By TYLER HENRY
Little Apple Post contributor
Fans of the Champions Indoor Football League won’t be kept waiting long for a championship rematch as the Salina Liberty open the home portion of their schedule hosting the reigning champion Omaha Beef in week three.
Saturday’s primetime matchup sees both teams returning to form at 1-0 after the Liberty took care of the Tropics 54-33 and the Beef weathered the Storm 36-18 but only one can remain undefeated after Saturday.
While the memories of that final 2021 game remain on the minds of the Liberty, Salina’s focus is the same this week as it has been and will be in any other week in the regular season.
“This can’t be a revenge game because we’re not playing them in the game that means something,” Liberty HC Heron O’Neal said. “This is just a regular-season opponent and they’re the defending champs but you don’t get any more points for winning this one than you would for winning any other game this time of year.”
While the Salina offense picked up right where it left off last week, the defense and special teams stumbled out of the gates, and the Liberty hope the momentum those groups found in the second half can translate to the start of this contest.
“We need to get off to a better start on defense and our special teams need to improve with our returns,” O’Neal said. “We’re looking for more explosiveness and our defense needs to be more consistent overall as we continue to do what we do offensively.”
This game will feature one of the best quarterback duels in the league as reigning Rookie of the Year Tyrie Adams will go toe to toe with Andrew Jackson.
The two have combined for over 300 yards through the air this season and sit second and third in the league in that respect through one game.
“Andrew Jackson is the driving force to what they’re doing offensively and it looks like he’s the one calling a lot of their plays on the field,” he said. “He’s going to be a focal point for us and what we can do to contain him will determine how successful we are this week.”
On the flipside, the Liberty will need to be on their A-Game against one of the best secondaries in the league after struggling to post their usual 40+ against the Beef last season.
“Our offense has to continue to score points against this team,” O’Neal said. “The last two times out we haven’t been able to put up more than 39 and we have to get back to understanding what they want to do to us and taking advantage of that.”
With two high-flying offenses and two ball-hawking secondaries, the stage is set for one of the most exciting games of the year, and for early season supremacy between two of the league's preseason front runners.
“You know they’re going to throw the football 40 times a game and it’s easier said than done but you have to find a way to stop that,” he said. “They didn’t bring Jackson in to hand off the football and I think the battle between both sets of receivers and defensive backs will determine who wins this ballgame.”
Kickoff between the Liberty and Beef is scheduled for 6:35 PM at Tony’s Pizza Events Center and as always the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio.
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