Two dominant signal callers in Kaylie Phillips and Akemi Higa are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Liberty Patriots will face off against the Desert Oasis Diamondbacks at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Liberty's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They blew past Faith Lutheran, posting a 53-0 win. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Nevada football rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Crusaders are ranked 32nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Liberty to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jianna Reyes, who threw for 102 yards and four touchdowns. Trishelle Tucay was in the mix too, providing Liberty with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Desert Oasis had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 37 points) and they went ahead and made it ten on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 49-6 victory over the Pirates.
A big part of Desert Oasis' win came down to the chemistry between Higa and her top target Akiko Higa. Akemi threw for 260 yards and five touchdowns while completing 78.6% of her passes while Akiko picked up 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns. That's the most receiving yards Akiko has posted since back in December of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Chelsea DeWitt, who threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns while completing 80% of her passes.
Desert Oasis pushed their record up to 14-2 with the victory, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 9.1 points per game. As for Liberty, their win bumped their record up to 11-3.
Keep an eye on the quarterbacks in this one, as Liberty and Desert Oasis don't mess around when it comes to the passing game. Liberty has been unstoppable in the air this season, having averaged 362.9 passing yards per game. However, it's not like Desert Oasis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 268.9 passing yards. It's looking like Wednesday's game might be a classic QB duel.
Liberty was able to grind out a solid victory over Desert Oasis in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, winning 47-36. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Higa, who threw for 314 yards and five touchdowns while completing 87.5% of her passes, and also rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown on only nine carries. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Liberty still be able to contain Higa? There's only one way to find out.
