Three wins over two teams. That is the only success on the football field Liberty had last season in terms of wins and losses.

But there is a different tone this season for the Liberty Patriots as they cruised to a 24-6 win Sept. 5 over Hazen High School.

There couldn’t have been a larger difference of ways to start the season than the last two seasons for Liberty. Last year, Hazen handily beat the Patriots in their own home with a 44-7 win.

“One of the things we really wanted to focus on was being physical, you know, because you gotta be. When you play good teams, you gotta be physical. We talked about finishing — finishing a drive, finishing a quarter. I think they are really focused on who they can be,” Head Coach Steve Valach said after the 18-point win. “They have high expectations of each other.”

This year, there is an emphasis on toughness and accountability. The Patriots put that preparation to good use on the field and never looked back against the Highlanders.

“I think we brought it today and they (Hazen) weren’t ready for it,” Tyke Hamilton said.

Dawson Durham jumps into Tyke Hamilton after scoring the game’s first points. Ben Ray / The Reporter

From the first play of scrimmage, Liberty’s gameplan was on another level against Hazen. The defense that allowed 27.8 points per game last season silenced the Wing-T offense.

“I think when you play the Wing-T you have to be disciplined. I think we were disciplined in our reads and you gotta be physical and make tackles. There is no such thing as a one-on-one tackle. When your defense is playing right, every tackle is a team tackle,” Valach said.

After stopping the Highlanders and forcing a three-and-out on their opening possession, Liberty’s offense under senior quarterback Dawson Durham had the chance to take hold of the contest early. The Patriots proceeded to go on a 10 play, 69-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead.

“Hazen defends us very well. Chris (Bennett) is an outstanding coach. We know how they are going to defend us so you try and take advantage of some of those things. I thought Dawson played great, he threw the ball well. That was key to us, moving the football,” Valach said.

The scoring play came on an off schedule throw from Durham, who had a defender all over him. Durham broke through a sack on 4th-and-7 before throwing a 28-yard pass to Tyke Hamilton for the game’s first score. The two have a special bond and led the Patriots to a massive week one win.

“This is my guy, he does it every day in practice. He works the hardest. Being undersized, he has to be the smartest guy on the field. He shows it,” Durham said about Hamilton.

Hamilton then intercepted Hazen quarterback Braylon Glaefke on the second play of Hazen’s second drive. On the ensuing Liberty possession, senior running back Spencer Bogh barreled his way into the endzone at the end of a 34-yard run to extend the Liberty lead.

The running backs carried a heavy load against Hazen and also supplied some thump. Spencer Bogh, Hudson Xavier and Hudson Kauzlarich all gave the Highlander defense something to think about.

“Everytime they got the ball they were falling forward. I felt like everytime Spencer Bogh had the ball he pretty much had a first down,” Durham said.

The offensive line for Liberty created the holes for the backs and did so against a tough defensive line led by Portland State commit Spencer Scappini.

“The line played great. If you don’t have guys up front, it doesn’t matter how good your running backs are. The running backs ran hard and the line pushed people around up front,” Valach said.

Tristan Klein runs around the edge of the Hazen defense. Ben Ray / The Reporter

Following the touchdown, Liberty recovered and onside kick and eventually drove down and kicked a field goal from 26-yards out — and cemented Liberty with a 17-0 first half lead in the second quarter.

Hazen’s defense finally slowed down the Liberty offense midway though the second quarter as the Liberty defense continued to put a stranglehold on the Highlander offense. The only time the Highlanders had any time to breathe in the first half was with 32 seconds left.

“Last year we struggled to stay on our reads,” Hamilton said. “This year we were focused, and blew it up.”

Hazen junior Dereon Garrett broke off a reverse run down the right sideline 59 yards for the first and only Hazen score of the game. But after two excessive celebration penalties, the extra point was blocked and the Highlanders were on the board at long last with the halftime score at 17-6.

Liberty’s second half started in complete contrast — penalties and negative plays riddled their first drive, which resulted in a punt.

On that punt, Hazen’s Tyson Glenn-Thomas thought he returned the punt for possibly a game altering play, but a holding penalty took those points off the board.

Hazen had the ball on the Liberty 44-yard line, and on their fourth play, Hamilton intercepted an underthrown ball from Glaefke for his second pick of the game on the three yard line.

“He’s a 3.97 student. Tyke is about excellence in all areas. He’s not big or super fast, but he works hard and does his job. He’s a great athlete,” Valach said.

Momentum was back on Liberty’s side and Durham led them on the drive of the game: 97 yards, 14 plays, and sealed it with a touchdown run from Hudson Xavier from four yards out.

“That was the difference. Momentum had shifted. We had three penalties on our first drive. Punt and they run it back, that really turned the game. That 98-yard drive was the difference,” Valach said.

The icing on the cake was Hamilton intercepting Glaefke for the third time, late in the fourth quarter, and Liberty was able to put the game on ice after that. Apart from a botched snap in the fourth quarter and the long touchdown run, pretty much everything went according to plan for Valach and the Patriots.

Liberty takes on Inglemoor at home on Sept. 11 for their next game, a team they beat twice last season. “We just got to keep the ball rolling,” Durham said.