Benjamin Stautzenbach is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Valley Vista for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX – It was a rough day for the Valley Vista flag football team as they fell to 6-4 after being shut out 41-0 by the Liberty Lions on Monday night. It was a dominant display from the Lions, who controlled the game from start to finish on their home field.

It was a tough start for the Monsoon as the Lions drove down the field on a nine-play opening drive, going 85 yards. Junior quarterback Marlie Phillips threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver MaKenna Johnson, making it 6-0. The Lions missed the extra point.

After going three-and-out on their first drive of the game, the Monsoon were forced to punt. Still, they gave the team some life when, a play later, senior safety Aryanna Harrison made a critical interception.

The early turnover forced by the Monsoon quickly returned the momentum to them and gave them a great opportunity to score. But the Lions responded quickly and shut down Valley Vista, forcing them to turn over on downs and squander the early opportunity.

After another failed drive by the Monsoon, the Lions extended their lead in the second quarter when Phillips connected with sophomore wideout Anahlee Sifuentes for a 14-yard passing touchdown,  making it 13-0. 

“I think having Marlie as our quarterback, obviously, is a big help, but she's just so smart and executes plays really well,” Johnson said.

A drive later, Phillips threw her third passing touchdown of the night to senior wide receiver Lainee Bosco for a 14-yard touchdown, making it 20-0.

Despite holding a 20-point lead at halftime, Liberty's focus remained on the fundamentals and on executing the right plays after a few miscues on offense, including throwing two picks to the Monsoon defense.

“Yeah, some kind of stuff we talked about at halftime, too, is to make sure that we stay fundamentally strong and execute on what we need to execute on,”  Liberty coach Josh Ahlvin said.

Liberty took Ahlvin's advice to heart, adding another 21 points in the second half to secure a dominant 41-point victory at home and extend their winning streak to three games.  

Even though it was a disappointing result for the Monsoon, Valley Vista wasn’t dwelling on the loss too much and gave plenty of credit to the Lions. Coach Kenneth Storkel was even grateful for the learning experience his players got by playing a quality opponent like the Lions.

“You know, the girls keep fighting. You know, that's number one,” Storkel said. “You know, they can roll over and take it, but they always keep fighting and plugging away, which is great. Plus, playing against teams like that, you just get that learning experience anyway, playing against better people.”

Valley Vista quarterback Sienna Lambert completed  17 of 35 passes with one pick and 145 passing yards. Meanwhile, Phillips put on a masterclass performance, going 24 of 31 for 327 passing yards and five touchdowns. She also recorded a pick-six on defense.

Valley Vista (6-4) plays Sandra Day O'Connor Eagles (7-3) this Thursday at 6 p.m.
Liberty Lions ( 7-6 ) plays the Shadow Ridge Stallions (2-7) this Thursday at 6 p.m.