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.

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.

By Greg Farrar
Carlyn Schmidgall (right), Liberty High School junior, races neck and neck in the final turn against Alexa Shindruk, of Lynden, in the 2A 3,200-meter championship May 30 in Tacoma.

The Patriots qualified in eight events for the May 28-30 meet at Mount Tahoma High School, and won a total of six individual medals and three relay medals to finish behind champion Shorewood (57 points), Sehome (55) and Pullman (44).

Senior Kelley Johnson was the Patriots’ leading point scorer. She earned podium finishes in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles, and also contributed to a third-place effort in the 4×100 relay (49.42 seconds) and a fourth-place finish in the 4×400 relay (4 minutes, 8.76 seconds).

Johnson, who is continuing her athletic career next year when she joins the women’s soccer program at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, put an exclamation point on her track career. She captured third in the 300 hurdles (45.98) and seventh in the 100 hurdles (16.08).

Going out on a high note was something Johnson thought about as she entered the state meet.

“It was a really big deal for me — I’m playing soccer next year, but I don’t get to run track, and I love track,” Johnson said after the May 29 preliminary heats of the 300 hurdles, in which she finished sixth overall in 47.15.

“I’ve complained about it a lot, but I absolutely love it.”

Johnson also played key roles on two of the Patriots’ three medal-winning relays. The 4×400 performance, she said, was particularly impressive considering she didn’t began running with Sophie Wartena, Marissa Mills and Kaiah McLaren until just prior to the District 2 meet. A different foursome helped the Patriots make it through the KingCo Conference meet.

“My senior year, it’s awesome that we can do this kind of stuff,” Johnson said. “All the relays, all the girls, we just meshed so well together, and I’m so happy it worked out.”

Liberty’s 4×200 team of Shanell Thompson, Wartena, Danielle Demps and Cherelle Demps finished in third place (1:43.73).

Wartena, a sophomore, joined Johnson on the podium for the 300 hurdles, finishing sixth (47.24).

Cherelle Demps, a senior, grabbed a third-place finish in the 100 meters (12.53). She won three individual state medals and five relay medals during her Liberty career.

The Patriots also scored points in the long distances as junior Carlyn Schmidgall took fourth in the 3,200 meters (11:15.83) and sixth in the 1,600 (5:12.95).

The Liberty boys team had only four qualifiers to the state meet, although the Patriots won three medals, two of them from senior Trevor Sytsma.

Sytsma took fifth in the 1,600 (4:22.89) and seventh in the 3,200 (9:32.51), while junior Nate Solly was seventh in the 300 hurdles (40.73).

Hazen

The Hazen track and field team ended the weekend with two medalists.

Senior Jesus Vargas finished eighth (1:55.40) in the 3A boys 800-meter race, while Parker Trewet earned eighth place in the 3A boys shot-put.

The Highlanders also sent Kate Lilly, Sarah Hart, Plamedie Masiala, Sablena Milinganyo, Amy Warmenhoven, Alexis Rogers, Alicia Nguyen, Michelle Lilly, Alex Fortescue, Aaron Rothlisberger, Dario Cirlincione, Saivon Johnson and Rhyan Denile to state, but none of them reached the podium.

Reporter Christina Corrales-Toy contributed to this story.

“It’s disappointing because it felt like we were in the game and we could win,” head coach Steve Valach said.

The Patriots scored first blood against the Wildcats with a touchdown run from junior running back Joe Cunningham in the first quarter. The touchdown came after an interception thrown by Mount Si quarterback Jonathan Hillel. The early touchdown was the only time Liberty had the lead. Later in the first quarter, Hillel punched through on a quarterback keeper to tie the game.

A few minutes later, at the start of the second quarter, Liberty junior quarterback Nate Solly threw an interception. Mount Si’s sophomore linebacker Cory Cotto returned it 40 yards for the Wildcats’ second touchdown.

Neither team scored again in the first half. Mount Si missed a field goal attempt several possessions later. On the final play of the second quarter, Solly threw another interception. But since the Patriots got the ball after halftime the picked-off pass had little impact on the game.

“I think we had opportunities,” Valach said. “Football is a game of momentum.”

At 6:56 of the third quarter, the Patriots’ junior kicker, Brandon Niblock, successfully sent a 40-yard field goal through the uprights, the longest field goal of the season.

On the following possession, Hillel threw his second touchdown pass, bringing the score to 21-10. But Liberty responded with an excellent drive using its strong running game.

“That’s kind of who we are, we run the football,” Valach said.

The Patriots ran in a touchdown in the final seconds of the third quarter, bringing the score to 21-17.

Mount Si responded with another long touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

There was a moment in the Patriots’ next possession that broke the game against them. They used their rushing strength to get to just outside field goal range, but the Mount Si defense held them to their fourth down. The Patriots decided to go for it on fourth and 3, but the Wildcats stopped them and took the ball.

“We were right there and we didn’t quite complete the play,” Valach said. “That’s football.”

The Wildcats converted that defensive stop into another final touchdown, bringing the score to 35-17 with seven minutes left.

For the rest of the game it appeared the Patriots had no more fight in them. The Wildcats broke through their defense for some big sacks. Neither team scored again.

Liberty faced one handicap in the game because several players were on the injury list. Without some of the first-string players on offense and defense, the team was weakened. Looking ahead to the team’s next game with Fife, Valach said he hoped the injuries wouldn’t linger.

“You never like to see guys get hurt,” he said.

By Greg Farrar
Liberty High School offensive players huddle to hear the call on the next play from scrimmage June 17 during the final spring practice for the Patriots.

As the Liberty High School football team took to the gridiron for fall practices, not much looked different on the Patriots’ field.

Music blared, whistles sounded and footballs flew into the outstretched hands of open receivers.

This season will be different, though, for all Liberty sports teams, as they prepare to move from the 3A to 2A level.

“It doesn’t change the way we prepare at all,” senior Russell Boston said in the spring. “We’re just going to come out and play football like we know how.”

Liberty’s regular season schedule doesn’t change. The school is still part of the KingCo 3A/2A Conference, meaning the Patriots will continue to face the likes of Bellevue and Juanita. The nonconference schedule now includes a season-opening game against Lakewood, a 2A team, though.

Liberty will still host their Renton Highlands rivals, Hazen, during the season’s second week, Sept. 12. The schedule also includes Mount Si in what will be a nonconference game, as the Wildcats make the jump to 4A next year.

Boston, a running back and safety, leads a senior class that head coach Steve Valach calls “one of the best” in his 16 years.

“I think we were 3-7 in their sophomore year, so they’ve seen some lean times and still kept competing,” Valach said. “There’s some talent, and then it’s bigger than ability, it’s who they are as guys.”

Seniors Nate Jarvis and Mitch McQuigg will anchor a line that should be one of the Patriots’ strengths this year. Jarvis was an all-league center and McQuigg an all-league guard last year. Noah Pritchett, a rare freshman that started on the line in 2013, also returns, but experienced some nagging injuries through the offseason, Valach said.

Valach said he’s also happy with his skill positions, where senior Drew Hall returns at running back. Hall was also a first-team all-league linebacker last year. Starting quarterback Nate Solly is back for his junior campaign.

The Liberty coach said he also expects good production from linebacker Romney Noel and lineman Quinn Magendanz, two seniors that battled injury bugs through their careers.

“Realistically, is it a goal that they play in the Tacoma Dome? I think so. I don’t think that’s an unrealistic goal,” Valach said of his team. “But I think they understand the importance of today, and it’s putting a bunch of todays together to get where you want to be.”

The Patriots’ 2014 season begins Sept. 5 at Lakewood.

By Greg Farrar
Cherelle Demps (left), Liberty High School junior, anchors the 4×100 relay race after taking the baton from twin sister Danielle in the state 3A championships May 31.

The Liberty High School track and field team brought home six medals after a fruitful weekend at the 3A state championships May 29-31.

Liberty junior Cherelle Demps led the way, taking home four, including the two she earned with relay teams.

Demps earned a pair of seventh-place finishes in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. She ran the 100 in 12.81 seconds and the 200 in 25.74.

She partnered with twin sister Danielle and teammates Tara Johnson and Shannell Thompson to capture a fourth place finish in the 4×200 relay (1:42.93) and seventh in the 4×100 relay (49.56).

Kelley Johnson and Romney Noel each received individual medals. Johnson placed seventh in the 300 hurdles (46.97) and Noel, the boys’ only medalist, finished fourth in the 110 hurdles (14.88).

Senior Aaron Bowe just missed the podium in the 1,600 with a ninth-place finish (4:18.60).

Patriots Nate Solly, Ashby Brown, Nick Klatt, Andrew Baugh and Kelli Anderson competed at state but did not medal.

The Hazen High School track and field team sent a handful of girls to the state championships, but none of them medaled. Kate Lilly, Sarah Hart, Sablena Milinganyo, Amy Warmenhoven and Alexis Rogers all made state appearances.