EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
Call it a game of inches or close calls. Either way, the ball didn’t bounce the Redskins’ way in a 22-16 loss to Salina South that ended their season in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Liberal’s first near miss came on the first drive of the game when the Redskins marched the ball to the Cougar 1-yard line in 15 plays but couldn’t score on a fourth and goal run.
On their second drive, the Redskins set up for a 39-yard field goal that sailed wide right.
Those 10 points that never made it to the scoreboard came back to haunt them later.
South kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead before senior Natividad Ovalle kicked a 39-yard field goal for a 3-3 tie.
But South’s Jalen Cheeks caught a short pass at the 36 yard line with nine seconds remaining in the first half and two Redskin defenders collided on the play, allowing Cheeks to skirt the sideline for a touchdown and a 9-3 Cougar lead.
South pushed the lead to 16-3 midway through the third quarter on a drive that included a defensive holding call, but Liberal responded early in the fourth quarter with a four-play scoring drive to cut the lead to 16-9.
South faced a third and 17 and attempted a pass that was tipped twice before Cougar Jaxton Kitchener secured the catch and later scored for a 22-9 lead.
The Redskins added a touchdown with 3:22 to play to cut the lead to 22-16, but a pass interference call on third and five on a deep pass gave the Cougars a first down, an they ran out the clock.
Liberal finished 7-3 while Salina South improved to 3-7.
