Back and forth battle ends in last second win for the Bulldogs as they defeat the Lions 24-21.
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News
Billy Splain | October 7, 2019
Written by: MATTHEW LEVENSON on Saturday, October 5th, 2019(associate writer Jalynn Falk)
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>The buildup for the highly anticipated matchup against the New Brighton Lions and Freedom Bulldogs Friday night certainly lived up to its hype. Bulldog Stadium was packed with an estimated 3,000 people in attendance and many watching from outside of the gates. The game, which was voted as the Steelers Showcase Game of the Week, featured former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats as an honorary captain for the Bulldogs 1,000th game in their school history. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Coming into the game, both the Lions and Bulldogs were undefeated in the section and tied for first place. Both sides knew the importance of the game and it showed as the rivalry between the two teams was evident by the level of play and competition throughout the entire night.</span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>New Brighton struck fast and early, moving the ball well and scoring on their first possession of the game. Freedom responded with a minute and 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter when Josh Pail rushed the ball 9-yards to tie the game at seven points apiece. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>The second quarter followed the same pattern as the first. New Brighton scored early on a passing play that gave them the lead again but was followed up by another Bulldog touchdown from Pail who rushed in for a 24-yard score. Defenses held strong for both teams and entering the locker room the Lions and Bulldogs were tied 14-14. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>“So getting that first one, I mean I got in there and it felt good. We got that one touchdown to tie it up and that got us back in the game but when they came back, we got another one and that just really helped to get the momentum going. I mean so that was like a big help, getting those first two going,” Pail said. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Minutes into the start of the third quarter New Brighton unleashed a deep, 53-yard touchdown pass to silence the crowd but once again the Bulldogs responded. On a drive led by Brett Boyd, the Bulldogs methodically moved the ball downfield and were able to capitalize on it as Boyd found his way into the endzone on a 3-yard run, tieing the game for the third time of the night. </span>
<img class=”wp-image-44825 size-medium” src=”https://westernpafootball.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/DSC_0237-1-500×333.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”333″ /> Brett Boyd lowers his shoulder as he prepares to make contact with the Lions defense.
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>As the fourth quarter began with the score tied, the Lions got possession of the ball and slowly drove down the field. They managed to keep the ball for the majority of the fourth quarter, running off valuable time from the clock as they made their way closer to the Bulldog’s red zone. Freedom’s defense made a stand and held the Lions from scoring a touchdown. This forced the Lions to attempt a short field goal that would give them the lead. They missed the kick and gave the Bulldogs possession with three minutes and 40 seconds remaining in the game. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>However, the Bulldogs were unable to move the ball and had to punt to the Lions. The Bulldogs made another defensive stand and received the ball in good field position after a short punt and a New Brighton late hit penalty that moved the ball to their own 48-yard line giving the Bulldogs under a minute to move the ball into field goal range. The Bulldogs ran a flea-flicker on the first play resulting in a 10-yard reception that brought the ball to the 38-yard line. Boyd had a long run, followed by a spike and another run by Boyd that brought the ball to the 5-yard line. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>With four seconds remaining in the game, Freedom brought out first-year kicker, Garret Paxton to attempt the game-winning, 23-yard field goal. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>“I was just trying to zone in and not have anything affect me. I remember I was just lined up and Carter [Slowinski] was holding it. Nothing was going through my head and I couldn’t hear anything,” Paxton said. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Paxton’s kick was good and he was immediately swarmed by his teammates as they stormed the field in celebration, and the stadium erupted in excitement.</span>
<img class=”wp-image-44826 size-medium” src=”https://westernpafootball.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/DSC_0037-1-500×441.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”441″ /> Teammates hug and lift Garrett Paxton moments after he made the game-winning field goal to keep the team’s undefeated season alive and defeat their rival New Brighton.
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>“I just felt such joy. I think the first thing I did was hug Carter then I just saw everyone running. The first person I saw that was like sprinting towards me was Noah Valles and it was just a great feeling for me,” Paxton said. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>With all of the buzz and excitement surrounding this game, a game-winning field goal as time expired was a fitting end to a night full of back and forth action against two evenly matched teams. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>“They never quit, they never gave up. It’s so much harder to be on defense than it is on offense. It wears you down. They were on the field the entire fourth quarter but they didn’t quit, never gave up so I’m just proud of them. It was a team effort. Unless you’re out here on this field, and you put the work in that these guys put in, you can’t explain the feeling they have. This is a special night,” Head Coach Gregg Toney said. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>The Bulldogs ended the night with 249 rushing yards, 59 passing yards, 19 first downs and a crucial section win. They advanced to 7-0 on the season and first place in the section. Next week they take on Neshannock in another important section game. </span>
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