By EARL WATT

• Leader & Times

Liberal's defense gave the offense chance after chance to score against the Garden City Buffaloes Friday night at Redskin Field, but two turnovers inside the red zone and another deep in Redskin territory gave the Buffaloes all they needed to escape Liberal with a 21-7 win.

Bren Kappelmann provided an early opportunity for Liberal after completing a screen pass to Alvin Amador who found an opening down the sideline and took the ball 49 yards to the Buffalo 19 yard line. But the Redskins threw an interception on the very next play, and the Buffaloes followed by marching the ball from their own 21 yard line to the Liberal 1.

But the Redskin defense stepped up and forced a fumble at the goal line and recovered it.

Two possessions later, Bentley Betts recovered a Garden City fumble at the Buffalo 21 yard line, and two plays later Landry Fitzgerald drove 16 yards up the middle to the end zone to give the Redskins a 7-0 lead.

But the ensuing kickoff was short, and the Buffaloes covered the ball at the 48 yard line.

Garden City took advantage of the short field and put together a six-play, 52 yard touchdown drive for a 7-7 tie.

Liberal had two more scoring chances before half, but Ariel Gaytan was just short on a 50-yard field goal attempt, and with 11 second remaining before half and Liberal having the ball at the Garden City 4 yard line, a pass to the end zone was intercepted.

A holding penalty early in the third quarter killed a Redskin drive, and after being pinned at their own 7 yard line, the Redskins were forced to punt on fourth and three, and the Buffaloes took advantage after starting their drive at the Liberal 27 yard line.

The Angry Red defense forced a third-and-14, but the Buffaloes were able to convert with an 18-yard touchdown pass to take a 13-7 lead.

Max Holman gave the Redskins another chance in the fourth quarter after intercepting a Buffalo pass in the end zone, but an illegal man downfield against the Redskins negated a first-down reception, and a play later the Redskins threw their third interception of the game, and with their third short field of the game, the Buffaloes needed two plays to go 12 yards and take a 21-7 lead with 4:06 to play.

Liberal drove down to the Buffalo 25 yard line but could not convert on a fourth-and-three, and Garden City ran out the clock to hand Liberal a 21-7 loss.

Liberal coach Marc Svaty said the Redskins needed to stop getting in their own way.

"We got stymied by a hold," he said. "It is a team issue. "We have not converted after a hold. We have to punt. We have had multiple three or four holds a game. Defensively we played unbelievable except one or two plays. I'm sure our offensive line is going to grade out well. We threw too many picks. We are not good behind the sticks or behind (on the scoreboard) in a football game."

The lack of offense also had Svaty frustrated.

"You won't win when you score one touchdown," he said. "That comes from not holding and completing passes."

The pressure on the defense forced them to be on the field for long stretches because of turnovers and punt.

"(Garden City) took the first quarter and third quarter off the clock," Svaty said. "Our defense was playing unbelievable."

The twi turnovers in the first half could have cost the Redskins at least two field goals which would have changed the complexion of the game, according to Svaty.

"On the end zone fade, you put it up where only we can catch it," Svaty said of the interception in the end zone. "We get three with out kicker. We have a very good kicker. We should have got at least three on the first series, and that's couple things that change the game.  The game could have been 13-13 and headed to overtime."

Liberal's next three games will be against some of the toughest teams in Kansas with Great Bend (5-0), Kapaun (5-0)  and Hays (4-1).

"We have a very heavy backend schedule," Svaty said. " We could go 0-3 in next three weeks and play unbelievable. We are going to play a state champion, and two teams that played against state champions last year."

But Svaty said the challenge for the 3-2 Redskins will be to find a way to score.

"We need to reinvent ourselves,” he said. "We are going to have to figure out a way to score a couple touchdowns a game. We have to get creative on the perimeter or in the passing games to get some big plays."