Salina Liberty Playbook: A Winning Streak

The Salina Liberty picked up their second win of the season in as many games with a shocking 43-37 win on the road over the reigning champion Billings Outlaws Friday. This week, they face an undefeated Albany Firebirds team Sunday, May 4th at 4:00 p.m. ET on EvergreenNOW. 

Liberty PREVAILS Over Outlaws

Liberty Head Coach Heron O’Neal wasn’t at all surprised by their Week 7 win. He believed this was what this team was capable of since day one. “Started playing some consistent ball, we’ve got these wins stacked up, but got a long way to go.” Coach O’Neal said. 

Rakeem Cato signed with the team before Week 6 and led them to their first victory of the season with a win over the Oregon Lightning. But Friday in the pre-game, Cato hurt his shoulder, so O’Neal turned the keys back over to Javin Kilgo, who began the season as the starter. Kilgo played a great game and came away with the win. Now the questions will be, is Cato healthy, and when he is, who is starting? 

Firebirds Week

That leads us into this week’s matchup against the Firebirds. The schedule makers didn’t look kindly on the Liberty, who, as the season plays out, look more and more like they were dealt the toughest hand. Despite that, they’ve pulled together as a team and started their first winning streak of the year, and look to be the first ones to dethrone the Albany Firebirds in Week 8. 

So, back to the quarterback for the Liberty this week, is it Kilgo or Cato, Coach O’Neal? “The starter is going to be whoever lines up under the center.” Was Coach’s response to me, the team is still evaluating Cato’s shoulder, and if he’s ready to go, it’ll likely be a game-time decision, which is a great reason to tune in Sunday on EvergreenNOW to get the answer!