High school football playoffs: Hawks rested for Dixon after first-round bye
Nov. 10—The Liberty Ranch High football team has had a week off following a 10-0 regular-season campaign.
At 7 p.m. on Friday the Hawks will be back in action as the No. 3 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs, hosting No. 6 Dixon (9-2) in the quarterfinals. Dixon took down No. 11 Foothill 24-6 in the semifinals.
Liberty Ranch coach Warren Schroeder and co. were in attendance for that game last Friday.
"It was great to go to their game on Friday and see them in person. I feel it's an advantage for them to see their opponent live. I feel like we used the week off the best way we could," Schroeder said. "They're definitely a team that is well coached, they have some great athletes, and they do a great job mixing up the run and the pass, so they will present some unique challenges for our defense."
The most important thing for Liberty Ranch over the bye week was to get healthy and rested. The Hawks are almost 100% for the game, with tight end/defensive end Jovani Herrera the only question mark. Schroeder said Herrera will get checked out this week to see if he can come back from a knee injury.
Dixon runs a spread offense that has seen quarterback Jett Harris rack up 2,589 yards and 26 touchdowns on 60% passing. Receivers Luis Torres (55 catches for 1,088 yards and 11 touchdowns) and Brent Green (49 catches for 627 yards and 3 touchdowns) are the main targets. On the ground, Braden Baumbach has 602 yards and 12 touchdowns on 109 carries.
"For sure, they're more pass heavy than run heavy, so we're going to have to step up and defend their receivers, number 8 (Torres) and number 10 (Green)," Schroeder said. "Number 8 is their leading receiver, he's a very quick receiver with great hands. The quarterback is a big kid who can sling the ball and get it where it needs to go. The running back runs from a power set, what we call a rifle set from the shotgun."
But Schroeder feels his defense will have a game plan after seeing a large variety of offense across the preseason and league schedule.
"That's the great thing about our league — El Dorado with the spread, Bradshaw with the man-on-man run game, Rosemont with the pro set. By the time we get to the playoffs, we've seen everything," Schroeder said. "And if you go beyond our league schedule to the preseason, seen quite a bit of variety. The wing-T with Bret Harte and Bear River, Linden with the pistol, Natomas with the spread. That's what's great about the schedule we had."
On the other side of the ball, Liberty Ranch has moved the chains all year, with running backs Arthur Draeger (170 carries for 1,733 yards and 28 touchdowns) and Gavin O'Brien (99 carries for 662 yards and 7 touchdowns), and quarterback Kymani Fenika (664 passing yards and 4 touchdowns plus 66 carries for 558 yards and 11 scores) leading the way.
"After the Union Mine game, talked to Coach (Kevin) Tibbets and congratulated him, as I do every Friday night, and I told him I think we make a pretty good team, with the defense playing well and the offense putting up points," Schroeder said. "It's a tribute to the overall coaching staff that we have. I wish I could name them all in your article, but I can't. We have 18 coaches working hard every day."
"That's not including some of the other coaches behind the scenes, like with some of the technology stuff. But the No. 1 coach of course is my wife (Anngela Schroeder), she does all the stuff beyond Xs and Os. Ever since the beginning, when I assumed the position, she's been my rock. Not just my wife, but assistant head coach in many ways."
The winner of Friday's game will move on to the D-V semifinals to face the winner between No. 2 Sonora (8-2) and No. 10 Center (6-4).
