On Oct. 12, the Issaquah Eagles’s football team played their Friday night game away, against the Liberty Patriots. The game ended in an unfortunate 12-14 loss, despite a hard fought, competitive battle leaving the Eagles with a record of 3-3 this season. Despite the loss, defense held the Patriots offense to their lowest scoring game of the season. In the 2024 season, Issaquah won 21-13 in a dominant performance against Liberty, leaving the Patriots looking for a fierce re-match in the current season.
The game was off to a quick start when three minutes and 56 seconds into the first quarter the Patriots scored their first touchdown. The ball was placed on the ten yard line after a fast drive down field, with a full set of downs left to spare. Liberty’s quarterback, Dawson Durham, handed the ball off to his running back who ran it into the endzone, despite the strong presence Issaquah had on defense. During this quarter, Issaquah’s offense did not produce much of anything, leaving Liberty with a weak 7-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Contrasting the fast paced start Liberty possessed in the first quarter, the game slowed down significantly in the second. Issaquah started the on defense, where again the Patriots ran and threw the ball to earn continuous first downs. With 7:18 on the clock, Durham connected a 21 yard pass to player number three of the Patriots, earning them yet another first down. Shortly after, with 5:08 left on the clock, the Patriots ran the ball again to score their second touchdown of the evening, making the game 14-0. However, Issaquah had regrouped to Liberty’s dominating offense. With the ball on the 52nd yard line, Issaquah’s senior quarterback, Alex Kirkpatrick threw a screen pass to player one Austin Schildt. He caught the ball and headed for the end zone, dodging Liberty’s first diving tackle and beating the rest of their defense with his quick feet and punishing speed, scoring a 48 yard touchdown. Instead of kicking a field goal and ending the offensive drive with a solid seven points, Coach Joshua Brookshire decided to go for a two point conversion. Issaquah did not convert on this opportunity, making the game 14-6 at halftime.
The third quarter was notably less eventful than the previous two. It started off with Liberty punting the ball to Issaquah, with Schildt lined up to return the kick. Schildt made another remarkable play, returning Liberty’s punt to the 20 yard line. Player 23, Bennett Clark ran the ball into the endzone, scoring Issaquah’s second touchdown of the night. With the score at 14-12, Coach Brookshire decided to go for the two point conversion again to try and tie the game, despite Issaquah’s previous failed attempt. In another unfortunate play, Issaquah was stopped by Liberty’s aggressive defense, to prevent them from tying up the game.
In the fourth and final quarter, Liberty started with the ball. Issaquah’s defense stepped up to create a palpable defensive presence. #3 Chase Hanson made the stop on 3rd down, preventing the Patriots from getting a 1st down, causing three and out. Instead of bringing out the punting team, the Patriots decided to go for it on 4th and 1, where they successfully gained 1 yard to get the first down. Neither team scored on their offensive drive, and a competitive attitude arose from both teams in the last few minutes of the game. Issaquah gained possession of the ball with four minutes left on the clock. With the end of the game nearing, Issaquah had one last chance to score, simply needing a field goal to win the game. Issaquah made it to the 25 yard line, where Kirkpatrick threw the ball to Schildt to take Issaquah to the 15 yard line with 46 seconds left on the clock. Despite being within a short distance of the end zone and being well in field goal territory, Issaquah threw the ball away leaving them with no downs left. The defense took the field, but with no time left on the clock Liberty won by 2 points. The final score 14-12 Liberty.
