Girard riding high after knocking off TAC rival Liberty, 31-30 Chris Weibel’s extra-point kick snapped the 30-30 tie.

By JOHN BASSETTI

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

GIRARD — If the victory bell rang all night and into the morning at Arrowhead Stadium, the neighbors probably wouldn’t mind.

Not after Girard High knocked off previously unbeaten Liberty for the first time since 2002 in a Trumbull Athletic Conference struggle Friday night, 31-30.

Girard (3-2, 2-0 TAC) scored its go-ahead touchdown with 5:34 remaining, then stopped Liberty (4-1, 1-1) in the final two minutes.

Anthony Guerrieri had a major role on successive plays in the final minutes.

Catches Leopard

First he ran down Fitzgerald Toussaint after the Leopard caught a Justin Machamer pass and gained 43 yards to Girard’s 13-yard line.

Then the senior outside linebacker made a game-saving recovery at the 9-yard line when Toussaint lost the ball with 1:38 to go.

“That’s the fastest I ran in my life,” the 6-0, 208 Guerrieri said of running down the Liberty speedster. “I knew the game was on the line so I went all-out.”

On the fumble recovery, Guerrieri went to the source of the danger — the ball.

“I saw him [Toussaint] coming outside like he had all night and I went straight for the ball because I knew we needed to get it back.”

Quarterback Adam Charles was able to shake the devastation of two long interception returns for touchdowns by Isaiah Bell that totaled 165 yards.

Charles, a sophomore, bounced back when he stepped up in the pocket and found Brett Cubellis for a 53-yard touchdown pass with 5:34 remaining.

“Brett made a good route and great catch,” the 6-2, 180 Charles said. “I stayed in the pocket, kept my composure and he was right there.”

Sacrifice

Right after he threw the TD pass, Charles got hit and went to the ground.

“I didn’t know he scored. I was walking the sidelines and everyone was screaming. That’s when I found out he got in,” Charles said of the biggest game of his life.

Chris Weibel’s extra-point kick snapped the 30-30 tie.

Girard coach Bud McSuley was the happiest man on the field.

“One step at a time,” McSuley said. “That’s step No. 2,” the coach said of Girard’s march toward the league title, which started a week ago when the Indians beat Brookfield.

“This is our biggest game in the last four years.”

Toussaint, who entered the game with 831 yards, finished with 49 on 17 carries. He also had the 43-yard reception.

“We were there and just didn’t wrap,” McSuley said of a few instances when Girard was unable to tackle the 5-9 180 Toussaint.

“He’s a great running back; that’s why he’s got the yards he has. All night long we hit him and all our kids did a tremendous job, defensively. They generally hang about 40-50 points on us in the last three years. Tonight, we had a couple turnovers, but we were mashing him.”

Cubellis escapes

Of Cubellis’ game-tying TD catch, McSuley said, “He split two defenders and took it to the house.”

Cubellis said he and teammates encouraged Charles to keep his head high.

“We told him not to worry about it [Bell’s big interception returns], let’s get the next play,” the 6-2, 205 senior said. “He hung in there, got a couple blocks, saw me and made the play.”

Charles completed 20 of 32 passes for 257 yards, while Kyle Stadelmyer gained 137 yards on 27 carries.

Stadelmyer scored three times on short runs and Cubellis had eight catches for 139. Guerrieri’s four receptions produced 48 yards.

bassetti@vindy.com