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Freedom pushes past Riverside 21-0 with late surge of fourth quarter touchdowns @FHSPress

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

| September 18, 2020


Freedom junior Brandon Pratte, who had five tackles in the game, tries to stop a Riverside ball carrier.

On Sept. 18, the Freedom Bulldogs looked to bounce back from their loss against New Brighton with a win against the Riverside Panthers. Last year, the game was intense and down to the wire. Riverside decided to try to go for two points after a touchdown to win the game. However, they didn’t convert, and Freedom won the game.

Due to a variety of reasons which have not been made public by the Freedom Area School District, Freedom head coach Greg Toney, along with almost the entire coaching staff, resigned after the disappointing 24-6 loss against New Brighton. In a span of just 13 seasons, Freedom has had seven different head coaches. Athletic director John Rosa took over the head coaching position for the time being. Rosa is no stranger to the head coach position, since he filled in as the interim coach in the 2018 season.

The game was off to a tremendously slow start. With about nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, Bulldogs’ senior quarterback Cole Beck hit junior Josh Pail with a pass for the first touchdown of the game. However, a flag was on the field. The Bulldogs committed an illegal block in the back, causing the touchdown to be waived off. Right after that, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball to the Panthers, eliminating any hope of scoring on the drive.

With six minutes and five seconds left in the first quarter, the Panthers thew an interception on their first drive. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they could not take advantage of the mistake. The Bulldogs’ drive ended on a failed fourth down conversion.

With the score at 0-0, both teams looked to get on the board in the second quarter. However, the second quarter offered no action-packed plays, except for the Panthers’ last drive in the half. With just three seconds remaining, the Panthers were a couple yards away from the end zone on their second down. Instead of attempting a field goal, the Panthers charged for the end zone and were unsuccessful. The half ended with the score still being 0-0.

The entire third quarter was just uneventful. Neither team scored, which made the fourth quarter ever so important. With a score of 0-0, either team was bound to score in the fourth quarter. That team just happened to be the Bulldogs.

After another Panthers’ turnover on fourth down a couple yards away from the Bulldogs’ end zone, Beck threw a pass to senior Reiker Welling, who essentially ran the whole length of the field to score the first touchdown of the game. This all happened with just seven minutes and 26 seconds remaining in the game.

After being asked about Welling’s touchdown, junior Tristen Clear said, “He has the potential to do it. He’s a big playmaker and always has been. He’s a big kid. He’s fast. I know he had it in him. We were going for a shot there right out of the gate.”

After the Bulldogs stopped another Panther drive, the Bulldogs looked to score another touchdown. For the second time in the quarter, Beck connected with Welling to score another touchdown with five minutes and 21 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs took a commanding 14-0 lead.

With the momentum shifted in their favor, the Bulldogs were hungry for another touchdown. With three minutes and 50 seconds left in the game, the Panthers threw an interception to senior Tyrique Campbell, who almost made it close to the Panthers’ end zone. For the third time in the game, Beck threw a touchdown pass to Welling to take a convincing lead of 21-0.

A Panther interception with just six seconds left in the game sealed the final score of 21-0 Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs are looking to keep their momentum going with a win against a tough Neshannock team on Sept. 25.

“We just need to keep doing what we do,” Clear said. “We’ve had a lot of changes and a lot of adversity. We’re overcoming that pretty well.”

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