Posted: Nov. 17, 2012 | 2:29 a.m.

With the exception of the first drive of the game, Liberty's offense struggled to find consistency Friday.

The Patriots' defense, though, had no trouble at all.

Liberty picked the perfect time for its best defensive effort of the year, and quite probably of recent memory, blanking visiting Canyon Springs 10-0 in a Sunrise Region semifinal.

The Patriots (10-1) will host Coronado in the Sunrise final at 1 p.m. Nov. 24 with a berth in the state final on the line.

"I'm embarrassed to say that this is the first time all season we actually came together as a defense and played well," said Liberty senior linebacker Phoenix Uptain, who had a sack and a fumble recovery.

Canyon Springs entered the game averaging 35.8 points, including an average of 40 points in its past five. The Pioneers scored 20 points in the regular-season meeting between the teams - a 23-20 Liberty win on Sept. 28.

"We studied the film all week from when we played last time, and we pretty much just tightened it up," Uptain said.

And the Pioneers came up empty on all 10 of their drives Friday. Four ended on failed fourth-down conversion attempts, three on interceptions and one on a fumble. The Pioneers punted twice.

"I thought our defense did the job," Liberty coach Rich Muraco said. "We haven't really put a game together where our offense and defense played well in the same game, but the defense really came together and got us the win."

Excerpt from:

Liberty Defense Strangles Pioneers