Nate Stewart never played football at Freedom, but the Patriots would have loved his services on the gridiron last fall.

The Freedom senior, who spent his first three years of high school at Pius X, before transferring to Bethlehem Catholic last fall, will now graduate a Patriot. Stewart’s journey has been an arduous one since Pius X shut its doors at the conclusion of the 2015 school year.

But all the struggles that Stewart and his family have endured paid off when Freedom announced 27 student-athletes who will be taking their talents to the next level at last week’s athletic ceremony.

Despite Stewart never suiting up for Patriots, he was honored like one and thanked Freedom’s football coach Jason Roeder for assisting him in the recruiting process, which helped land him a Division-I FBS offer from the University of Akron.

It was a culmination of work and sacrifice for Stewart, who will finish his high school career at his third school in less than a year.

“Going through having to change schools, it was a lot of adjusting,” said Stewart. “I was sad leaving each place but I felt like it was meant to be because I learned a lot in each step of the process. It was unfortunate to have Pius close, but the end result is what matters to me.”

Stewart transferred from Becahi to Freedom the day before Thanksgiving and played on the Patriots basketball team this past winter. He’s undecided about whether he’ll play wide receiver or defensive back for the Zips, but is just looking to compete as a freshman for a starting spot on an Akron team that won eight games last year, the first time in school history since moving to the FBS, after a 23-21 victory over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

“My coach assured me that I would have an opportunity to play and have a major role on the team if I put in the work,” Stewart said. “That’s what I’m doing now and I want to make a name for myself on the team and in college football.”

Will Alpaugh will also compete at the D-I level, as he’ll run cross country at the University of Richmond.

Richmond was the only school that Alpaugh applied to, as he reached out to the coaches to gauge their interest.

“I called the coach and asked if he thought I could compete on the team,” said Alpaugh. “I went there for an official visit and decided that’s where I wanted to be. It was a pretty easy process.”

Jonah Gundrum spent the past four season on Freedom’s football team and will now spend another four years as a member of the Johns Hopkins team.

The Division-III program finished last season ranked 10th by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll, tying a school record with 11 wins and advancing to the second round of the NCAAs for the third time in four years.

“It’s a fantastic academic school and they compete at a really high Division-III level,” said Gundrum, who will play safety on the team. “I just felt it was the best place to get the most out of myself both academically and athletically.”

The rest of the Freedom seniors to make their announcements included: Cristina Youwakim (University of Maryland,cheerleading); Bridget Tarnowski (University of North Carolina, rowing); Sierra Jefferson (Ball State, field hockey); Cordell Cotto (East Stroudsburg University, football); Roberto Diez (Moravian College, football); Alkiohn Dunkins (Moravian College, football); Mario McIntyre (Millersville University, football);

Ryan Nickol (Moravian College, football); Andres Santos (Delaware Valley University, football); Colin Zarzecki (Moravian College, football); Mezen Abdalla (DeSales University, soccer): John Eltringham (York College, soccer); Lexie Szaro (Moravian College, volleyball); Nia Mims (South Plains College, basketball);

Madison Young (Marshall University, diving); Dylan Brown (Kutztown University, wrestling); Jared Dancsecs (Wilkes University, baseball); Frank Olshefski (Eastern University, baseball); John Yocum, (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, baseball); Shayla Peterson (Concordia College, softball); Hunter Schantz (Keystone College, softball); Kylee Schwind (Arcadia University, softball);Roland Cash-Mabry (Moravian College, track and field) and Juwan Northington (Indiana Institute of Technology, track and field).