TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

An injured left hamstring almost kept Tyler Morris from being able to continue playing on Thursday night. His right foot ended up making him a hero.

Late into stoppage time, Morris capitalized on a teammate's deflected shot to score his seventh goal of the season and lift No. 7 Liberty to a thrilling 2-1 Central Section Division I quarterfinal victory over second-seeded Bakersfield High at Griffith Field.

The goal capped a stirring second-half comeback by the Patriots (12-8-3), who will next go on the road for a Tuesday semifinal at No. 3 Madera.

"I knew we were going to win it because our team, we may not be the best technically, but we have heart," Morris said. "We fight to the end."

The Patriots had no choice but to do exactly that when, in the 53rd minute, Ramiro Barraza put the Drillers (16-3-3) up 1-0 with his 19th goal of the season.

Barraza took a throw-in down the right sideline from Andrew Suter, and then beat two defenders with a quick move before firing a hard shot that beat Liberty goalkeeper Juan Fernandez.

BHS held onto its one-goal advantage until the 68th minute, when Liberty scored on a high throw-in by Trevor Casalman that went straight in the net after being ever so slightly touched by a Driller defender.

Despite the own goal, BHS kept its composure and had several solid chances to re-gain the lead in the final minutes.

"Obviously it was a pretty darn equal game," BHS coach Archie Parks said. "We had our chances. We had our chances in the last minute and the minute before that. The ball was bouncing on the goal line and we didn't put it in an they countered us and they got a goal on us."

Fernandez and the Liberty defense held firm until Morris was able to score the game-winner.

"I'm so proud of my boys for their determination to win," Liberty coach Jay Gore said.

Gore played a pivotal role in the win, according to Morris.

"In the first half I got hurt. and I started lagging it," Morris said. "But my coach, he told me 'We need you out there. We need you to step it up.' So that's what I had to do."

After the final whistle blew, Morris was dog-piled by all of his teammates.

"I'm pretty sure my arm is dislocated or something because they were all on top of me," Morris said. "I'm not a big dude and those kids are pretty big."

BHS finished one point ahead of Liberty for second place in the Southwest Yosemite League this season. Both of the games against each other ended in ties.

"We haven't really budged, both teams all year, with each other," Gore said. "You knew it wasn't going to be like in this game either. It was a real exciting game, but it wasn't a very pretty game. And I told my guys at halftime that we need to have that grit and determination to find a way to score."

While Morris never doubted that the Patriots would pull out the victory, Gore was sweating it out on the sideline.

"We were fortunate tonight to get that goal back. It was a mistake on their end. We capitalized, which is huge, which is fantastic for us. But in the end I was nervous the entire time."