OK is good enough, and we don’t want that to be the case anymore,” he said. “So we’re really trying to push that message home that we’re not going to make excuses.”

This year, Kilpatrick-White said he is hoping to better convey his program’s expectations, which include putting others first, giving a perfect effort and eliminating excuses.

Being a part of the Hazen program is about much more than football, he said.

“Our big thing is we want to grow these guys so that when they graduate, they’re going to be good fathers, good husbands, better sons, better students, and we’re doing a much better job of sticking to that message,” he said.

Just before the Liberty High School football team hit the locker rooms after a sun-soaked Aug. 21 practice, they gathered in an end zone and knelt on one knee.

“It’s time for ‘Spotlight on a Champion,’” Liberty coach Steve Valach announced. He asked for nominees and the players quickly identified a teammate. Once chosen, Valach ushered him to the front and put his arm around him.

By Christina Corrales-Toy
A Nate Solly pass slips through the fingers of Liberty High School senior running back Max Batali at an Aug. 21 football practice at Liberty High School.

One by one, players and coaches threw out words such as “inspiring” and “hardworking.” They highlighted the best in the spotlighted champion’s character and made sure he heard it.“What do you know about this guy that has nothing to do with football?” he asked his team.

It’s the kind of scene that would surprise no one who has ever come into contact with the Liberty football team in Valach’s nearly 17 years at the helm. His Patriots have always been about much more than football.

“Spotlight on a Champion,” which the coach started last year, shows that. The Patriots end every practice extolling the virtues of a different unsung hero.

“We’re kind of trying to create one of those indelible moments, where a guy can go ‘Yes, I’m going to remember that,’” Valach said.

Moments like these show the value Valach puts on teamwork, camaraderie and togetherness both on and off the field. That will be doubly important this year as a young Patriots squad looks to fill the significant holes left by the departed class of 2015.

Gone are running back Russell Boston, lineman Nate Jarvis and linebacker Drew Hall, just a few of the graduated seniors whose presence dominated the Liberty discussion in past seasons.

“We’re inexperienced in some spots, but we’ve got good energy,” Valach said of the upcoming season. “But we’re also very experienced in some key spots, too. Quarterback is obviously a pretty important one.”

Experience isn’t an issue at quarterback, where senior Nate Solly is heading into his third straight year as the Patriots’ starter.

The pieces around him, however, will certainly look a little different.

“I think we’ll find out first game who the offensive playmakers are,” Solly said, before mentioning two running backs, senior Max Batali and junior Austin Regis, as players fans should keep an eye on.

Senior receiver Preston Mitsui, who showed flashes while carrying the ball last year, and junior receiver Dulin Hayden, should be in that conversation, too, Valach added.

Losing Jarvis, last year’s Class 2A/3A KingCo Conference Lineman of the Year, and all-conference linemen Quinn Magendanz and Mitchell McQuigg to graduation, means this year’s offensive line could be in for some growing pains.

“We’ve got some young guys but I think they’re going to do a great job at protecting me. I trust them,” Solly said.

Solly mentioned sophomore Julian Manning-Bruce and junior Kaliko Parilla as young guys expected to contribute on the line. Senior James Workman, a team captain and standout Liberty baseball player, will also anchor the line.

On the defensive side, Valach mentioned defensive backs Hayden and Regis as players to watch, along with linebacker Alex Olague and the 6-foot-5, 270-pound Manning-Bruce, who will also see time at defensive tackle.

Batali, who earned honorable mention All-KingCo honors at safety last year, is back in the secondary, too.

With youth and inexperience scattered across the roster, constant improvement will be crucial to the Patriots’ season, Valach said.

“For us, the idea is, what kind of team are we in mid- to late October?” he said. “The goal is, the longer we play the better we get.”

Coincidentally, that will require a bit of “grit,” which just so happens to be the team’s inspirational word this year. The seniors chose the word this summer.

“It’s funny, because that directly identifies the key to this being a successful season,” Valach said.

It’s the chant that, without fail, win or lose, emanates from the packed Liberty home bleachers, showcasing the pride and camaraderie that comes with being a Patriot.

Now, the Liberty football program truly is “one,” from top to bottom — elementary school to high-school varsity — with the creation of the Patriots’ new youth football program.

The Liberty Junior Football program will kick off its inaugural season in 2015, allowing kids to grow and learn within one program from age 7 through high school.

“Our goal is to develop a comprehensive, outstanding program that feeds into the Liberty High School program, with a focus on building both the character and competitor in every participant,” Liberty High School coach Steve Valach said in an email to parents.

Students ages 7-14 who will attend Liberty High School are eligible to participate in the new youth program. That means Apollo, Briarwood, Newcastle and Maple Hills elementary, as well as Maywood Middle School students, can suit up for the Patriots.

The youth program is a recognized nonprofit and will compete in the Greater Eastside Junior Football Association league.

Liberty Junior Football is not affiliated with Five Star Football, the program where young future Liberty athletes previously played.

Pick 6 Sports, a professional youth sports organization, will run the Liberty program. Valach is expected to be very involved in the direction of the new youth program.

He will lead an informational meeting about the new program, and unveil its uniforms, at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Liberty High School commons, 16655 S.E. 136th St., Renton.

Learn more about the program at www.libertyjrfootball.org.