It was just what Freedom's football team needed Saturday night, no matter how much it rained on their parade.

The Patriots (2-6, 2-5) ended a five-game skid by blowing open a 3-0 halftime lead into 28-second half points for a 31-7 demolition over Northampton.

Northampton turned the ball over on their first two offensive plays of the third quarter to set up 14-points for the Pates, which the winless Kids (0-8) could never recover from.

After a dry first three quarters turned into a torrential downpour on the final whistle, Freedom head coach Jason Roeder didn't care that he or any of his players were soaking wet.

"It's a win," Roeder said. "It was validation for what we've been preaching to these guys for the past couple of weeks. We've needed to just continue to get better every week and to keep improving and we got it done."

The Patriots forced four turnovers against Northampton and took advantage of the ones in the third quarter the most.

Jared Bauer fumbled on the first play of the second half for Northampton to set up the Pates at the Northampton 39. Roberto Diaz would punch the eventual score from six yards out to give Freedom a 10-0 lead with 6:57 left in the third.

Kids' quarterback Nick Cook continued the second half downfall, as he was intercepted on Northampton's very next play.

Freedom took over on the Northampton 41 and scored four plays later when Joe Santos rushed from one yard out to suddenly give Freedom a 17-0 lead.

From that point on, Northampton's confidence was zapped and Freedom's kept rising, as Bryant Connor and Louden Klotz tacked on three and two yard TD runs respectively in the fourth quarter to build a 31-0 lead before the starters left the field with roughly five minutes left to play.

Freshman quarterback Joe Young may have not have scored, but he showed glimpses of a bright future, completing 9-of-13 passes for 123 yards. It was the third start of the season for Young, who got christened to the LVC in his first two games in losses to Easton and Parkland.

This time, however, the middle school wide receiver from a year ago, was slinging the ball impressively all night long, including a 41-yard TD throw down the sideline in the second period. It was a perfect throw over the top, but the play was nullified because of holding.

But the throw itself was on the mark and showed good arm strength for the freshman signal caller, who appears to have tremendous upside.

"He's young and he's learning, but we like what we see from him," said Roeder. "His decision making is getting better and he didn't throw any picks. We're happy with his progress."

And that progress has led to this week's encounter with Bethlehem Catholic (4-4, 3-4). The Hawks have lost three straight games and will look to get their confidence back after they beat Liberty on September 28.

Roeder knows it's always better to go into a matchup off a victory, but also understands that there's no need to motivate players anymore when a city rival is on the agenda.

"It's not hard to get these guys up for city games," he said. "We had our struggles early this season and it's hard to keep selling kids on getting better against teams like Easton and Parkland, but they've done that. Getting the win over Northampton was big, but this week's game is going to be even bigger now and we have to go out and try to win the game."

Where Freedom's weekend was capped off by a victory, Becahi and Liberty fell in emphatic fashion.

The Hawks suffered a crushing 49-6 loss to Parkland, while Liberty did no better, losing to Easton at home 41-7.

It drops the Hurricanes to 3-5 overall and 2-5 in the conference. The good news for the 'Canes is that they get Northampton this week.