Is there anything real in the world anymore?

In the history of Freedom football there have been many great and dramatic moments, and it is either tomfoolery or naive to take a single game, a single great play, a single great win and say, ‘this is it, this is the greatest win in the history of Freedom High School football.’

But on Oct. 12, at East Penn School District Stadium, Freedom definitely had a great and dramatic moment. After 48 minutes and then some of glorious field combat between two quality high school programs, the scoreboard in the south end zone stated the cold, hard facts - Freedom 32, Emmaus 31.

The win kept the Patriots undefeated (8-0, 6-0 EPC) and leaves them one game up on Emmaus (7-1, 5-1 EPC), with two games remaining against Central Catholic and Liberty.

“We have a mantra,” said an elated Freedom coach Jason Roeder in the game’s giddy aftermath. “We call it ‘our way.’ It’s about handling adversity. It’s about being tough minded. You saw it right there.”

What created that final verdict could only have come from deep inside young men who, frankly, on this night took a step toward becoming men. Also, the coaches who gave the best of their hearts and minds to help their young men stand tall when it’s easy to stand small, and the Freedom fans who learned a long time ago to never question a true Patriots’ courage while under siege.

After taking it on the chin most of the contest, the Pates had, somehow, someway, managed to pull within one point at 31-30 in overtime. In this moment of truth, Roeder showed he doesn’t coach football games to lose or tie. He coaches football games to win.

Quarterback Jared Jenkins went back to pass and noticed tight end Jack Gawlik was running free in the right side of the end zone. Calmly, Jenkins flipped a pass that Gawlik cradled like a baby for the winning two-point conversion. It was the only time Freedom led all night.

“We practice it,” says Roeder of the winning play. “We practice it over the week and the kids executed it.”

For more than 44 minutes the Patriots had been frolicking around on the cold, damp grass. Yes, they had managed to hang around, but you can’t win football games just hanging around.

Besieged by Emmaus upper cuts and jabs, the Patriots were about kaput. Emmaus has great football team, great players and a quality coaching staff under the direction of Harold Fairclough, a very good football coach. On this night, Emmaus was a better football team. The stats showed it, your eyes witnessed it, and for more than 44 minutes, the scoreboard proved it.

When Lubens Myers (20 carries for 148 yards) took it to the house on a 4-yard run with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter, the Hornets led 24-9. The Patriots were about 35 minutes away in real time from a very quiet bus ride back to Bethlehem.

Emmaus was simply the better football team.

Until they weren’t.

All night Emmaus had shot itself in the foot. Yes, they led by 15 points, but the advantage could have been much larger. They blitzed the Patriots for a 341-to-121 yardage advantage in first half, yet led only 14-6.

Two costly turnovers deep in Freedom territory and a badly-timed clipping penalty erased a beautiful 40-yard punt return for a touchdown by Brandon Camire. The second half was closer, but the Green Hornets still outplayed Freedom and gained more than a staggering 500 yards in offense for the game. However, the Green Hornets committed a sobering 18 penalties throughout, resulting in a loss of 162 in yardage.

In the final three minutes, Emmaus paid dearly for their transgressions.

Missed assignments, a penalty, a botched snap and the rest of the apocalypse followed. Still, Freedom only had a chance for victory.

“It’s always about the next play,” Roeder said of his team’s positive mental attitude. “It’s always about what we can do next, what we can control.”

A positive mental attitude is good talk, but sometimes talk is cheap.

“That’s a lot easier to do when you’re up, it’s not as easy to do when you’re behind,” Roeder said. “But all credit to the kids. They stayed the course. That’s not easy for teenagers to do, but we keep battling, keep battling, keep battling.”

Down 15 points Jenkins - who had spent most of the evening running lukewarm - got hot. He expertly led Freedom on a touchdown drive, culminating in a 13-yard touchdown pass into the waiting hands of Gabe Caton to close to 24-16 with 1:11 left. Still, the Patriots were in deep trouble. An on-side kickoff failed. All Emmaus had to do was acquire one first down and run out the clock, or run three plays, punt and pin the Patriots in a deep hole 70-to-80-some yards from the Green Hornet goal line with little time left and no timeouts.

Emmaus did neither. They committed a penalty, threw an incomplete pass stopping the clock, and then had a bad center snap on a punt attempt. The gift gave Freedom possession at the Emmaus 17-yard line.

Two plays later Jenkins hit Vince Reph for a 17-yard touchdown pass. But Freedom was still under the gun. Earlier in the game, after their first touchdown, they had shanked the extra point, and now trailed by two. Jenkins didn’t let the pressure get to him, and converted with a nifty, two-point pass to Matthew Russin to tie the contest.

It was as if someone has flipped the Patriots’ switch, and they had wiped out a 15-point deficit in a mere 44 seconds.

Then came the incredible overtime session, where execution and courage pulled victory from the ashes of defeat.

“What a night,” Roeder said.

The Freedom Patriots answered the question is there anything real in the world anymore with a resounding yes. The answer: Their incredible will to win.

Liberty, meanwhile, won a huge game over Central, 32-14, to stay alive for a district berth.

Nasir Legree scored three times in the win and Justin Diaz returned a blocked punt 44 yards for a score.

The Hurricanes will face Whitehall (1-7) and Freedom (8-) in their final two games.

Liberty likely holds the slight edge over PM West for the eight-seed if both teams win their final two games, split, or lose both.

An eighth seed in the playoffs potentially sets up a first-round, D-11 matchup with Freedom, which is currently in line for the top seed.