For six weeks, Will Fields sat on the sidelines and watched his Bellevue teammates battle through to a 5-2 overall record. Out with a leg injury since the Wolverines week two loss to Katy, Texas, Fields had a lot of pent-up energy.

He released it all Friday night against Liberty.

Fields broke a 7-7 tie by scooping up a Jake Bainton fumble and returning it 55 yards for a touchdown, and Bellevue’s defense came up huge on the last drive of the game to help the No. 3 Wolverines beat No. 2 Liberty 27-21.

Liberty had a chance to beat Bellevue – and all but wrap up a conference title – by starting a drive on their own 20-yard line with just over three minutes left in the game and down by six points. Quarterback Trey Wheeler, who had already passed for three touchdowns, drove the Patriots to the Bellevue 43-yard line before a tipped pass was intercepted by Bellevue linebacker John Kanongata’a to preserve the win.

“We told everybody to focus up on the last drive,” Kanongata’a said. “Everything we’d been through in the game came down to that final drive. We just stepped our game up.”

Before Bellevue (6-2, 5-0 KingCo 3A/2A) built up a big lead, the Patriots came out firing, despite a 20 minute delay to the game after the lights went out at the stadium. Wheeler guided Liberty to a 10-play scoring drive, going 5 of 6 for 65 yards, capping it off by hitting junior receiver Bainton on a fade route in the end zone for an 11-yard score.

“They came out hot,” Fields said. “Once we got into a groove, it came buck to us.”

The teams traded punts before quarterback Joe Joe Conner got the Wolverines on the board with an 11-yard touchdown run.

That’s when Fields struck. The Patriots had driven to midfield when Bainton ran a sweep around the left end when he was hit simultaneously by Kendrick Van Ackeren, Brayden Van Ackeren and Kanongata’a. The ball rolled free and Fields was there, with nothing in front of him but a whole lot of green turf.

“I wasn’t sure if I should jump on it, or pick it up,” he said. “But I didn’t see anyone around me, so I ran for it.”

The complexion of the game seemed to change after Fields’ score. Liberty (7-1, 4-1) couldn’t get anything going, while Bellevue scored 10-straight points on a 41-yard field goal by Race Sciabica and a two-yard run by Conner on the same exact play as the first score. That drive was paced by Bellevue’s Joey Mangialardi, who led the Wolverines with 109 yards on just seven carries.

And just when it looked as if Bellevue had all but assured itself another conference title, the Patriots rallied. Wheeler threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Jenkins, and then hit Bainton for a 14-yard touchdown score to close the gap to 24-21.

After Bellevue drove down to the Liberty nine-yard line, the Wolverines had to settle for a field goal and put the ball back in Wheeler’s hands with 3:06 to go.

“There was no mystery where the ball was going,” Goncharoff said. “We knew who was getting it and then its up to guys to make plays.”

And on third and 10 on Bellevue’s 43-yard line, Kanongata’a made the play. Wheeler stepped up in the pocket and tried to hit Jenkins in the middle of the field. The ball skimmed off of Jenkins fingertips, and Kanongata’a leapt high in the air and came down with the ball.

“We thought we had that game, and we let it slip away,” he said. “We just had to get it back again. We’re both good teams, and that was a battle.”

The win assures Bellevue at least a share of the KingCo 3A/2A title and the top playoff spot.

“We found a way to get it done,” Goncharoff said. “It wasn’t pretty though.”

Other games

Mercer Island 42, Sammamish 22

Sophomore quarterback Jeff Lindquist passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns and added three rushing scores to lead the Islanders.

Sammamish led 14-0 after Zack Erickson and Andrew Engles scored rushing touchdowns on the Totems homecoming night. After Mercer Island cut the lead to 14-12, Anthony Do scored on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Do to extend the lead again.

But Mercer Island (3-5, 1-4) scored 27 second-half points to get the win on three one-yard touchdown scores by Lindquist.

The Totems fell to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in conference play.

Issaquah 35, Newport 6

Issaquah spoiled Newport’s shot to clinch a KingCo 4A playoff spot, as Ryan Bergman competed 21 of 37 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns to help the Eagles beat the Knights 35-6.

Bergman also scored on two rushing touchdowns for the Eagles (5-3, 4-1). Isaac Dotson scored the only touchdown for Newport on a 13-yard run as time expired.

With the loss, Newport (4-4, 2-3) will face Eastlake or Redmond in a three-way playoff Tuesday night at Lake Washington High School. The playoff will begin at 7 p.m.

Thursday

Interlake 49, Mount Rainier 0

Jordan Todd scored on a 90-yard kickoff return and a 14-yard touchdown run, and Dylan Amell hauled in two Matt Malos passes for touchdowns as the Saints rolled over Mount Rainier Tuesday night.

Ricky Aaron also caught a Malos pass for a score, and Kirschner and Malos scored rushing touchdowns to pace the Saints (6-2).