Freedom fell from the ranks of the unbeatens and Parkland helped keep their playoff aspirations alive following last Friday night's 21-13 victory at Frank Banko Field.

With the game being a defensive battle most of the night, it was fitting that a defensive play clinched the win for Parkland (6-2), when Preston Saylor picked off Pates' QB Jonah Gundrum in the final minute of the fourth quarter at the Parkland 30 to seal the contest.

A play earlier, Gundrum lofted a pass to the outstretched hands of wide receiver Kylon Pretty, who was inches away from snagging the potential game-tying touchdown.

Instead, Saylor's pick ended the night for Freedom (7-1) with their first taste of defeat this season.

"It's a tough loss and the kids are heart broken," said Freedom head coach Jason Roeder. "We're going to feel bad for a little bit, understand what's ahead of us and get back to work."

Parkland scored all of their points in a second quarter surge, which saw them jump out to a 14-0 lead off a Saylor one-yard score, followed by an 83-yard TD run by Devante Cross.

Freedom bounced back with a five-yard score by Joe Santos to make it 14-7.

Parkland, however, gained major momentum heading into halftime when Cross threw a jump ball for wide receiver Kenny Yeboah on third and eight from the Freedom 26.

Yeboah, who was the tallest player on the field at 6-foot-5, lofted over two Patriots to pull down the score and give Parkland a 21-7 lead with seven seconds remaining in the half.

Freedom's coaches refuted the call, since Yeboah stepped out of bounds before coming down with the catch, but the protests fell on deaf ears.

"I have no comment," said Parkland quarterback Devante Cross with a smile in regards to Yeboah being out of bounds. "That was a big score for us. We came out and wanted to just finish the game. Freedom is a really good football team and after having two losses already, we really needed this one."

Freedom played without starting quarterback Joe Young, who suffered a hip injury in their win over Whitehall two weeks ago and is out for the season.

Gundrum stepped in and was 7-of-22 for 103 yards. He threw his first TD pass in the fourth quarter when he found Alkiohn Dunkins on an 82-yard score to pull the Pates within 21-13 followed by a missed PAT.

He had his chance for a second touchdown late, but Pretty's miss in the end zone led to Saylor finishing things off with the late pick.

"We need to understand what's at stake," said Roeder as his team preps for powerful Easton (8-0) this week. "This school's been around since 1967 and we've never won a league or district championship and we need to get better everyday and get ready for Easton."