The anger, frustration and disappointment was evident from Liberty players and coaches when the final whistle blew from a 23-20 overtime loss to Whitehall.

It was the toughest defeat of the Shawn Daignault era and extended a seven-game losing streak for the program as they head into this Saturday’s 1 p.m. city rivalry tilt against Freedom.

Getting ready to play the biggest game of the season this week should wipe away much of the sorrow from watching Whitehall tie the game in the fourth quarter and eventually secure the comeback bid with a 23-yard Justin Deutsch field goal in the extra session, but last week’s defeat stung for everyone involved with the Hurricanes.

“That’s the hardest one from all my three years here,” said Daignault. “These kids deserved that one. Sometimes in life you do everything right and it still just doesn’t go your way. We can either respond and get back to work or say it’s too hard and we’re not gonna do it. I don’t think these kids are going to make that second choice.”

After trailing at halftime 13-12, Liberty took the go-ahead lead late in the third quarter when Caden Vermuelen found Jake Pukszyn on a 23-yard touchdown pass to put them ahead 20-13 following a two-point conversion.

Whitehall (5-4) tied the game with 6:47 left in the fourth when Trey Dogmanits floated a 15-yard TD pass to Jake Kocher to even the game at 20 following a Deutsch PAT.

Liberty had a chance to end things in regulation, getting the ball back with 3:45 and driving down to the Whitehall 39 before the Zephyrs held on a 4th and 13 to force overtime.

From there, Liberty’s special teams woes continued on the opening series of extra time, as the hold was fumbled on a 20-yard field goal attempt and the ensuing scramble led to an incomplete pass.

Knowing a field goal would win the game, Whitehall took the conservative approach of protecting the ball and running it three times before Deutsch ultimately put the game away.

“It’s basically an extra point and we’ve done it a thousand times,” said Daignault of the botched field goal attempt in overtime. “That’s not something we can second guess and the first six games of the season that was automatic. We’ve worked on it a million times and it looked great all week in practice.”

The loss pushes Liberty to 2-7 on the season and might have been the nail in the coffin for them sneaking into the postseason, as a win over Whitehall would have certainly given this week’s contest with Freedom more importance with playoff implications on the line for both teams.

Instead, it might just be a battle of pride for the Hurricanes and keeping the city championship out of Freedom’s hands when they square off on Saturday.

“This one hurts and I didn’t sugarcoat that for the guys,” Daignault said, “but the Freedom game is so meaningful to us and I feel good about our ability to rebound. We’ve gotten good at rebounding and think these guys will pick themselves back up and get ready for Freedom.”