Posted: Nov. 17, 2012 | 2:29 a.m.<\/p>\n
With the exception of the first drive of the game, Liberty's offense struggled to find consistency Friday. <\/p>\n
The Patriots' defense, though, had no trouble at all. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"We studied the film all week from when we played last time, and we pretty much just tightened it up,\" Uptain said. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Liberty Defense Strangles Pioneers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted: Nov. 17, 2012 | 2:29 a.m Continue reading