By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
With wins in each of their last three contests, the Salina Liberty are officially on a roll, and will stake their winning streak on Saturday when they play host to the last remaining undefeated team in the CIF, in a rematch of last year’s Champions Bowl with the Omaha Beef.
The Beef will make the trip to Salina at 4-0, fresh off a 51-29 victory over Gilette in Omaha last week, while the Liberty come in tied for second at 4-1 after bouncing Billings 33-30.
“I was impressed with what I saw from our defense with some big turnovers and key stops in that Billings game,” Liberty head coach Heron O’Neal said. “They made big play after big play to keep us in the game and once we went down 12 that unit pitched a shutout. That’s what it took for us to win but our defense delivered.”
That defense will be given all it can handle on Saturday night against an Omaha team that leads the league in scoring offense, averaging 56.5 points in any given contest.
“Tommy Armstrong at quarterback is arguably the best in the league at his position,” O’Neal said. “His effectiveness both on the ground and through the air has been impressive and he’s a phenomenal athlete. They also have a huge offensive line, great receivers, and good running backs.”
While this game will feature two of the league’s best, it also features two of its longest-tenured members, and meetings in each of the last two title bouts ensures that there will be no love lost when these teams take to the field this weekend.
“There’s definitely some great rivalries and a lot of history between Salina, Omaha, and Sioux City as well,” he said. “There’s a ton of familiarity between those three and all of them have eliminated each other in the playoffs.”
While the Beef have been impressive on offense this season, they’ve backed up their work on defense as well, leading the league in both scoring defense (21 ppg allowed), and total defense (129 y/g allowed).
Standouts on that Omaha unit include Jayshawn Washington, who leads the league with five sacks along with Salina’s Travis Taylor, as well as Dreko Statham, and Trey Dudley, who have combined for seven interceptions on the season.
“Offensively we have to take care of the football which is something we’ve done well so far,” O’Neal said. We also have to create turnovers, when we do that we’re a pretty darn good football team.”
This game will also pit the league’s best red zone offense in Omaha (17-18) against its best red zone defense in Salina (16-27) in what should be a clash of CIF titans come game time.
Kickoff from Tony’s Pizza Events Center is scheduled for 6:35 pm and as always, the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio.
For continuing coverage of Salina Liberty football all season long, stay tuned to the Salina, Little Apple, and JC Posts.