With the game tied and just four seconds remaining, Liberty kicker Diego Diaz booted a 48-yard field goal, lifting his Panthers to a 38-35 win Friday over Livingston in War Memorial Stadium.
The Lions (0-2, 2-3) had just tied the contest on a seven-play march that drained the clock to 40 seconds. Roper Wood found T.J. Garner in the end zone for a three-yard strike to pull even at 35.
The ensuing kickoff ended in a 15-yard personal foul penalty, moving the ball to the Liberty 40. Seemingly content to run the clock and play for overtime, the Panthers (1-1, 2-3) handed off twice for a total of 15 yards. However, a facemask was called on the final handoff, stopping the clock with four seconds and allowing the Panther kicker a shot from long range.
“We knew going into it that he was probably the best kicker we have seen by a long shot,” Livingston coach Tucker Carter said. “He proved that. We called a timeout to try to get him to think about it a little bit, and he went in and drilled it. You have to give that kid a lot of credit. That is a big-time play.”
The kick was high and almost seemed to lose momentum as it flew over the end zone, but had enough to pass the crossbar. The Liberty students charged the field alongside players and coaches, giving the homecoming crowd a night to remember.
“We are one play away and the details throughout the week always show up in the most trying times,” Carter said. “It’s hard when it is a Monday practice and you are an hour in, but it matters. Everything matters. I was proud of the fight that we had, not just caving when we went down a couple of times in the second half. We had some guys stepping up, because some guys went down. That one hurts and it stings, and you can tell, because the kids are upset. They need to be upset, because they care.”
Livingston went into halftime with a lead in what had been a low-scoring game. At 14-7, a couple of Garners each had a 21-yard touchdown reception on wide receiver screens — Ziekus from Wood, and T.J. from Brayden Carr.
The Lion coach praised his backup signal callers, filling in for the injured Tyler Soza.
“Roper did a good job and Brayden did. They did not have the most reps in fall camp, and they came in and were comfortable enough to execute some of those things. We were trying to get the ball in our guy’s hands to go make plays.”
Midway through the third quarter, the Panthers began to establish a ground game that would carry them the remainder of the contest. Junior running back Logan Fowler led the team with 151 yards on a dozen totes, while quarterback Frankie Marez rushed for 132 in 14 attempts.
Also finding a rushing attack, the Lions looked to Jose Olivares, who totaled 171 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. The senior covered 133 yards in the second half, including a 77-yard sprint, outrunning two safeties that had an angle on him. That run put the Lions up 28-27 with 3:08 to play.
Needing just one play, Marez got Liberty six on an 81-yard run around the end, his fourth rushing touchdown of the night. He also threw for a score, accounting for all five goal-line crossings. A two-point conversion gave the Panthers a 35-28 advantage with 2:47 on the clock.
Yet, the Lions continued to fight back, marching 78 yards in seven snaps to tie it, 35-35.
“The message is always to stay the course. We talk about life a lot. In life, you get knocked down, and you can either quit or rally together and find positives and find a way to go. We will try to sneak up on somebody else and get a big win. The message is staying together. We’ve got good kids, and I’m not worried about them jumping ship. They want to compete, and the message is more that I am proud of the fight that they had, and we have to continue that moving forward.”
