John Truby spent his high school days playing football for Freedom. It's fair to assume that Truby was not a fan of Liberty during those years, but things change over time and Truby is now Liberty's biggest supporter.

A week after the Hurricanes (4-5, 3-5) ended a two-game skid with a 40-28 victory over Northampton (0-9), the 'Canes have momentum heading into their city rivalry against Freedom (2-7, 2-6).

They also have added motivation to win on Saturday afternoon, as the possibility of grabbing one of the four spots for the Eastern Conference playoffs appears to be in order if they can knock off Freedom.

With all that said, trying to repeat last years 41-14 thrashing over the Patriots will be a difficult task, but coming ready to play won't be.

"If you have a hard time getting up for this game as a player, then I think you need to really think about why you play this game," said Truby. "The hype is big for this game and it's important for us to end the season on a good note. Plus, we have a chance to extend our season, so it means a little more."

Freedom doesn't have that opportunity, but the Pates were hoping they could have the chance at the Christmas City title heading into this weekend's game. That didn't become a reality following last week's 20-16 heartbreaking defeat to Bethlehem Catholic.

Recovering from that defeating hangover may have taken the Pates a couple days, but Roeder knows it can't take them all week.

"We need to get back to work on Liberty," said Roeder. "This is a game that our kids and especially the seniors will remember forever."

Roeder also remembers the embarrassing defeat Liberty laid on them a year ago. That angle will certainly be played into the Patriot minds all week as they hope to ruin Liberty's chances of qualifying for the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"We know what happened last year," he said. "We just need to improve and try to make our last game of the year our best one."

Liberty will hope to do the same as they'll have KJ Williams back for this week after he was sidelined against Northampton for disciplinary reasons.

No matter who Truby has lined up on the field Saturday, everyone is expected to give a little bit more when Freedom's involved in the equation.

"I'm a proud graduate from Freedom, but I've been removed from that scene for a while now," said Truby. "I've been here at Liberty coaching and this is what's important to me now. I think all our kids understand how big this is for us and we need to play a consistent game for 48 minutes."