Liberty's Lone Regular-Season Loss Became the Fuel for a Championship Run
Arizona — 2023 Season
Liberty's 2023 season was nearly perfect. The Lions opened the year with wins over Hamilton, O'Connor, Queen Creek, and Sunrise Mountain, building momentum that carried them deep into the schedule. The only blemish came against Centennial, a regular-season loss that stood as Liberty's lone defeat of the year.
Rather than define the season, that loss became the motivation for the rest of it. Liberty regrouped, continued winning, and earned its way back to a rematch with Centennial — this time in the AIA Open Division state championship game. On December 2, 2023, Liberty avenged its earlier defeat, beating Centennial 33-21 to claim the program's first Open Division title.
The storyline gave the 2023 championship extra weight beyond just the trophy. Liberty didn't just win a title — it beat the one team that had beaten it, on the biggest stage available, redeeming a regular-season result that could have haunted the program through the rest of the season.
For a Liberty program that would go on to win a second straight Open Division title the following year, the 2023 season — loss to Centennial included — was the foundation the rest of the run was built on.