By Don Ketchum

The spark met his match on Thursday night (Sept. 6).

Phoenix Paradise Valley quarterback Ryan Finley, who sparked his team to victories in its first two games, played well, but Peoria Liberty quarterback Tyler Rogers played even better as the Lions torched the host Trojans 65-31.

Finley, who has committed to Boise State, completed 27 of 43 passes for 317 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also caught a scoring pass.

Rogers had not received much attention from colleges, but that is sure to pick up after he completed 19 of 28 passes for 288 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for two scores and finished with 68 yards on 16 carries.

“They (Paradise Valley) have a good quarterback, but we’ve got one, too,’’ said Liberty coach Dan Filleman, whose team is 3-0. “In fact, I think we have the best quarterback. He can throw the ball and he can run. He is deceptively fast.’’

Finley did most of his work in the first half, which ended at 24-24.

He was 16 of 24 for 244 yards and caught an 11-yard TD pass from Trent Gavelek after lining up in the shotgun formation and then going in motion.

But the Liberty defense toughened up in the second half, allowing just one TD strike by Finley in the third quarter. The Lions allowed just 87 total yards after intermission.

“Our defense played well. They stepped up in the second half and so did our special teams,’’ Filleman said.

“We wanted to try to prove something, and when you are playing on TV, you want to play your best, to show what you’re all about.’’

Liberty returned one interception for a touchdown and returned two punts for touchdowns, of 80 and 50 yards.

Paradise Valley received a scare with 7:13 left in the game when receiver Jordan Brown suffered what appeared to be a back/neck injury after catching a short pass from Finley and was on the artificial turf for about 30 minutes before paramedics took him to a hospital for observation.

The teams then used their second-unit offenses the rest of the way.