Hawks win league game at halftime

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune

Liberty starting guard and defensive end Jared Nolte gets a carry against Yosemite on Friday and turned it into a 27-yard touchdown run during Friday’s 43-0 victory in a game that ended at halftime.

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OAKHURST — The Yosemite Badgers ran onto the field to open Friday’s Northwest Sierra League game against the Liberty Hawks with just 13 players.

Three plays into the game, the Badgers lost a player to injury. The officials instituted a running clock with about seven minutes left in the first half and when halftime sounded, the public address announcer thanked the crowd for coming to Oakhurst and the rest of the game was cancelled.

Liberty Hawks head coach Mike Nolte will take the 43-0 victory Friday night and his team dominated the entire game.

The Liberty defense held the Badgers to just 27 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, the Hawks scored on all five of their possessions and amassed 228 yards on just 13 plays (17.5 yards per play).

The Badgers registered -29 yards rushing. Liberty’s Caleb Sisco capped the dominating performance with a five-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Badgers didn’t help themselves with five fumbles.

Meanwhile, the Hawks dominated the Badgers. Vince Oberti rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass. Mitchell Whaley and Sisco rushed for a touchdown. Even starting guard/defensive end Jared Nolte had a 27-yard rushing touchdown.

It took the Hawks just two plays to score the first touchdown of the game. After Oberti gained 11 yards on the first play, Whaley took the hand-off up the middle and split the Yosemite defense for a 53-yard touchdown run.

Max Nulick stuffed Yosemite for a five-yard loss and helped force a punt on fourth-and-15 at the 10-yard line. On the punt attempt, the Badgers’ punter mishandled the snap and the ball went through the back of the end zone for a safety.

Sisco started the next drive with a 19-yard run to the six-yard line. Quarterback Luke McFarland hit Oberti with a pass in the flat and Oberti scored for an 11-yard touchdown and a 15-0 lead after a missed extra point.

Oberti opened the next drive with a 12-yard run to the 39-yard line. McFarland hit Sisco in the right flat. Sisco ran down the sideline, ran over a couple of defenders and reached the end zone for a touchdown with 7:35 left in the first quarter for a 22-0 lead with a running clock instituted.

Nolte pressured the Yosemite quarterback for an incomplete pass and force a punt.

Sisco started the next drive with a 16-yard run and Oberti followed with a 22-yard touchdown run for a 29-0 lead.

Christian Haney’s kick-off was mishandled and Yosemite was stopped at the seven-yard line. After a Yosemite fumble, the Badgers tried a slant pass. Sisco jumped the route and jogged into the end zone for a touchdown for a 36-0 lead.

The Badgers got a first down on their next play off a penalty, but Austin Dewall came up with an interception for the Hawks.

Brody Harlow gained 13 yards to the 27-yard line. Enter Nolte. Nolte took the hand-off, broke a tackle at the line, sidestepped another and jumped through another for a 27-yard touchdown run and a 43-0 lead with five minutes left in the half.

The Badgers got a 33-yard gain on a pass play and another pass play gained 17 yards as time ran out on the first half, and the game, with a 43-0 Liberty victory.