Win one play at a time.

Score on the first possession.

Liberty High School head football coach Mark Smith set these goals for his team as it prepared to host Copper Canyon High School, and it executed, winning 48-0 Friday.

On Liberty’s first possession, quarterback Jonah Guevara handed the ball off to Jace Accurso, who scored on a 7-yard run.

It was a different story for Copper Canyon. On its first possession, Liberty senior lineman Grant Collins forced a punt after earning a sack.

This opened the door for the Lions’ next series when Brock Mast punched the ball into the end zone. Guevara and Mast shared duties under center with Guevara going 7 of 11 for 116 yards passing and 30 rushing yards.

Mast finished the game 4 of 5 for 71 passing yards.

Junior Caleb Hall also pitched in in the blowout victory on the ground and in the air in the 4th quarter.

Coach Smith said he was satisfied with the group that was in late in the game.

“They did a great job holding the line and creating opportunities for our run game and that was good,” he said.

Copper Canyon struggled to find a rhythm against the Lion’s hard-nosed defense.

On offense, Liberty’s Guevara ran in an 18-yard keeper for a touchdown and connected with Gunnar Skelton on a 22-yard touchdown reception just before the end of the first half giving Liberty a 41-0 lead.

Copper Canyon head coach Sean Freeman said his team knew it was in for a fight and was glad with the way some of his guys played. Senior free safety Douglas Woodall came out of nowhere in this game and stepped up, he said.

“We had some young sophomores do the same, and that shows we are going to be okay,” Freeman said. “Next week we have Westwood, and we are ready for a fight.”

Liberty’s defense recorded a shutout, but the penalties (100-plus yards of infractions) were an area of concern for Smith.

“We didn’t give up any big plays defensively and were able to work through bad offensive situations we put themselves in,” Smith said. “We need to continue pushing forward and not get in our own way and just continue to get better.”

Guevara said his team came out strong and had something to prove since it didn’t play well last week when it opened with a road loss against Brophy.

“We worked to find a rhythm and as the game went on things just opened up for us, and we just want to continue to get better,” Guevara said.