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Freedom Comes Up with Five Turnovers in Decisive Victory over Bethlehem Catholic

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 4, 2024

Three interceptions, two fumbles and a safety all helped Freedom pull away from Bethlehem Catholic at BASD Stadium on Thursday night. Despite three first half turnovers, the Hawks kept it close until the continued mistakes and a couple of long drives broke it open late.

Freedom played keep away nearly all night long, as lengthy drives highlighted the evening. Their opening march went from their own 19 to the Beca 27. Arron Beete broke off runs of 15, 12 and 10 yards along the way, as the Patriots line opened up huge holes. After a holding call halted progress, a 4th & 9 Chase Walker throw went incomplete to Shacre Colwell on a diving try at the 16 yard line.

Cayden Vassa completed a 16 yard pass to his brother Carter, as the Golden Hawks moved near midfield on their opening drive. On the next play, Dylan Hill pounced on a fumble, giving his team the ball in plus territory at the Hawks 45. Walker went right back to Colwell, and Colwell delivered with an awesome catch in double coverage. Two plays later, Amare DuBoise caught an 8-yard touchdown pass in the front of the end zone with outstanding linebacker Robert Cousar draped on him.

On Bethlehem Catholic’s ensuing play, Aaron Beete shined on defense, picking off Vassa over the middle and putting Freedom’s offense right back on the field. The drive ended at midfield with a punt that backed up Beca to their 20. From there, Bethlehem Catholic showed some sloppiness. The drive began with a false start. Vassa then flipped field position, completing a 49 yard pass to Rodney Brodie down the far sideline. With 10:00 left in the second quarter, the Hawks called a timeout, then were called for a false start, and then called another timeout in an effort to get their play calling correct. On a fourth-and-five call, Vassa scrambled and came up short, only gaining a yard.

A defensive pass interference against the Hawks moved the Patriots across midfield again, but Freedom only gained one more yard on the drive. Nate Stannard booted a punt that was downed inside the one yard line. From there, Ryan Roeder clobbered Jeziah Gregory in the end zone for a safety. With 7:55 to go in the second quarter, the Patriots led 9-0 and were looking for more.

After the free kick, Freedom took over on the Hawks 37. A holding call marked Freedom back and a deep pass on 4th & 3 went incomplete in the end zone, turning the ball over on downs for the second time in the half. Boeder got the ball right back with his second pick of the night, but Freedom was again unable to score as a 4th and 5 pass intended for DuBoise was once again incomplete in the end zone.

From there, Bethlehem Catholic put it’s only drive together of the night that ended in points. Vassa completed another long ball to Brodie for 35 yards and Gregory got his longest run of the night for nine yards. Christian Hawach hit from 35 yards out with 22 seconds to play in the half, making the halftime score 9-3 in favor of Freedom.

Bethlehem Catholic received to open the second half, but the opening drive ended in a punt. Along the way, Xavier DeJesus recorded a tackle for loss, hitting Justin Martinez in the backfield for a loss of three. Vassa did complete a 12 yard pass on 3rd & 11, but the team’s fifth false start of the game tacked five yards on to a 4th & 4, eliminating any thoughts of going for it.

Another Hawks miscue extended Freedom’s ensuing drive. A defensive pass interference on third-and-long kept the Patriots offense on the field. A thirteen play drive that ate up just shy of five minutes ended when Aaron Beete broke into the end zone from two yards out. The two point conversion made it 17-3 Freedom with 4:00 left in the third quarter.

Just two plays later, Dylan Hill had his second fumble recovery of the night deep in Hawks territory. Beete slammed the door, mirroring his last scoring effort with another from two yards away. Colwell picked off Vassa on the next drive and Freedom kneeled the game out inside the Beca five yard line, ending the game with a final score of 24-3.

In the victory, Freedom racked up 18 first downs. Aaron Beete ran 23 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Chase Walker went 13/26 for 145 and a touchdown through the air. His top targets were Colwell(6-72) and DuBoise(4-44 TD).

In defeat, Bethlehem Catholic was stifled on the ground, gaining just 54 net yards rushing. Cayden Vassa was 10/17 for 158 and intercepted three times. The five turnovers were compounded with ten penalties on the evening, including five false starts, two personal fouls and two defensive pass interference calls.

Freedom will look to stay unbeaten next week when they travel to Northampton. Bethlehem Catholic will host Nazareth.

Featured image by Ryan Scipio(X: @ScipScip)

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