The sweet taste of victory couldn’t have tasted any sweet for Liberty Magnet.

Three straight losing seasons void of postseason play presented first-year coach Jimmy Zachery with plenty of motivation and the Patriots reaped the benefits.

Return specialist Ashton LaFleur delivered a key punt return in the first half and Liberty quarterback Brice Preston helped the Patriots breathe easier in the end, keeping for a 44-yard touchdown with 1:26 remaining for a 30-21 victory in District 4-5A action over Woodlawn at Olympia Stadium.

“We’ve been through so much with different coaches, so we deserve this,” LaFleur said. “This is our last year. We had to ball out, and this was the result.”

Liberty (6-4, 3-2) clinched its first winning season since 2021 and secured a spot in next week’s Division I

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