Champ Kapanui scored Liberty’s lone touchdown against top-ranked Mater Dei of Southern California in a 49-7 loss in the Polynesian Football Classic at Bishop Gorman.
After Mater Dei scored first, Liberty marched down the field thanks to a Jayden Maiava long pass to Landon Bell. Kapanui did the rest with a 5-yard run.
Mater Dei proceeded to score 42 unanswered points to close the game.
Liberty falls to 3-1 on the season — not that losing to the nation’s best team is anything to be embarrassed about. Remember, Liberty was defeated by all five of the national opponents on its schedule in 2019, but gained valuable experience to eventually end Gorman’s state championship run in the playoffs.
In the first game of the classic, Desert Pines won a slugfest with Orem of Utah, 53-42. Gorman at 7 p.m. Saturday plays Lone Peak of Utah in the classic's third and final game.