The game the locals call the Brentwood Bowl went down to the wire Friday night, tense and tight until Nate Bell took matters into his own hands.
The sophomore quarterback, who was a game-time decision after injuring his throwing shoulder last week, iced Liberty’s 30-21 victory over Heritage with a 67-yard touchdown run with just over a minute to play.
The Lions, playing on their home field, extended their winning streak in the series to five games.
Bell accounted for all four of Liberty’s touchdowns, running across the goal line for three and passing for another.
The touchdown that clinched the win came on a botched handoff and Bell’s improvisation.
“He just cuts back and finds a lane,” Liberty coach Matt Hoefs said. “We literally had seven offensive linemen on the field and no eligible receivers on the edges. Everybody knows what’s coming. He just squirts through and finds a lane and kept cutting back.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘Slide and get down. Slide and get down.’”
Liberty quarterback Nate Bell runs for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Friday night. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Bell had other ideas.
He didn’t stop until he reached the end zone. Not bad for a guy who got banged up last week against Freedom, another rival.
“We didn’t even have him throw a single pass in practice all week,” Hoefs said. “He was a game-time decision. He just got the adrenaline going and ripped a few and said, ‘OK. I think I can do this.’ He played a great game.”
Devon Rivers scored two rushing touchdowns for Heritage, including a 13-yard run in the first quarter that put the Patriots in front 7-0.
Bell answered with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Auki-Kapuha Flores to tie the score 7-7. The quarterback’s 1-yard run in the second quarter gave Liberty a 14-7 edge, but Rivers evened the score 14-14 before halftime with an 18-yard burst into the end zone.
Bell’s 3-yard run in the third quarter reclaimed the lead for Liberty, and the Lions did not relinquish the advantage. They widened the margin to 23-14 on Tashi Dorje’s 42-yard field goal with 8:40 left, a clutch kick after two penalties moved Liberty back after it had moved inside the 5-yard line.
“He had a week of practice where he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn,” Hoefs said. “He’s a sophomore who has never played before. It was one of those things where his range was 40 but we had the wind to our back a little bit. I said, ‘You know what, it’s fourth-and-12. If we miss this, they’re going to get the ball on the 20 anyways. Let’s just go for it and make it a two-score game.’
“He nailed it”
Heritage (3-2) closed to within 23-21 on an 8-yard pass from Asher Haynes to Jayden Ennis, but Bell’s long TD run that followed ended the drama and started the celebration for Liberty, which beat everyone on its schedule except for Pittsburg.
BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Biz Reifel (8) makes an interception clinching their win against Heritage High in the fourth quarter of their football game in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: The Liberty High football team celebrate with the Brentwood Bowl trophy after winning their football game against Heritage High 30-22 in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Heritage High’s Tommy Keithley (46) runs for a first down before being tackled by Liberty High’s Khiron Green (9) in the second quarter of their football game on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: While under pressure from Liberty High’s Leo Reichhold (1) and Liberty High’s Jack Seelye (65), Heritage High quarterback Asher Haynes (2) gets the ball knocked away by Liberty High’s Dylan Frazier (2) for a fumble recovery by Liberty High’s Dominc Bustos (34) in the second quarter of their football game on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Dominc Bustos (34) celebrates after recovering a Liberty High fumble in the second quarter of their football game on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Heritage High’s Devon Rivers (20) runs for a first down in the first quarter of their football game against Liberty High on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Heritage High’s Jayden Ennis (12) is congratulated by Heritage High’s Camron Jackson-Rubio (76) after Ennis scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their football game against Liberty High in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High quarterback Nate Bell (7) runs the ball in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their football game against Heritage High in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High football coach Matt Hoefs holds up the Brentwood Bowl trophy for the team after Liberty High won their football game 30-21 against Heritage High in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Biz Reifel (8) is tackled by Heritage High’s Richard ÒJaden” Price (7) in the first quarter of their football game on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Heritage High’s Devon Rivers (20) runs the ball in for a touchdown in the first quarter of their football game against Liberty High on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High quarterback Nate Bell (7) runs the ball in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their football game against Heritage High in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High quarterback Nate Bell (7) is congratulated by Liberty High’s Khiron Green (9) and Liberty High’s Anthony Munoz (3) after running the ball in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their football game against Heritage High in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Khiron Green (9) tries to tackle Heritage High’s Devon Rivers (20) as Rivers runs for a first down in the fourth quarter of their football game in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Heritage High’s Jeremiah Ruffin (3) tries to keep Liberty High’s Auki-Kapuha Flores (6) from scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of their football game on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Deovion Hill (23) tackles Heritage High quarterback Asher Haynes (2) in the fourth quarter of their football game in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Deuce Carr (22) chases Heritage High quarterback Asher Haynes (2) out of bounds in the first quarter of their football game on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Tyler Jerman (7) breaks up a pass intended for Liberty High’s Leo Reichhold (1) in the second quarter of their football game in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High’s Leo Reichhold (1) tries to get past Heritage High’s Kimani Stafford (11) in the second quarter of their football game on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: After making an interception, Liberty High’s Biz Reifel (8) tries to keep from being tackled by Heritage High’s Devon Rivers (20) as Matienzo tries to runout the clock in the fourth quarter of their football game in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High quarterback Nate Bell (7) runs for a firstdown in the second quarter of their football game against Heritage High on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) BRENTWOOD, CA – APRIL 16: Liberty High cheer captain Baylie Hoover stands with other cheerleaders during the playing of the national anthem before the start of Liberty High’s football game against Heritage High in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
