Kapaun beats Liberal 55-40

Liberal knows how to apply pressure.

When a team forsakes any defensive strategy by always attempting an onside kick and always chasing a two-point conversion, it’s the ultimate gamble.

It makes Liberal a threat against anyone, but it can also lead to results like the 55-40 victory by Kapaun Mount Carmel on Friday at Cessna Stadium in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Kapaun survived to improve to 9-1 and will travel to Salina Central next Friday in the quarterfinals of 5A.

“Their offense is so explosive that they’re willing to say, ‘Hey, we’ll just outscore you,’” Kapaun coach Dan Adelhardt said. “They’ve got the athletes to do it. It’s an interesting way to do it. It certainly makes you prepare a little differently.”

But when your average field position is your own 48-yard-line, as Kapaun’s was in its 12 possessions on Friday, it comes down to limiting the extra possessions Liberal tries to generate on its onside kicks.

Kapaun’s hands team succeeded, only losing one the entire game, and its offense made short work of a disadvantaged Liberal defense.

Five of the Crusaders’ eight touchdown drives came in 3-plays-or-less and all under two minutes off the clock.

“We knew coming in that it was going to be a high-scoring game,” senior tailback Devin Dempsey said. “We planned on scoring, but maybe not that quickly. Our drive efficiency was really good tonight.”

Kapaun immediately gained the upper hand when it recovered the onside kick on the opening kickoff and scored on a 6-yard run by Alexander Norris. Liberal went three-and-out, and Kapaun bookended it with a 5-minute, 10-play scoring drive.

By the time Liberal ran its fourth play, it was down 14-0 with just 1:20 remaining in the first quarter.

“We thought (the onside kicks) were a little strange,” said Norris, who had 144 rushing yards and score three times. “We expected to score a lot of points and we just took advantage of our opportunities.”

After Liberal scored to cut the score to 14-6, Kapaun recovered another onside kick and on its first play scored when Dempsey took a swing pass from Brock Monty and out-raced every defender to the end zone from 56 yards out.

Liberal would come within a score one more time, at 21-14, but trailed by at least two scores for the rest of the game after Monty found Jack McGrath for a 32-yard touchdown and a 29-14 lead for the halftime score.

“I am really pleased with how our guys came out and executed and got us a lead,” Adelhardt said. “That’s what you have to do against those guys. You can’t punt and have them not punt.”

Kapaun scored on its first four possessions of the second half, as Norris, Dempsey and Monty all scored.

After Monty dashed 52 yards untouched for a 55-22 lead with 10:32 left in the fourth quarter, Kapaun relented.

That’s when Liberal quarterback Britton Abbott, a Division-I prospect, went to work. The senior completed 34 passes on 52 attempts for 396 yards, although he never scored through the air. He added all four of his touchdowns on the ground.

Abbott either threw or ran on 81 of Liberal’s 90 plays.

“Obviously I’m biased because he’s my son, but I’m very proud of him,” Liberal coach Cliff Abbott said. “I wish he was a twin or at least had a little brother because I’m going to miss him playing for us.”

On Friday, Liberal’s gamble didn’t pay off.

“I’ve heard of teams never punting and using all four downs, but I’ve never seen a team consistently onside kick it,” Adelhardt said. “Other coaches told me I better get my hands team ready. Turns out, they were sincere.”

K—A. Norris 6 run (Wells kick)

K—Dempsey 24 run (Wells kick)

L—Abbott 2 run (Abbott pass failed)

K—Dempsey 56 pass from Monty (Wells kick)

L—Heronemus 7 run (Hammond pass from Abbott)

K—McGrath 32 pass from Monty (Burrus run)

K—Monty 10 run (Monty pass failed)

L—Abbott 7 run (Abbott run)

K—A. Norris 1 run (Dempsey run failed)

K—A. Norris 13 run (Wells kick)

K—Monty 52 run (Wells kick)

L—Abbott 2 run (Abbott pass failed)

L—Heronemus 9 run (Abbott pass failed)

L—Abbott 4 run (Abbott pass failed)

Individual statistics

Rushing—Liberal, Abbott 29-48, Heronemus 9-36; Kapaun, A. Norris 21-144, Dempsey 7-120, Monty 11-47, Harp 6-34.

Passing—Liberal, Abbott 34-52-0-396; Kapaun, Monty 2-6-0-88.

Receiving—Liberal, Larkin 15-187, Pando 7-86, Heronemus 6-76, Lira 4-34, Hammond 2-13; Kapaun, Dempsey 1-56, McGrath 1-32.

This story was originally published November 8, 2013 at 11:07 PM with the headline "Kapaun beats Liberal 55-40."