Salina Liberty Playbook: Bye Week

The Salina Liberty are coming off a close loss in overtime to the undefeated Albany Firebirds in a game that was nothing but fireworks until the final whistle. Now they head into back-to-back bye weeks with a chance to regroup before a tough stretch of games over the second half of the season. 

Heartbreak in Albany 

The Liberty lost to the Firebirds 64-58 in overtime Sunday at MVP Arena in Albany. I asked Head Coach Heron O’Neal how he felt about the close game, and he didn’t hold back. I started with “That was quite the game this weekend, wasn’t it?” Coach O’Neal responded, “Definitely, especially when you score the winning touchdown with two seconds left on the clock only to find out it was a flag on the play.” 

Let’s just say, he wasn’t a fan of the late holding call that “was a very very questionable call, especially in that situation” when his team completed the perfect play to win the game. It was the difference between being 3-4 instead of 2-5 heading into this break, and would have marked the first loss of the season for the Firebirds. Nonetheless, Coach O’Neal was extremely pleased with his team's performance and feels like they are hitting their stride at the right time. “We showed the league we’re putting the pieces together.” 

Off Week

The Liberty are giving the first week off for everyone to allow them to go home and spend time with family or whatever they want to do. When I spoke with Coach O’Neal, he was back home in Chicago visiting his parents and brother. Enjoying those good home-cooked meals. He wanted the same for his players and coaches so everyone could feel refreshed coming back for the second half of the season. 

The team will get back to light practice work and film study as they prepare to face the Billings Outlaws, whom they defeated in Week 7 on May 24th, for their Week 10 game.