One thing seemed positively unavoidable heading into Friday night’s showdown between Liberty and Interlake: points would be scored.

But as the game developed, the Patriots defense and the driving rain kept the Saints from upholding their side of the bargain. And though it looked close for a half, Liberty (7-0 overall, 4-0 KingCo 3A/2A) won easily 38-14 to remain undefeated.

The Saints (5-2, 3-2) had averaged nearly 46 points per game this season and their previous low output was 34.

The rain seemed to affect both teams and there were a number of bobbled snaps. Liberty also suffered from uncharacteristic pre-snap penalties in the half.

“In the first half we had a lot of penalties, a lot of botched stuff,” said Liberty coach Steve Valach. “Guys wear those gloves and in this weather they’re actually harder to grip with. Obviously it was sloppy.”

The teams traded punts on the first two possessions before Liberty’s Chandler Jenkins jumpstarted his team by dragging five Interlake defenders on a rush for a first down. Patriot quarterback Trey Wheeler then hit Jake Bainton on a slant down to the Interlake eight-yard line. Dean Byron nailed a field goal from 27 yards out to put the Patriots on the board first.

The Saints responded with a fake punt that went for a 30-yard pass on the next drive. Brett Kirschner capped off that drive with a three-yard rush for a touchdown. Interlake’s Jordan Todd later ran in for a five-yard touchdown.

Jenkins scored twice in the second quarter, the first on a leaping catch from Wheeler over the middle that went for 24 yards. Then later on an eight-yard run. His second put the Patriots up 17-14 at the half. He finished the game with 11 rushes for 85 yards and six receptions for 64 yards.

“They got us on the fake punt and had some perfectly thrown fade routes in the first half,” Valach said. “In the second half we were there. We were in position.”

Liberty shutout Interlake in the second half thanks to aggressive and pressuring defense. Bainton highlighted the effort with two fourth-quarter interceptions. He returned one 26 yards for a touchdown.

Tei Staladi scored twice on sweeps in the second half, from 16 yards out and three yards out. He finished the game with eight rushes for 59 yards.

“Offensively we were just shooting ourselves in the foot with all the penalties,” said senior Troy Solly. “We cleaned that up in the second half and just played a lot harder. Then we came out kind of angry in the second half on defense. We knew we could play better.”

Wheeler completed 11 of 17 passes for 102 yards and the touchdown.

Bainton caught four passes for 36 yards. He punted three times for 134 yards, with a long of 49.

Cameron Talley totaled nine tackles, one for loss. Alex Kaser totaled four tackles, with two for loss.