Westside lost a 31-30 heartbreaker to Liberty in its opening game of the 2012 football season.

The Renegades found themselves in a 12-0 hole before the seats were warm and spent the rest of the night trying to climb out.

“We just came out not ready to play,” said WHS coach Darren Thomas. Liberty’s Matthew Bailey ran the opening kickoff back 87 yards to give the Raiders a lead they would never give up.

Westside snapped the ball over Justin Cogar for a safety on the Renegades’ first series, making it 9-0.

The Raiders added a Josh Brown field goal from 37 yards to add to the margin.

“We had some mistakes you can’t have,” Thomas observed. “We’ve got some young kids out there.”

WHS got on the board with Cogar’s 15-yard TD run with 5:30 left in the opening period. Hunter Walker caught a pass from Cogar for the two-point conversion.

The Raiders made it 19-8 when signal caller Joey Lack ran 67 yards for six.

Wolfgang Honaker recovered a fumble and ran it back 29 yards for a score as Liberty stretched the margin to 25-8.

Cogar had a two-yard run to pay dirt with less than a minute left in the opening stanza.

There was no scoring in the second period, and Liberty added to its lead when threw a five-yard TD pass to Ryan Moore in the third.

The Renegades weren’t done.Cogar scored on a one-yard carry early in the fourth quarter, and Corey Bowles caught a pass from Cogar for two.

Westside cut it to 31-30 when the Cogar-to-Bowles connection produced a 36-yard touchdown with 6:21 to play.

The Renegades got to the Raiders five on a reverse late in the game, but a penalty wiped the play out.

“Nobody wants to lose, but we fought back,” Thomas remarked.

Cogar ran for 112 yards on 20 attempts and was 3-14 for 71 yards and a TD. Matt Harless added 101 yards on 19 carries.

Bowles had two receptions for 47 yards and a score.

Lacek ran for 188 yards on 21 attempts and passed for 70 yards and a TD to lead the Raiders.

Dakota Osborne had a fumble recovery for WHS, and Jeffrey Brown had an interception.

Westside hosts rival Wyoming East this Friday.