The Freedom Bulldogs beat the Beaver Bobcats 30-21 in Beltz’ last game as coach @FHSPress

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Luke Snavely | October 31, 2020

By: Luke Snavely and Dylan Scheel

On Oct. 30, the Beaver Bobcats line up against their coach’s alma mater, the Freedom Bulldogs.

On Oct. 30, the Freedom Bulldogs faced off against the Beaver Bobcats in a special exhibition game to honor Beaver head coach Jeffery Beltz. Beltz was the head coach of the Bobcats for 21 years.

The coach wanted to face his alma mater, Freedom, for his last game. Neither teams made the playoffs, so this game was possible.

Before the game went underway, both teams honored the long time head coach. During the emotional ceremony, Beltz even received a Freedom football helmet as he was getting a special award.

Then, the game begun. On their first drive on fourth down, the Bulldogs ran a successful fake punt play. The Bulldogs were not able to capitalize on the trick play though since they quickly got to fourth down again.

With 5 minutes and 50 seconds left in the game, Beaver fumbled the ball at their own 36-yard line. Freedom got into field goal range, so on fourth down, they tried a field goal. However, the snap was bad, so the field goal was no good.

An uneventful first quarter ended with the score of 0-0.

The second quarter opened up with a quick scoring play. With just 11 minutes and 52 seconds remaining in the quarter, Freedom quarterback Cole Beck found receiver Reiker Welling in the air for the first score of the game. The extra point was good, making the score 7-0.

The Bobcats needed to respond with a score on their next drive. Unfortunately, the Bobcats fumbled the ball, giving the Bulldogs great field position.

With eight minutes and 30 seconds remaining, Freedom ran another trick play. This time Welling threw to Beck for the touchdown. Freedom tried a fake field goal for the two point conversion but were unsuccessful, which made the score 13-0.

With seven minutes and five seconds left in the second quarter, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball in their own half of the field. Beaver picked up the ball and rushed into the end zone to score on the fumble recovery. The extra point attempt was no good, making the score 13-6.

The game certainly turned into a game of turnovers from this point on.

Beck threw an interception with five minutes and 35 seconds left in the half. Then, Beaver fumbled the ball with just four minutes and nine seconds remaining in the half. Yet again, Freedom fumbled the ball with 30 seconds left in the half.

After that series of turnovers, Beaver quarterback Marco Mamone threw an interception to Welling, who sprinted into the end zone for a long 62-yard pick six. The extra point was good, which made the score 20-6 at the end of the half.

The second half started with the Bulldogs kicking off to the Bobcats. The Bobcats began their drive but quickly ended up on fourth down due to a key stop by the Bulldogs.

Freedom opened trying to throw, but Beck fumbled deep behind the line of scrimmage. Freedom was able to recover the ball, but they were far from the first down marker. This led the Bulldogs to punt. 

On the punt return, Beaver player James Finch ran the ball all the way into the end zone to open the scoring in the second half, making the score 20-13.

The rest of the third quarter was full of great defense, and neither team could get anything going. With 58 seconds left in the quarter, Beck threw an interception to the Bobcats defense.

Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs had the Bobcats pinned within their own 10-yard line and forced a punt. The Bulldogs’ great pressure on the punt forced a bad punt, with the ball being at the Bobcats’ 18-yard line.

Taking advantage of their great field position, Freedom scored on a touchdown run by senior Brett Boyd with nine minutes and 50 seconds left in the game. This made the score 27-13.

Beaver started their next drive, but it was short lived when sophomore Damian Grunnagle picked off Mamone. This brought the Bulldogs down to the 10-yard line.

Even though Freedom was deep in their zone, the Bobcats played great defense and forced a Freedom field goal. The field goal was good, so the score was 30-13. 

On the ensuing Beaver drive, the Bobcats charged down the field and began to pick up great yardage. 

With just under five minutes left in the game, Beaver traversed over half of the field and tried to go deep on a throw. However, Malone’s pass was intercepted. 

The Bulldogs were looking to close out the game without letting up another score, but the Beaver defense was able to stop them and get the Beaver offense one more chance to score. 

With just 15 seconds left in the game, the Beaver offense capitalized on this opportunity and scored on a 11-yard touchdown catch by Charlie Higgs. They went for a two point conversion, which was successful. This made the score 30-21. 

The Bulldogs ended the game in victory formation, and the final score was 30-21. This was the final game of the season for both teams. 

Beaver finished the season 2-5, while Freedom finished 5-3.

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