A goal-line stand late in the third quarter helped reignite Freedom’s offense, setting the stage for its win over Whitehall as their offense erupted for 21 points in the final period to remain undefeated.

With Whitehall knocking on the door after stringing together an 18-play drive that ate up most of the third quarter, the Patriots held firm at their own 2-yard-line, stopping running back Allen Negrete short on fourth-and-two as he attempted to draw the Zephyrs within one score.

But the ensuing drive, kept alive by a sideline catch by Gabe Caton on third-and-nine on their 13-yard line, may well have been the play of the game.

Caton’s clutch catch, kept the chains moving, and from that point, fueled by some big runs by Mayson Panik, struck for a touchdown later in the drive when Jared Jenkins found a wide open Caton streaking down the hash marks for a 25-yard score.

That touchdown ended their 24-minute scoring drought and they kept their foot on the gas the rest of the way for the 48-13 victory.

The win keeps the Patriots undefeated as they travel north to Pocono Mountain West this Friday in search of their sixth win.

The Patriots took the early lead, scoring 27 unanswered points, but that self-described lull as head coach Jason Roeder put it, is something they have to avoid.

“We’re still aiming for that best football game, that perfect football game,” said Roeder.

He said that they’re thrilled to be 5-0, but the goals they’ve still remain ahead of them. The game demonstrated how good they can be at times, while also exposing what they need to fix.

“It’s a learning experience, and obviously something we need to work on,” said Roeder.

Jenkins (10-16, 171) was a quick study, especially early. He orchestrated four scoring drives within the first 15 minutes of the game, one of those TDs aided by a Vince Reph interception which set them up at the 15-yard line. From there, Jalen Stewart punched it in for his second score of the game.

But once Sebastian Gibbs scored on a 13-yard run to make it 27-0, the Zephyrs went on a 13-0 run and were threatening again late in the third until the defense put the ball back in the hands of the offense. That’s where Caton’s play became critical.

“That was a huge play,” said Roeder. “It was right in front of me and Jared put the ball where it had to be, but Gabe had to work for it. He was fully extended and dotted the I on the sideline.”

Caton made two big plays on that drive. On his touchdown reception that capped that drive, Caton said that he ran a seam route up the middle and split the safety and the cornerback and went untouched for the 25-yard score.

“It made a big emotional change,” said Caton. “From there on out we knew we had a better hold on the game. Our energy was at a high level and we kept it.”

Caton said that their goal-line stand was a product of a good team effort with everyone working together.

The win keeps them undefeated and Caton said they’ll need to stay focused each week to sustain that streak.

“Every day at practice work stay together and believe in each other, and just keep our energy up at a high level,” said Caton.

While the Zephyrs ran 75 plays, they only amassed 263 yards of total offense. The defense didn’t allow any big plays, and Roeder said they did a good job of coming out and setting the tone. The defense also created four turnovers along with that big goal-line stand.