Freedom Bulldogs defeat Mohawk Warriors 47-20 in final regular season game @FHSPress

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Luke Snavely | October 24, 2020

Co-written by: Luke Snavely and Dylan Scheel

The Bulldogs look to pounce on the Warriors, as the Warriors start their drive.

On Oct. 23, the Freedom Bulldogs faced the Mohawk Warriors. Both teams were already eliminated from playoff contention, but it was still a high intensity game.

There was lots of tension between the two teams too. Both teams had many flags; some were even personal fouls.

The Warriors started the game off strong. With eight minutes and 29 seconds left in the first quarter, the Warriors scored a running touchdown, making the score 7-0.

However, the Bulldogs answered right back with a 21-yard touchdown by senior quarterback Cole Beck with six minutes and 10 seconds left. 

After tying the game, the Bulldogs had a trick up their sleeves. Senior kicker Garrett Paxton kicked an intentional onside kick, which bounced off a Warriors’ player. 

The ball popped up in the air, and the Bulldogs recovered the ball. This started a drive which resulted in a Bulldogs’ touchdown.

With four minutes and 14 second left in the first quarter, the Bulldogs ran a quarterback sneak in which Beck scored. This made the score 14-7.

The second quarter went underway with lots of action.

With 10 minutes and 41 seconds left in the quarter, Beck flipped the ball to junior Josh Pail, who ran the ball into the end zone. The snap was bad on the extra point attempt, so the score was 20-7.

Then disaster struck. People spotted lightning in the distance. This caused the game to ultimately be postponed the next day at Mohawk at 10:00 in the morning.

The next morning, the game resumed as it had left off. The Warriors had the ball and started their drive with just over eight minutes left in the second quarter. On their third play of the drive, the Warriors scored on a touchdown pass to make the score 20-14. 

The Bulldogs were unable to do anything with their drive and gave the ball back to the Warriors. However, on the Warriors drive, the Bulldogs’ defense came up with a huge play and got a fumble recovery on their own 20-yard line with just under five minutes left in the half. 

The Bulldogs drove down the field to the Warriors 28-yard line, where they looked to Paxton to make a field goal. However, the Paxton field goal was just short, and the half ended 20-14.

The second half opened with the Warriors kicking off to the Freedom Bulldogs. The Bulldogs drove down the field and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Cole Beck. The Bulldogs elected to go for the 2 point conversion, but were unable to convert and the score stayed 26-14. 

The Bulldogs’ defense forced a turnover on downs on the next Warriors’ drive. 

They opened their drive by Beck going deep to Welling, which paid off. Welling ran down to the Warriors’ 5-yard line. 

The Bulldogs then scored four plays later on a touchdown catch by Welling. The extra point was good, and the score was 33-14. 

The Warriors started their next drive with a 47-yard trick play throw but were unable to score because of great defense by the Bulldogs. 

The Warriors turned the ball over on the 18 yard line, and the Bulldogs offense took over.  However, they went four and out on the drive and had to punt the ball.

At least that’s what the Warriors had thought. On fourth down the Bulldogs faked the punt and got the first down to continue their drive. 

The Warriors continued to play great defense and forced the Bulldogs into another punt situation. This time the Bulldogs did punt, and the Warriors started their drive on the 10-yard line. 

On the third play of this drive, the Bulldogs defense came up with a huge sack, and the ball came loose. The Bulldogs recovered the ball on the 20-yard line and began their drive. 

With seven minutes and 25 seconds left in the game, the Bulldogs scored on a 10-yard touchdown reception by senior Paul Thompson. The extra point was good, and the Bulldogs extended their lead to 26 points.

On the ensuing drive, the Warriors started with a huge 54-yard pass to get down to the 7-yard line. This led to a 5-yard touchdown run. They elected to go for two but were unable to convert. The score remained 40-20. 

On the kick off, the Warriors tried an onside kick and actually recovered the ball. However, it did not travel 10 yards before they got the ball, so the Bulldogs got the ball.

The Bulldogs marched down the field and scored on a touchdown run by senior Tyrique Campbell. The extra kick was good, and the score was 47-20.

The Bulldogs defense forced the Warriors to turn the ball over on the Bulldogs 15-yard line. The Bulldogs then ran out the clock on offense, and the game ended 47-20. 

Although the Bulldogs’ regular season has ended, they still have one more game. Next week, they will face Beaver because the Beaver head coach wanted to face his alma matter in his final game as coach.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews