The first quarter of the regular season finale between Freedom and Liberty went as expected in the matchup between the undefeated Patriots and the 4-5 Hurricanes. Liberty’s opening drive resulted in a quick three-and-out and the ensuing punt into the gusting wind set Freedom up at its own 45. It took a little over two minutes and six plays for the Pates’ offense to put up the first score of the game, a 9-yard run by Matthew Russin.

The ‘Canes fared no better on their second possession. Two runs for negative yardage were followed by an incomplete pass and the punt team came on for the second time. This punt stayed on the Liberty side of the field and Freedom offense took over at the 42. Five plays later, Liberty head coach John Truby had his first big decision.

A holding penalty on third down gave Truby the choice of giving Freedom a 4th-and-6 from the 13, or a 3rd-and-16 from the 23. He opted to decline the penalty. Nicholas Stannard booted the 30-yard field goal through the uprights to make the Patriot lead 10-0.

Liberty was able to able to record their initial first down of the game by converting on 3rd-and-10 on its next drive. However, when the drive stalled, a high snap on the punt led to a 12-yard loss and set Freedom up on the Hurricane 27. This time the Hurricanes’ defense stepped up and forced an incomplete pass on 4th-and-4 from the 21 as the clock ran out on the first quarter.

The 10-0 score and Liberty’s two total yards of offense turned people’s attention to the out-of-town scores. Pocono Mountain West was in the process of being shut out by PM East. A Liberty loss and a PM West loss would lead to a tie for the final District XI playoff spot. As the mathematically-inclined observers were firing up their spreadsheets to calculate whether Liberty would back into the playoffs, Truby’s squad got down to business.

The Hurricanes held the ball for the first 7:37 minutes of the second quarter as they embarked on a 79-yard march. The key play occurred on 4th-and-6 from the Freedom 14. A Todd Erney pass to a diving Daniel Damon appeared to be a touchdown. However, the officials (correctly) ruled the pass incomplete. However, the Patriots were flagged for roughing the passer. With this new life, the ‘Canes did score their first points on a 2-yard Erney run. A failed conversion left the score at 10-6.

It looked like Freedom would respond to this adversity when a 36-yard kickoff return set them up at the 42. On 3rd down, QB Jared Jenkins saw Rontay Dunbar get open deep and launched a pass in his direction. Throwing into the stiff breeze caused the pass to come up short and the Patriots had to punt.

A 21-yard Nasir Legree run and a 35-yard pass from Erney to Kendrick Wesley were the key plays on a Liberty drive that resulted on a 37-yard Alexander Sahaydak field goal with 7 seconds left in the first half that cut the Freedom lead to a single point at 10-9.

Freedom had entered the game having only turned the ball over 6 times through their first 9 games. That total would be almost doubled by the time the final horn sounded.

Trevor Harris forced a fumble near midfield on the first possession of the second half. Legree went into workhorse mode, carrying the ball six times on the subsequent drive, capping it with a touchdown plunge from the one to give Liberty the lead for the first time at 15-10.

The Pates appeared ready to reclaim the lead as they quickly drove to the Hurricane 30 as the third quarter ended. After the teams switched ends, Freedom coughed up another fumble on the back end of a reception, ending the scoring threat on the Liberty 13.

A short drive and a punt gave the ball back to the Patriots at their own 25 with 7:50 remaining in the game. On the second play from scrimmage, Damon picked off a pass and set up the ‘Canes at the Freedom 44. Liberty took advantage of the quick change as Dallas Holmes hit Rondell McNeil for 41 yards, setting up Legree for his second TD run two plays later to make 22-10 Liberty with 6:23 remaining.

After a late hit on the kickoff return, Freedom took over on the plus side of the field and proceeded to march toward a score. Once again, Damon terminated the drive with an interception, this time by stretching out and keeping his feet in bounds in the back of the end zone for a touchback. Liberty was able to take a couple of minutes off the clock and got a favorable downwind roll on the punt, pinning Freedom at the 18 with 2:30 left.

On the next two plays from scrimmage, Harris forced another fumble, Freedom’s fifth consecutive turnover, and Legree scored his third TD to bring the final margin to 29-10.

The win clinched the eighth and final spot in the District XI playoffs for the Hurricanes. Despite the loss, Freedom held on to the number-one seed, setting up a rematch at 7 p.m. at BASD stadium.

After the game, Truby remarked on the team’s turnaround after the first quarter.

“Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere. We didn’t handle it well in the first 10 minutes, the first quarter really, and the kids just kept battling and fighting,” Truby said

The atmosphere on Friday is sure to be amped up to an even higher level, as both teams will be playing to keep their season alive and Freedom looking for revenge on the team that spoiled their perfect season.