GALT, CA (MPG) - Ryan Ogas had a busy homecoming night at Hawk Stadium on Sept. 25. At halftime the Liberty Ranch senior quarterback was crowned homecoming king, and then he went back out and helped the Hawks finish off a 42-0 shutout of Rosemont.

The win was the first league victory of the season for the defending league champions. Liberty Ranch is now 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league play, and the Hawks look ready to defend their title.

Many of this year’s seniors have been starting on varsity since they were sophomores. After three seasons of playing together, they’re a team of brothers working toward a great senior year, and that showed on the field and on the homecoming court.

Ogas wasn’t the only football player named to the court. Senior teammates Wyatt Corriea and Hunter Owen were also part of the top 10 homecoming royalty. All were among the Hawks’ most productive players in the game.

“This was a great first league win for us as a team against a tough opponent in Rosemont,” Liberty Ranch Head Coach Warren Schroeder said. “The boys came ready to play and executed the game plan well. It was also great to get all of our players on the field in some capacity to gain some valuable experience.”

Liberty Ranch took control early and never let up in front of the home crowd. The Hawks led 7-0 after the first quarter and then scored 21 points in the second quarter to lead 28-0 at the half. They added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to make it 42-0.

The Hawks ran the ball on almost every play. They gained 433 rushing yards on 46 carries, an average of 9.4 yards per carry, and seven different players ran the ball. Senior Andrew Quinn led the way with 142 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. His longest run went for 30 yards. Senior Joe Lara added 98 yards and a score on nine carries, including a 34-yard run, the longest of the night.

Corriea had a big game on both sides of the ball. He ran for 70 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and caught both of the Hawks’ completed passes for 25 yards, giving him 95 all-purpose yards. On defense he led the team with nine tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.

Owen scored 11 points. He ran for 50 yards and a touchdown on four carries and made all five of his extra-point kicks. Quinn kicked the other extra point. Owen also handled kickoffs, averaging 35.3 yards on six kicks, and on defense he had four tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass deflections.

Ogas ran for 31 yards and a touchdown on two carries, including an 18-yard run, and completed two of five passes for 25 yards. He also played in the secondary, where he had three tackles and broke up two passes.

Junior Mason Emslie and senior Thai Huynh each ran for 21 yards.

The offensive line opened big holes all night. Junior Ryan Guthrie led the team with four pancake blocks. Senior Cutler Perez had three and senior Soni Takafua had two. Lara, Quinn, junior Conrad Dixon and seniors Jayden Sedlacek, Deshaun Jackson and Daniel Swearingen each had one.

Rosemont never got into the end zone. The Hawks made 51 tackles as a team, with four tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hurries and nine pass deflections. Senior free safety Enzo Diaz had the Hawks’ only interception, along with five tackles and three pass breakups. Junior Tanner Swafford had six tackles, and junior Liam Trosko had four tackles and a pass breakup.

Takafua led the pass rush with six hurries. Quinn had five and Dixon had three.

When the final horn sounded, the scoreboard showed a shutout. The night meant more than that, though. 

This group of seniors has been lining up next to each other since they were sophomores. On homecoming night they got to celebrate together, with three of them on the royalty court and almost every player on the roster getting time on the field.

It was the kind of night that shows what this team is about. They play for each other, they trust each other and they share the credit. 

The defending champions are unbeaten, but the Hawks know that another title isn’t going to come easily. Each week is another chance to earn it, and they’ll get the next one on their own field Friday when they host Union Mine at Hawk Stadium.

This group of brothers has one more fall together, and they’re making the most of it.