Prep football: Markie Brandt powers Liberty-Madera Ranchos to another victory

Markie Brandt wasn’t about to let the streak come to an end under his watch.

So the junior quarterback accounted for four touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the second half as The Bee’s Central Section No. 20-ranked Liberty-Madera Ranchos rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Fowler 40-37 and extend the state’s longest winning streak to 21 games Friday at Nielsen Stadium.

“We didn’t give up,” Brandt said. “We were moving the ball (in the first half), but things didn’t go right. We just had to keep our composure.”

Brandt got the comeback rolling with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hernandez on the first possession of the second half.

Fowler fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and four plays later, Brandt scored on a 12-yard run to cut the deficit to 21-19.

“We scored early in the second half to get our kids back in it,” Liberty coach Mike Nolte said. “That was huge. It was a big momentum boost and gave us the confidence back that we needed.”

Brandt scored on a 14-yard run with 45 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Hawks (3-0) their first lead at 25-24, but Fowler (1-1) came right back with Matt Kahaian’s 34-yard scoring strike to Victorio Jimenez for a 30-25 edge.

Liberty went ahead for good at 33-30 on Jackson Watts’ five-yard scoring run, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Brandt to Hunter Gray. Brandt would all but seal the outcome with a 13-yard touchdown run with 4:35 left in the game.

“Any time you can do something like that with a bunch of kids who don’t have a lot of varsity experience, it’s huge,” said Nolte, whose team has won three straight section titles, the past two in Division IV and one in D-V in 2012. “We want to get better every game, and this is a game that helps that process.”

Fowler got four touchdowns from Kahaian, a pair of one-yard runs and two scoring passes, including a 33-yarder in the first half to Chris Silva.

Hugo Mendez returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score that brought the Redcats within three points with 4:16 left, but Liberty’s defense snuffed out Fowler’s last two possessions, capped by Chad Wallace’s interception on the game’s final play.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Prep football: Markie Brandt powers Liberty-Madera Ranchos to another victory."