Liberty’s Ethan Dedeaux, 2, secures a long pass for a touchdown over Centennial’s Demetrius Goodman, 1, during first half play of their high school football game on Friday, September 18, 2015.
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 | 11:45 a.m.
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When the Liberty High football program changed its scheduling philosophy three years ago by pursuing nonleague games against respected out-of-state opponents, coach Rich Muraco had one intention: Win the Nevada state championship.
Bishop Gorman is the six-time defending state champions, building its dynasty partially because of a willingness to play of who’s who of national programs in an attempt to get players experience against a higher quality of competition.
Along the way, Gorman became a national brand, finishing ranked in the past six seasons and in 2014 winning the mythical national championship. Liberty, too, is gaining traction nationally.
The Patriots (6-1) this week debuted in the USA Today regional rankings, coming in at No. 10 in the Pacific Region. Gorman, of course, is No. 1 — in the Pacific and overall.
“Everything we have tried to do here to get to Gorman’s level. We try to emulate them,” Muraco said. “We want to play the national games to keep up with them.”
Liberty has played five teams in the regional rankings over the years to enhance its credibility. While it lost in previous seasons to Centennial Corona of California, and Chandler and Hamilton of Arizona, the Patriots had moments of good play and were competitive.
This season, they scored 76 points to defeat Mililani (Hawaii), the defending Hawaii state champions who were ranked nationally at the time. The also lost to St. Louis of Hawaii, who is ranked No. 9 in the Pacific.
“It’s good for the program that we are starting to get recognized,” Muraco said.
Liberty, the five-time defending Sunrise Region champions, could get its chance to dethrone Gorman in early December in the state game. And if the matchup happens, the Patriots won’t be intimidated.
They had minor successes against Gorman during an August scrimmage to gain momentum.
“The kids realize we can play with them,” Muraco said. “It was just a scrimmage, but it was a nice confidence booster going into the season.”
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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