Liberty Scores 24 Unanswered Points to Knock Off Corner Canyon (UT) 38-24

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The Liberty Lions took home a 38-24 win over the Corner Canyon (UT) Chargers in a battle of two Mountain West region powerhouses.

Last season, the Lions traveled to Draper, Utah and lost to the Chargers 45-14.

This year, Corner Canyon had to get on the road and travel across state lines.

Liberty wanted to get that win back this season.

Liberty head coach Colin Thomas and his team knew the Chargers were still a top team in the country and had to stay the course throughout the game.

“That’s still a really good football team,” Thomas said. “They had us on the ropes, but we hung in there.”

At the start of the game, both sides got off to a slow start.

Liberty struggled to put together any offensive drives in the first 12 minutes due to penalty issues.

Corner Canyon faced the same issue and also could not score any points in the first quarter.

Starting the second quarter, though, the Chargers got on the board first.

The first score of the game saw 2027 quarterback Jaxon Pehrson connect with three-star Utah commit Diesel Dart for a 5-yard touchdown.

For Liberty, they too would get on the board early in the second quarter.

2029 quarterback Jason Haines and 2029 tight end Jayden Sellers would connect multiple times during the drive.

Finally, Haines hit Sellers one more time, and Sellers would reach over the goal line to score from 22 yards out.

The PAT ended up being no good, so Liberty still trailed.

Both sides kept trading scores before halftime.

Midway through the second quarter, the Chargers added to their lead.

2027 running back Jackson Carruth broke off a 41-yard run and set his team up deep into Liberty territory.

A few plays later, Pehrson threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this time to 2028 wide receiver Beckam Coon for a 15-yard touchdown.

Trailing by eight late in the first half, Liberty once again answered back and got down the field.

With less than a minute in the second quarter, Haines delivered a strike to three-star San Diego State WR commit Braxton Huynh for a 23-yard touchdown.

Even though they have only played two games together, Huynh noted that his chemistry with Haines is strong.

“Me and the quarterback have that trust, me and Jason,” Huynh said. “As the season goes on, we’re going to hit, and it’s going to be worse for everyone else in the state.”

Liberty also converted the two-point conversion, and the game was now tied at 14 apiece.

Even though there were 39 seconds left in the half, Corner Canyon was aggressive on their next possession.

With time not on their side, the Chargers looked to go to Dart again as he came down with a 35-yard contested catch to put his team in field goal position.

2027 kicker Carson Burnett then drilled a 28-yard field goal as time expired to give Corner Canyon a 17-14 lead at halftime.

Opening up the third quarter, it went from good to great for the Chargers.

On one of the first plays of the second half, their defense would be the ones to get a score.

2027 linebacker Ryce Palepoi came through with the scoop-and-score for the Chargers to put them up 10 points.

For a majority of the game, the Lions were playing catch-up.

Liberty started to turn the tide after trailing by double digits and proceeded to score 24 unanswered points.

It started with Haines throwing his third touchdown pass of the game to 2027 wide receiver Carter Rothe, who came down with the ball after it was tipped in the air.

The touchdown inched Liberty closer.

Not only was the offense gaining momentum, but the defense was also making timely stops to force multiple three-and-outs in the second half.

Rounding out the third quarter, the Lions once again tied it up.

Liberty’s offense put together a methodical drive to get down the field.

While the drive was efficient, they had to ultimately settle for three points.

Scoring the field goal was Liberty 2027 kicker Koen Broadley, who hit the kick from 31 yards out.

Heading into the fourth and final quarter, the game was tied at 24.

Around midway in the fourth quarter, the Lions obtained their first lead of the game.

Similar to their other scoring drives, Liberty moved the ball down the field quickly with purpose.

As they inched near the goal line, it was their signal caller who called his own number to get in the end zone.

Haines kept it himself off a read option and scampered in for a 4-yard touchdown.

Not only did Haines have the rushing touchdown, but there were numerous times he used his legs to move the chains in crucial situations.

Haines says he is a dual-threat quarterback.

“Most definitely,” Haines said, regarding whether his running ability is an underrated part of his game. “I’m definitely a dual-threat QB.”

For the rest of the game, it was the defense for the Lions who sealed the victory.

With only three minutes left in the game, Liberty halted a Corner Canyon drive and extended their lead.

Liberty 2027 defensive back Kaden Miller jumped an out route and snagged an interception and returned it 80 yards for six points.

All of a sudden, Liberty held a 38-24 lead with 2:50 left in the contest.

On the following drive, the Lions caused one more turnover to close out the game.

Sealing the victory was Liberty 2027 linebacker Lucien Tallman, who also snagged an interception and officially put the game out of reach.

Liberty took down Corner Canyon and now moves to 2-0 on the season.

Through two weeks of the season, Liberty has built strong momentum and has put every other team on notice.

While the strong start is great, Liberty knows they still have the whole season ahead of them.

“It’s been a good two weeks, but it’s (only) been two weeks,” Thomas said. “We got a long way to go, but obviously we will take the win tonight.”

Next up: 2-0 Liberty looks to keep building off the strong season when they face 1-1 Highland.