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+---- Thread: *The Liberty Secure Their First Victory (/showthread.php?tid=3064)
*The Liberty Secure Their First Victory - HalfEatenOnionBagel - 08-08-2017
After a disappointing performance in their home opener in week 4, Philadelphia Liberty fans came into Taco Bell stadium in week 5 with much less energy. The young franchise they had placed their hopes in was still without a victory and didn’t have a whole lot to show in the home game against this season’s biggest surprise, the Baltimore Hawks. Things didn’t seem like they would be improving this week as the team hosted the first place Colorado Yeti who had absolutely destroyed the Legion, the other NSFL expansion team, on the road just a few weeks ago.
The game started out rather slowly with each team making a few plays here and there, but drops and penalties derailing any potential drive that either team could get going. About halfway through the first quarter, after another stalled drive, Liberty punter Stephen Harris delivered a beautiful punt, pinning Colorado at their own 1 yard line. While this might seem like an amazing opportunity for the Liberty, their defensive line has had trouble creating pressure and getting penetration all season. But today, they flipped a switch. A rush by Boss Tweed on first down in an attempt to make some room for the offense to work with was shut down by defensive end Ottokar Von Gerhardt. And, Von Gerhardt came up with another huge play, blowing right past the offensive line and bringing Noble down for a safety. The crowd erupted, the energy in the stadium was tangible. Today looked like it could be a turning point for the team, they were finally showing some signs of life and energy.
The Liberty offense was relatively quiet for most of the game, with kicker Stephen Harris taking care of most of the scoring with field goals from 35, 44 and 52 yards. It was the defense that did most of the heavy lifting in this game as they harassed Noble, sacking him 5 times and getting an interception in Colorado territory that allowed for one of Harris’ field goals.
It seemed as though the Liberty might be able to hold onto a tight victory with the way their defense was playing until late in the third quarter when Noble was able to deliver a strike to WR Hendrix for 45 yards, placing the Yeti deep in Philadelphia territory. Helped by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Noble was able to pick apart the Philadelphia defense, ultimately finding DJ Law for an 8 yard touchdown with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter. With Colorado up by 3, there was plenty of time left for Philadelphia to come back, but with the way their offense was playing and with star WR Fox North in the middle of a cold streak, things were looking bleak once again for the Liberty.
On their next drive, Omar Wright took a handoff and made what looked to be a dazzling play for a first down, but coughed up the ball at the end of the run, giving the Yeti spectacular field position yet again. After a nice play by LB Luke Washington to sack Noble on the drive, the Yeti were backed up enough that they decided to punt rather than go for a long field goal. This was a somewhat surprising decision given the quality of their kicker and his late game heroics only a short time ago, but perhaps the Yeti knew they could rely on their defense as they had all game.
The Liberty continued to struggle on offense as the game wore on. About halfway through the fourth quarter, they managed to get in range for a 56 yard field goal for kicker Stephen Harris, who had been perfect all day. He had made kicks as difficult as this before, but as the ball left his foot on this one, you could tell it wasn’t going to make it and the miss was met with a collective groan by the fans. That kick would have tied the game, and with the few chances the team had to score in this game, all the energy had drained out of the stadium. The next time the Liberty got the ball back resulted in a three and out, with QB Jameis Christ almost losing the ball on their own 20 after getting sacked on third down. It was a miracle he was able to secure the ball again after getting hit and losing it in the first place, but it was clear very little was working for the Philadelphia offense.
On the following Yeti drive however, it was once again Ottokar Von Gerhardt who came up with a huge play in this game, sacking Logan Noble on third down. Kicksit shanked the punt, giving the Liberty yet another chance to come back with good field position, and this time Christ was dialed in for the comeback. Aided by a foolish tripping penalty, Philadelphia took advantage when Christ connected with Kroetch for 22 yards to get the ball down to the Colorado 2 before finding Paul DiMirio on the next play for the go-ahead touchdown. It was a huge moment for DiMirio who has struggled to find success as a receiving threat so far this season after a promising preseason, but he came up big in this game.
The Yeti still had time left and with maybe the best quarterback in the league a little time is all you need to make it down the field. Noble led a brilliant drive that included a beautiful pass to Hendrix for 31 yards. The Yeti seemed like they would once again claim victory in the final moments of the game, but rookie CB Tyler Oles thought otherwise, snatching the ball away from DJ Law for his first interception of the season and sealing the victory for Philadelphia in an epic nailbiter.
The game balls for this contest have to go to two players on the defensive side for Liberty: Ottokar Von Gerhardt, who managed two sacks in the game including one for a safety that really swung the momentum in favor of Philadelphia early in the game, and Tyler Oles, whose first career interception couldn’t have come at a better time to finish off the Yeti in this one!
The victory for Philadelphia was a historic one, being the first regular season win in franchise history and marks a major milestone for this team. It is truly a testament to the hard work put in by the front office of the team to pull together talent through the draft that has worked hard to be competitive in their first season. I am sure the GMs are happy to start reaping the rewards of what they have sowed. With more home games coming up, including one against the reeling Legion, it would seem that at least a few more victories are in the cards for the Liberty.
The Liberty are still at the bottom of the conference in the NSFC with only one win. With the three way tie for first place being highly competitive, it may be too difficult for the team to make a playoff run this season. But, knocking out what many considered to be the top team in the conference, if not the league as a whole, is certainly a big confidence boost and could have them headed in the right direction going forward.
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*The Liberty Secure Their First Victory - Ltsmashie - 08-08-2017
Well played Liberty, heartbreaking loss for the Yeti, but we will learn and get better from it!
*The Liberty Secure Their First Victory - Kristy95 - 08-08-2017
Great article, great win!