Chaparral trailed by five with less than three minutes to play.

But on the final drive the Firebirds struck gold.

Chaparral quarterback Jack Miller found Sean Parker in the corner of the end zone, catching the game-winning touchdown Friday night to beat host Liberty 36-35 on the final play of the game.

“We found a way to have more points at the end, and that’s all that matters,” Chaparral coach Brent Barnes said. “The guys kept fighting and kept believing and I am really proud of them to be able to finish like that and have a moment.”

Barnes said he and his coaching staff told the team not to worry about previous plays, to focus on what’s ahead and make the next play.

The team showcased that against a physical and tough Liberty team.

Parker said the final touchdown play was blown up but picking up what was happening was the difference maker.

“I saw Jack rolling out and realized he needed me, so I went through the scramble drill we work on all the time and just wanted to come up big to make up for plays I messed up earlier,” he said. “I saw the ball and I had to play it right, and I knew I would have to jump up for it. I was in one-on-one coverage and just had to try to make the play, and I did.”

Liberty coach Mark Smith said the loss didn’t come down to just one play.

“We did some good things and there are things we have to work on,” he said. “But it comes down to making critical plays in critical down situations and tonight we came up one play short.”

Smith added that his team needs to show more discipline (97 yards in penalties) and grit at the end and understand you must make the other team earn every yard.

Barnes said his team needs to clean up some things before Chaparral makes a playoff run, including getting more yards and being more consistent in the run game.

Coming out of halftime, the teams were tied at 21-21. But a Jonah Guevara 20-yard touchdown pass to Carter Hill and Zaccheus Cooper 21-yard touchdown run pushed Liberty ahead 35-24 with 11 minutes remaining in the game.

But Chaparral got a break when Ryan Alderman recovered a fumble after a punt, leading to Jared Williams short touchdown run. Guevara finished with 195 total yards, followed by Cooper, a freshman, with 139 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

The win catapulted Chaparral (8-2) into the Open Division tournament, where it will face No. 1 seed Chandler. Liberty (6-4) will begin the postseason in the 6A Conference against La Joya.