Bellevue's Joe Joe Connor (9) drags a Liberty tackler in the first quarter Friday night. Connor ran for a pair of touchdowns.

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ISSAQUAH — John Kanongata'a knew Bellevue needed a big play.

The clock was running down and the linebacker sensed the momentum swinging to the other side of the field with each Trey Wheeler completion.

On third-and-10, with the game on the line, the leader of Bellevue's defense intercepted a pass that allowed the visiting Wolverines to hold on for a 27-21 victory over Liberty Friday night.

"It got tight, so I knew I needed to do something about it," Kanongata'a said. "I just read the quarterback and played the ball."

On a night when Bellevue's defense struggled at times, the second-ranked Wolverines made big plays in key moments to lock up at least a share of the KingCo 3A/2A title and the conference's top playoff spot.

After the game started 20 minutes late because of a problem with the lights, Liberty (7-1 overall, 4-1 league) marched right down the field. Trey Wheeler completed five of his first six passes for 65 yards, including an 11-yard scoring strike to Jake Bainton.

Bellevue answered. The Wolverines tied it early in the second quarter on a 10-yard run by Joe Joe Connor. However, with the No. 3 Patriots celebrating homecoming and senior night, Bellevue needed something else to steal the momentum.

Will Fields hadn't played since Bellevue's trip to Katy, Texas, but the linebacker delivered in his first game back. He returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown to give the Wolverines (6-2, 5-0) their first lead with 8:17 left in the half.

"I just tried to make a play as best I could," Fields said. "I picked it up, saw no one was around me and just ran for it. I thought I was going to get caught."

Leading 17-7 at halftime, the Wolverines opened the third quarter with a scoring drive that took up more than seven minutes and was capped by Connor's second touchdown run.

Then Liberty rallied. Wheeler threw a 40-yard TD pass to Chandler Jenkins and a 14-yard scoring strike to Bainton that cut the Wolverines' lead to a field goal.

Race Sciabica hit his second field goal of the game with 3:06 to play, giving the Patriots one last chance to tie or win. Wheeler, who finished 16 of 22 for 209 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, moved his team down the field.

Faced with a big third down from Bellevue's 43-yard line, Wheeler dropped back to pass and threw the ball over the middle, where Kanongata'a was roaming from his middle linebacker position. The senior made the play to seal the victory.

"In any big game, momentum plays are the difference," Liberty coach Steve Valach said. "What do you say? It was a great high-school football game. I'm proud of them. The season is not over. This isn't the end of the world. We plan on playing another month and a half."