It was not the type of game that Liberty’s football team would have won in recent years. The Hurricanes faced a 34-21 deficit in the fourth quarter on the road against Northampton last Friday night and found a way to win.

Liberty scored the next 20 points of the contest, capped off by Gabe Green’s one-yard score with 13 seconds left in the game to give Liberty the comeback victory.

The win improved Liberty to 3-1 on the season, making them winners of three straight since losing their season opener.

Head coach Shawn Daignault knew his team was fortunate to come out with the win despite committing three turnovers, eight penalties and giving up 309 yards rushing to Northampton.

“At the end of the day, you don’t think you can make three turnovers against a team that good, who dominated the line of scrimmage and still win the game,” said Daignault. “I’m proud of these guys for the resilience they showed and to just keep going on to the next play.”

Friday’s game was a tale of two drastic styles of play. Northampton (2-2) is one of the biggest teams in the league and the K-Kids leaned into their strength up front, as all five of their touchdowns came on the ground, led by Chase Kessler’s 173 yards and three scores. Zander Rickert added 120 yards and two touchdowns to help pace the Northampton ground attack, but for as long as Northampton’s drive would grind out the clock, Liberty would counter with quick shots of athleticism to keep the scoreboard operator busy.

Antonio Fontanez threw for 282 yards and five touchdowns on the night. Zyaire Davis showed his dynamic speed catching five balls for 157 yards and two touchdowns, while Jake Pukszyn caught four catches for 58 yards and two scores. Adriaan Deleon also hauled in a TD reception.

Fontanez was also picked off twice on the night via tipped passes, as a 21-21 halftime score saw the Kids jump to score the first two touchdowns of the second half to grab the 34-21 lead.

That’s when Fontanez found Davis for a 15-yard score with 9:45 left in the game to cut the lead before tying the game at 34 following Deleon’s 16-yard receiving score.

Liberty finished things off with an eight-play, 69-yard drive that started with 2:50 on the clock and burned it all the day down to nearly the final buzzer.

“A win like this hasn’t happened since I’ve been here,” said Daignault. “To be down and fight our way through something is a first in my five years here. That says a lot about our senior leadership.”

Liberty returns to BASD Stadium this Friday to host a 1-3 Dieruff squad followed by another home game next week against a winless East Stroudsburg North (0-4) team.