Philadelphia Liberty Week 4-7 Review
Week 4 vs. Sarasota Sailfish
To start the week off, the Liberty visited the Sarasota Sailfish. This game was pretty ugly for the Liberty, and has definitely been their worst game of the season, losing 26-3. The offense could never gain any momentum, going 3/12 on third downs. Liberty QB Brock Phoenix took 5 sacks in the game which put the offense in repeated long down situations that they couldn’t recover from. The defense couldn’t quite hold it together either and seemed rightfully unprepared for Sarasota’s pass attack. Sarasota QB Zack Vega had his best game of the year, going 21/29 for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns. A breakout performance that stands alone as his one good game this season.
One positive takeaway for the Liberty in this game was the performance of rookie DT Tristan Gronlie. He recorded 4 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble which is quite the impressive statline for such a young and still developing player.
Week 5 vs. Yellowknife Wraiths
The Liberty took on the Wraiths at home week 5 and bounced back after their rough game the previous week. While they lost 30-24, the Liberty’s offense and defense both looked to be in much better shape, and they forced the game to go into overtime. Against the Wraiths who are currently 6-1, the Liberty put up an excellent fight, and almost came away with the win. This was an exciting offensive game, with the Wraiths scoring 4 touchdowns and racking up 465 yards, and the Liberty scoring their own 3 touchdowns and compiling 313 yards. Both offenses were quite efficient on the ground, with the Wraiths’ RB Mathias Hanyadi rushing for 121 yards on 26 carries, and Fuzzy Dotson for the Liberty getting 90 yards on 23 attempts and a touchdown. The QB play in this game was quite productive as well, Liberty’s Brock Phoenix played a clean game and went 17/29 for 161 yards and a touchdown, and Cooter Bigsby, went 22/38 and threw for 268 yards and 4 touchdowns. Bigsby however, threw 2 interceptions which were picked off by Booker and Altidor. Booker’s interception was of huge importance, as it came on 1st and goal for the Wraiths. This stopped the Wraiths from scoring another TD late in the third quarter which would have put them up 24-17.
To force the game into overtime, Liberty put together a quick 2 minute drive to score a touchdown and tie the game. It started with a Nacho Varga kick return for 45 yards, setting up the Liberty with good field position. Besides an incomplete pass, the entire drive was running plays. 9, 13, and 11 yard runs set them up at first and goal at the 10 yard line. From there, Torenson fought forward for 10 yards and scored the game tying touchdown. Overtime was quite disappointing for the Liberty. After a bad kick return that set up their drive at their own 9 yard line, the Wraiths forced a 3 and out and the Liberty punted the ball away.However, a punt of only 35 yards meant that the Wraiths were starting with the football already in Liberty territory. It only took the Wraiths 4 plays to score and win the game, a 4 yard run, 23 yard catch and run, another short 3 yard run, and then the game winner for the Wraiths, a 20 yard pass to Hanyadi. While the Liberty did put up an impressive fight, the Wraiths came out on top at the end.
Week 6 vs. Austin Copperheads
Away from home against the Austin Copperheads, the Liberty pulled off an upset win in one of their toughest match ups yet. Winning 23-13, it was another exciting game featuring plenty of good plays by the offense and defense for Philly. The Liberty offense had great production, with 234 yards in the air, and 172 on the ground, for 406 yards total. Randy Vuxta had another great game, with 95 yards on only 5 receptions, consistently carrying defenders on his long plays. Sam Torrenson had a great game as well, with 30 carries for 121 yards, but fellow RB Fuzzy Dotson stole his 2 touchdowns, punching it in within short distance. Kicker Lefty Louis went 3/4 on field goals, including a 54 yarder.
The defense of the Liberty played just as hard as the offense and forced 3 turnovers in the game. An interception by Brandon Booker set up Liberty’s first touchdown of the night. To end the first half, up 20-3, Tristan Gronlie had a strip sack which was recovered by Matt Cross. This young defense knows how to attack the football and are real ballhawks. Late in the third quarter, McKinnie forced a fumble and recovered it himself. The rest of the game was back and forth punts, and the Liberty won a much needed game.
Week 7 vs. Arizona Outlaws
The Liberty’s dominant offense and defense continued to perform Week 7 in an away game against Arizona, with a 22-13 victory. The offense put up another 400+ game, with Veteran receiver Nacho Varga gaining the spotlight in this game, with 7 receptions for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. Flash Panda had another of his famous 40 yard catch and runs, and Torrenson had a good albeit not very exciting game running for 88 yards on 24 carries. QB for the Liberty Brock Phoenix did have a good game, going 21/36 for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he also threw 2 interceptions, one of which being a pick six, AZ’s only touchdown of the game.
While the Liberty defense didn’t force any turnovers in this game, they held the Outlaws to kicking only 2 field goals and no offensive touchdowns. Holding the home team to only 6 points was quite the impressive feat. Rookie LB turned DE Spike Suzuki had the best game of his young career, with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, a sack and a safety. Spike forced an 11 yard loss on his sack pinning the Outlaws on the 1 yard line, and his determination to get the safety came to fruition when he tackled the scrambling Jay Cue in the endzone to put 2 points on the board for the Liberty.
Final Word
Despite being so young and comprised mostly of rookies, the Liberty defense has performed excellent these past few weeks, with a new player standing out each game. The offense has also had some impressive games being led by their veteran players. We’ll have to watch and see how the rest of the season goes for the Liberty, but at 4-3 (now 5-4 at the time of finishing this up) they're fighting for their spot in the playoffs.
Week 4 vs. Sarasota Sailfish
To start the week off, the Liberty visited the Sarasota Sailfish. This game was pretty ugly for the Liberty, and has definitely been their worst game of the season, losing 26-3. The offense could never gain any momentum, going 3/12 on third downs. Liberty QB Brock Phoenix took 5 sacks in the game which put the offense in repeated long down situations that they couldn’t recover from. The defense couldn’t quite hold it together either and seemed rightfully unprepared for Sarasota’s pass attack. Sarasota QB Zack Vega had his best game of the year, going 21/29 for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns. A breakout performance that stands alone as his one good game this season.
One positive takeaway for the Liberty in this game was the performance of rookie DT Tristan Gronlie. He recorded 4 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble which is quite the impressive statline for such a young and still developing player.
Week 5 vs. Yellowknife Wraiths
The Liberty took on the Wraiths at home week 5 and bounced back after their rough game the previous week. While they lost 30-24, the Liberty’s offense and defense both looked to be in much better shape, and they forced the game to go into overtime. Against the Wraiths who are currently 6-1, the Liberty put up an excellent fight, and almost came away with the win. This was an exciting offensive game, with the Wraiths scoring 4 touchdowns and racking up 465 yards, and the Liberty scoring their own 3 touchdowns and compiling 313 yards. Both offenses were quite efficient on the ground, with the Wraiths’ RB Mathias Hanyadi rushing for 121 yards on 26 carries, and Fuzzy Dotson for the Liberty getting 90 yards on 23 attempts and a touchdown. The QB play in this game was quite productive as well, Liberty’s Brock Phoenix played a clean game and went 17/29 for 161 yards and a touchdown, and Cooter Bigsby, went 22/38 and threw for 268 yards and 4 touchdowns. Bigsby however, threw 2 interceptions which were picked off by Booker and Altidor. Booker’s interception was of huge importance, as it came on 1st and goal for the Wraiths. This stopped the Wraiths from scoring another TD late in the third quarter which would have put them up 24-17.
To force the game into overtime, Liberty put together a quick 2 minute drive to score a touchdown and tie the game. It started with a Nacho Varga kick return for 45 yards, setting up the Liberty with good field position. Besides an incomplete pass, the entire drive was running plays. 9, 13, and 11 yard runs set them up at first and goal at the 10 yard line. From there, Torenson fought forward for 10 yards and scored the game tying touchdown. Overtime was quite disappointing for the Liberty. After a bad kick return that set up their drive at their own 9 yard line, the Wraiths forced a 3 and out and the Liberty punted the ball away.However, a punt of only 35 yards meant that the Wraiths were starting with the football already in Liberty territory. It only took the Wraiths 4 plays to score and win the game, a 4 yard run, 23 yard catch and run, another short 3 yard run, and then the game winner for the Wraiths, a 20 yard pass to Hanyadi. While the Liberty did put up an impressive fight, the Wraiths came out on top at the end.
Week 6 vs. Austin Copperheads
Away from home against the Austin Copperheads, the Liberty pulled off an upset win in one of their toughest match ups yet. Winning 23-13, it was another exciting game featuring plenty of good plays by the offense and defense for Philly. The Liberty offense had great production, with 234 yards in the air, and 172 on the ground, for 406 yards total. Randy Vuxta had another great game, with 95 yards on only 5 receptions, consistently carrying defenders on his long plays. Sam Torrenson had a great game as well, with 30 carries for 121 yards, but fellow RB Fuzzy Dotson stole his 2 touchdowns, punching it in within short distance. Kicker Lefty Louis went 3/4 on field goals, including a 54 yarder.
The defense of the Liberty played just as hard as the offense and forced 3 turnovers in the game. An interception by Brandon Booker set up Liberty’s first touchdown of the night. To end the first half, up 20-3, Tristan Gronlie had a strip sack which was recovered by Matt Cross. This young defense knows how to attack the football and are real ballhawks. Late in the third quarter, McKinnie forced a fumble and recovered it himself. The rest of the game was back and forth punts, and the Liberty won a much needed game.
Week 7 vs. Arizona Outlaws
The Liberty’s dominant offense and defense continued to perform Week 7 in an away game against Arizona, with a 22-13 victory. The offense put up another 400+ game, with Veteran receiver Nacho Varga gaining the spotlight in this game, with 7 receptions for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. Flash Panda had another of his famous 40 yard catch and runs, and Torrenson had a good albeit not very exciting game running for 88 yards on 24 carries. QB for the Liberty Brock Phoenix did have a good game, going 21/36 for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he also threw 2 interceptions, one of which being a pick six, AZ’s only touchdown of the game.
While the Liberty defense didn’t force any turnovers in this game, they held the Outlaws to kicking only 2 field goals and no offensive touchdowns. Holding the home team to only 6 points was quite the impressive feat. Rookie LB turned DE Spike Suzuki had the best game of his young career, with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, a sack and a safety. Spike forced an 11 yard loss on his sack pinning the Outlaws on the 1 yard line, and his determination to get the safety came to fruition when he tackled the scrambling Jay Cue in the endzone to put 2 points on the board for the Liberty.
Final Word
Despite being so young and comprised mostly of rookies, the Liberty defense has performed excellent these past few weeks, with a new player standing out each game. The offense has also had some impressive games being led by their veteran players. We’ll have to watch and see how the rest of the season goes for the Liberty, but at 4-3 (now 5-4 at the time of finishing this up) they're fighting for their spot in the playoffs.
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