KingCo 3A roundup: Liberty defense does the damage

BELLEVUE — The Liberty offense had no problems scoring against Sammamish Friday night, and its defense helped the Patriots, too.

Seniors Justin Ludwig and Gary Flanik intercepted passes on Sammamish's first two possessions, helping Liberty get out to an early 14-0 lead in a 49-24 victory at Sammamish.

"They have a pretty potent offense and I've seen them move the ball against everyone, so we knew we needed to come out and stop them on defense," Liberty coach Steve Valach said.

Liberty (6-3 overall, 5-1 KingCo 3A) took sole possession of second place in the conference. Next Friday the Patriots face Issaquah, a team Liberty hasn't beaten during Valach's six years as head coach.

A win over Issaquah will guarantee the Patriots a state-playoff berth. If Liberty loses, the playoff picture gets a little foggy. There potentially could be a tie for second between Liberty, Issaquah and Mount Si, or — less likely — a five-way tie for first.

Ludwig intercepted a Sammamish pass on the third play of the game, and after a 36-yard run by Jeff Hanna, Scott Moore ran into the end zone untouched from 5 yards. Then, on the third play of Sammamish's next possession, Flanik picked off a pass and ran it back 40 yards to the 12. Three plays later, Deon Horne cruised into the end zone, giving Liberty a 14-0 lead.

Things didn't get much better for Sammamish as Liberty scored on each of its next four possessions.

The Totems (0-6 league, 2-7 overall) scored on their first three possessions of the second half against Liberty's second-string defense, including a pair of touchdown receptions by junior Immanuel Martinez.

Horne rushed for 130 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns for Liberty.

Other games

Brandon Yakaboski became the school career and season rushing leader with 214 yards on 31 carries as the Wildcats (7-2, 4-2) knocked the Knights (6-3, 4-2) out of a tie for second in KingCo 3A. Yakaboski, a 6-foot, 188-pound junior who has 1,386 rushing yards this season, ran for two scores and teammate Eric Alexander caught touchdown passes of 16 and 23 yards from Rollin Smith. Newport led 14-7 early, after TD runs of 35 and 41 yards by Brandon Mezistrano.

Mercer Island 41,

at Interlake 35

Kenny Kim's 5-yard TD run with 1:41 remaining capped a miraculous comeback by the Islanders (4-5, 2-4), who trailed 35-14 entering the fourth quarter. Jeremy Spektor's interception at the Islanders' 37-yard line ended Interlake's final threat. Kim started the comeback with the second of his three TD runs with 10:30 left. Morgan Anthony broke a 74-yard scoring run with 9:18 left, and Greg Mahony followed with a 77-yard TD gallop at 5:27. Mahony then set up the drive for Kim's winning score with an interception. Scott Galland had helped Interlake (3-6, 0-6) build its early lead by throwing for two TDs and running for two. Galland completed 25 of 31 passes for 208 yards. Mercer Island's Anthony had 179 yards on eight carries.