Salina Liberty Playbook: It's Not Going to be Easy
June 5, 2025 - Arena Football One (AF1)
Salina Liberty News Release
The Salina Liberty have now won four of the last five games on their schedule. Week 12 was a 71-4 whooping of the Washington Wolfpack. The Liberty find themselves in the final playoff spot and are looking to lock it up over the next two weeks. They'll play the Southwest Kansas Storm in Dodge City, Kansas, this Saturday, June 7th, live on EvergreenNOW. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. You can also catch the game again on Sunday on VICETV at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Wolfpack Win
Salina did just about everything right in Saturday's big win over Washington. There were only two possessions in which the Liberty offense didn't score, the first and last of the game. Their special teams were once again clicking on all cylinders, and they opened each half with a special-teams touchdown. I asked Head Coach Heron O'Neal how it felt to win a game like that.
"Well, it definitely feels good anytime you can win, but to do it on Military Appreciation Night, which is a special night, especially here in Salina, is even better." Especially with the biggest crowd we've had all year, it made it even more special." "Anytime you can put up 70 points offensively, you are going to be happy." "Anytime you can continue to score for the second week in a row, special-teams touchdowns, you are going to be happy." "Our special teams are playing great, we kicked a deuce, Bailey is finding his niche at the right time." Then, of course, his defense held the Wolfpack to just four points. Coach was very happy with his team's overall performance.
Heading Into the Storm
As he tells me just about every week when I ask, the Liberty are focused on themself first and foremost. "The key thing is we're always in preparation on getting ourselves ready to go, no matter who the opponent is." "Doing the things we need to do to be ready for this ballgame. Practicing hard, the extra meetings and things of that nature."
"We're looking forward to going against a great Southwest team." "Coach Gary (Thomas) is a good friend of mine, as well as Coach (Jason) Scheck, their defensive coordinator, who's got to be up there in the running for assistant coach of the year." "It's not going to be easy." Said Coach O'Neal, who used to coach for the Storm. He looks forward to coaching in front of their fans again and wanted to give a shoutout to the Storm fans and Frank Garcia, "The #1 fan they have there, that's my guy."
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