FOOTBALL GAME OF THE WEEK: #11 Coronado at #6 Liberty 4A-II first round

Perhaps in its second or third year as a competitive football program, Liberty will be viewed differently by local prep pundits.

But for as long as its first AIA season lasts, Liberty will be described as an upstart, an unknown quantity or a paper tiger. These whispers continue despite a 10-0 record, a victory margin of more than 30 points per game and a region title clinched by beating a dangerous Buckeye team on its home field.

The Lions will continue to use the snubs as motivation Friday, when the No. 6 Liberty plays host to No. 11 Scottsdale Coronado (7-3) in the Class 4A-II playoffs.

"We went 10-0 this season and still we're getting no respect. Still they're picking Coronado to win even though we're the higher seed," senior offensive lineman Ben Crites said.

At the same time, Liberty's players and coaches realize there's more to these predictions than a bias against the new kids. Coronado is not your average 11 seed - no more than Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep is a typical 12 seed or Greenway is a run-of-the-mill 14 seed.

"I was looking at the bracket and there's a lot of good teams," senior defensive lineman Mitchell Kullos said.

This is one of the opening-round matchups that highlights the depth and competitive balance in 4A-II. The Dons were a semifinal squad last year and have the ability and determination to make a return trip.

"They're a scrappy team," Liberty coach Dan Filleman said. "We watched film and anytime you have your quarterback as your starting defensive end, that tells you you've got some tough kids."

Junior Alex Buya is the tenacious signal caller/pass rusher Filleman is referring to. He and senior tailback Shawn Martin are the foundation of the Coronado offense, combining for nearly 270 yards per game.

Filleman said the Dons run a fairly conventional attack, trying to establish Martin to set up Buya on play-action passes. However, Buya's running ability adds another dimension.

"(Buya and Martin) are excellent athletes. The quarterback definitely has a good arm and our key is to get some pressure on him and get him to make some mistakes, hopefully," Kullos said. "The back, we've just got to trap him up. He's a good athlete. He gets to the outside."

Early in the season, this duo was slowed down by Cactus and Phoenix Arcadia, and the Dons did not have the defense to compete — falling 47-21 to the Cobras and 49-7 to the Titans.

After for straight comfortable wins, Coronado faced two tough region rivals (Gilbert Williams Field and Notre Dame Prep) to finish the season. A funny thing happened. Buya and Martin were limited again, but the Dons stayed in both games with defense.

Williams Field scored late to win 20-16. Last week, Coronado held off two-time defending champion Notre Dame 14-7.

"They're pretty tough, they're not overly big - kind of like us - but they seem to get after it pretty hard," Crites said.

Filleman said the teams are similar in terms of size, speed and defensive game plans. The most interesting matchup will be Coronado's emerging defense against Liberty's run-based spread option attack.

Buckeye was the only team to slow down the Lions in the regular season. Senior tailback Dan Mihelich churned out 1,804 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Andre Gattie ran for 721 yards. And senior Swiss Army knife Keegan Whipkey passed for 532 yards, ran for 399 yards and caught 11 passes for 256 yards.

Each team also has one clear advantage, and Liberty's is depth. Nearly all of Coronado's top players play the majority of the game on both sides of the ball. Liberty has a much larger roster, which allows most of its starters to specialize on offense or defense.

Conversely, Coronado is by far the more battle-tested squad - thanks to its semifinal run and the aforementioned four games with playoff opponents.

Filleman said he's, in a way, glad the team is in its first playoff game. They're too new to this experience to feel much pressure.

"These guys have never seen a senior class go to playoffs and actually be done," Filleman said. "They're kind of going in blind. They haven't seen some of their friends play their last football game. I think it's kind of to our advantage that they're blind to it as far as what's at stake."

And so far, Liberty has played confidently as a first-timer.

The Lions first game that counted, against neighborhood rival Sunrise Mountain no less, was a 28-7 win. Their first big game, with a region title and the team's reputation on the line, ended in a 24-14 win at Buckeye.

Liberty feels prepared for its first chance at the playoffs. For the Lions' large, close-knit senior class, it's the only chance they'll get.

"Mostly it's the same family, we've gone through all four years of high school together," Crites said. "We've worked our butts off. We worked in the off season in the weight room, we worked though passing leagues. We worked through everything as a team and it feels like finally we're coming together this last year. The school's behind us. The community's behind us. It's a great feeling."