Salina Liberty Rally to Win First Title


The Salina Liberty came back from a 12-point deficit to defeat the Omaha Beef 38-34 to win their first Champions Bowl.  The Liberty avenged their loss to the Beef in last year's title game when they lost a heartbreaking 40-39 final.

The Salina Liberty playing in their sixth season in the Champions Indoor Football League (CIF) is located in Salina, Kansas.  They have made the playoffs in the past four seasons losing in the Champions Bowl in 2019 to Duke City and 2021 to Omaha.  

The Liberty gave up four straight first-half touchdowns to find themselves in a 28-12 hole at halftime.  Salina came out the second half with three straight defensive stops.  A touchdown run by Tristan Gould cut the deficit to five points in the third quarter, the Liberty finally took the lead when Javin Kilgo found Demarius Washington for a 4-yard score on fourth down. A two-point conversion pass to Ed Smith made it 31-28 with 5 minutes, 35 seconds to go.  On Omaha's next play, quarterback Andrew Jackson threw a deep ball under pressure and Evan Ray ran it down in the end zone for his second interception. Kilgo hit Demarius Washington with fourth-down touchdown passes of 4 and 12 yards to put the Liberty over the top. Tre Griffin and Gould, filling in for injured running back Tracy Brooks, each scored once for Salina.

Salina finished the regular season with a 9-3 record then defeated the Billings Outlaws 26-14 in the semifinals.  Omaha knocked off the top-seeded Sioux City Bandits 49-45 in their semifinal game.


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