The Liberty and Shafter football teams could not possibly have taken more different paths to this final weekend. The Patriots were a clear powerhouse from the start of the season, while the Generals lost four league games in a six-week span. One school won its section title for the second straight year; the other's was 67 years in the making.
Yet both schools now find themselves 48 minutes away from their first-ever state championships in football. Liberty heads back down to Orange County to face Pittsburg at Saddleback College for the Division 1-A title. Shafter will travel a long, long way up Interstate 5 to challenge Orland in Division 5-A.
From a countywide perspective, both teams have a chance to bring back a state title for the first time since Bakersfield Christian beat Rohnert Park-Rancho Cotate for the 3-A crown in 2019.
Their opponents, of course, also have plenty to play for. It's hard to imagine that a team could enter a state title game with more motivation than Pittsburg, which is looking to both avenge last season's 35-7 NorCal regional bowl game loss to Liberty (which got placed in SoCal this year) and send out retiring head coach Vic Galli on top in his final game.
“We’ve talked a little bit about that, but it’s more about us doing our job," Liberty coach Bryan Nixon said. "We have to focus on what we have to do, and how we can play. That’s kind of the main thing, is doing our job and taking care of our business.”
The first order of business is stopping quarterback Jaden Rashada, a Florida commit, the No. 2 quarterback in California and No. 27 prospect in the nation per ESPN. Last year's Patriots held Rashada to 80 yards on 11-of-26 passing, but he's back after throwing for 2,729 yards and 30 touchdowns this season, plus adding seven more scores on the ground. Washington signee Rashid Williams has accounted for 12 receiving touchdowns and 963 yards.
“We gotta be cognizant of what we’re doing, we gotta study film, study things that they do," Nixon said. "… We’ve talked about it all year long, it’s assignment alignment.”
New this year for Pittsburg is sophomore running back Elijah Bow, who had 22 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 35-14 win over Manteca. Rashada threw just 12 passes.
A rising defensive star, edge rusher Jewelous "Juju" Walls, had a sack against Manteca, one of a team-high eight on the season, and will test Liberty's strong offensive line.
Galli's Pirates previously lost to Harbor City-Narbonne in the 1-A title game in 2017. They made it back this season via an unconventional path, falling short against powerhouse Concord-De La Salle in the North Coast Section Open Division title game but using a special NCS rule to enter, and win, the Division I championship against Concord-Clayton Valley.
Liberty arrives on the heels of a come-from-behind 41-28 win over Yorba Linda in its regional bowl game, in which running backs Jalen Hankins and Mekhi Delouth combined for 350 yards and three touchdowns. The Patriots' last five wins have come after trailing early.
"They stay the course, they don’t panic," Nixon said, "and they say, 'OK, let’s get this done,' and I think that’s just kind of the (workmanlike) attitude that they’ve had all year long.”
Liberty looks to get starting quarterback Cole O'Brien back after he missed the Yorba Linda game with a concussion. Nixon's son Jace, who split time with O'Brien early in the year, started in his place.
"Cole has progressed very well in the protocol," Nixon said Wednesday. "We’ll finalize that, but it looks like he will return to play.”
Even though Liberty also played at Saddleback for the state title last year, falling 21-16 to Gardena-Serra, the logistics are a bit different this season, as the Patriots will travel down Saturday rather than staying over Friday night. Nixon added that Liberty is the home team as the SoCal representative this year.
Either way, it's the same two teams that faced off at Memorial Stadium in last year's regional final.
Shafter will contend with an unfamiliar foe in unbeaten Orland. The Trojans ran roughshod through the Northern Section, then beat Lakeport-Clear Lake 42-21 at home last week. They totaled 413 rushing yards in that game and attempted just two passes, which is pretty typical for them. Quarterback Grant Foster, who became the school's all-time leading rusher Saturday, has 1,869 rushing yards this season and 30 touchdowns with nearly 9 yards per carry. Jaime Albarran adds 1,285 yards and 15 touchdowns and two more runners have double-digit scores.
"This is 1915 football, and it’s what it is," Shafter coach Jerald Pierucci said. "You’re pulling everybody around the corner trying to put five guys into one gap, and just making a mass of humanity.”
Pierucci compared Orland's offensive scheme to that of Wasco and said he hopes that his team's size upfront will give them an advantage.
On defense, Orland safety Diego Rico has made 110 tackles, and Khalil Coley has 12 sacks. But the Trojans struggled with blown coverages against Clear Lake. Pierucci said that Shafter can "bring a style of passing that is different than what they’ve seen," led by freshman quarterback Ezekiel Osborne.
Osborne had a quiet game with no touchdowns and no picks as the Generals beat Walnut 20-16 for their first-ever regional title. Running back Christopher Espinoza provided both of Shafter's touchdowns on short carries.
Osborne could have it even tougher Saturday, as Orland is due for rain and possible high winds.
"We’re just practicing, like today, he’s gonna throw a wet ball all day," Pierucci said Wednesday. "… We’re lucky that our field is kind of a muddy mess right now anyway, especially with the rain we got last night.”
This year's Generals have developed a reputation for pulling out close games, including a pair of one-point road wins in the section playoffs. Orland hasn't had a game decided by even one possession since Sept. 2.
Pierucci said Shafter's close wins could have been more decisive if his team had finished them off: "finishing our drives, finishing our plays, finishing our blocks, our runs, all that stuff."
Now the Generals have a chance to finish their season with a state title.