Peoria Liberty football fans like to get to the stadium for home games about an hour early. It's become a tradition. The community loves fall Friday nights. They're connected and unified.
But even more so are the players on the field, where family ties have helped build a West Valley powerhouse.
Junior linebacker Brecken Garday is two years younger than his brother Cannon, who played for Liberty's back-to-back Open Division state championship teams in 2023 and '24. He's now a linebacker at Northern Arizona.
"We're like the same player," said Brecken, who has 31 tackles, three for losses. "We play the same position."
Brecken and Cannon didn't get a chance to play together last year when Cannon suffered a season-ending injury.
"I want to set the tone
(on defense)," Brecken said. "Get back from last year. We have a lot of room to progress."
Sophomore offensive lineman T.J. Gardner is another in a line of Lions football brothers who have left their marks on state championship teams. His brother Jace was an outstanding lineman on Liberty's back-to-back title teams. Their older brother Braylon was Navi Bruzon's favorite receiver during the Lions' 2023 state championship season.
"Growing up watching my brothers made me want to come here," T.J. said. "They showed me who they are and I'm creating who I am right now."
Garday and Gardner have helped the Lions to start the season 3-0 with a big game Friday, Sept. 18, at defending Open state champion Chandler Basha (1-2), which is trying to end a two-game losing streak.
Liberty coach Colin Thomas sees a connection between the bloodlines that have helped build the program and the larger community that supports the team.
He was spoiled by linebacker Keaton Stam two years ago, when he spearheaded a defense that helped drive the 2024 state championship team. Keaton had followed his brother Jax, who was an all-state strong safety at Liberty and part of the 2019 6A championship team.
"I just think it's the community," Thomas said. "It's been supporting us for years. It continues to help lead our program."
Jason Stam, father of Jax and Keaton, has an 11-year-old in the Junior Lions program along with the Garday family.
"Starts with the Junion Lions program," Jason Stam said. "Try to teach them a mentality early on. We take lumps early on versus all-star teams but eventually it pays off. Different environment for sure."
Liberty High School opened in 2006 and it grew fast along with the surrounding area in Peoria.
When Thomas took over the program in 2020, he inherited a program on the rise.
This year's team is off to a strong start, opening with a win at an improved Mesa team followed by a big win two weeks ago over a good Utah team from Corner Canyon.
"That was a great win for us," Thomas said. "We had to fight and claw our way back into it. I think we've had some good moments. We also at times have shown we've got a long way to go. We're still a pretty young team."
That youth starts at quarterback with Jason Haines, but he has quickly emerged as one of the state's top passers. He has thrown for 866 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception in his first year as a varsity starter.
Basha and Liberty have become a bit of an East vs. West 6A rivalry in recent years, two top teams meeting in big games. Last year, Basha pulled out a 19-16 state semifinal win over Liberty on the way to the title. Two years ago, Liberty beat Basha 35-17 in the state championship game.
"I know a test like this Friday is a great measure of where we're at," Thomas said.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Family ties helped build Liberty High School football powerhouse
