Freedom came into the game with a stronger and more athletic team.

And the Patriots certainly flexed their muscles and flashed that speed in a 42-0 win over Pleasant Valley Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

An efficient Freedom offense didn’t even face a third down until deep into the third quarter when the game was already out of reach.

“We had a physical advantage on them and we blocked well up front and it gave space for our play makers to do what they do,” said Freedom head coach Jason Roeder.

The primary play maker was quarterback Brian Taylor. The senior completed 8 of his 10 passes and could have had a perfect night if not for a couple dropped balls.

“All credit to my linemen and receivers for making plays,” said Taylor. “None of those passes would have happened without them making plays so all credit to them.”

Taylor threw for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for 73 yards and a score.

“He was throwing darts tonight,” said Roeder. “We’ve been focusing on improvement and the offense is getting better every week. We have a lot of good football players so we’re spreading the ball around and letting guys make plays.”

The Patriots (6-2) controlled the line of scrimmage, rushing for 265 yards on 28 carries with Deonte Crawford leading the way with 123 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

“When our O-line can do their job I can do mine and I appreciate them for that,” said Crawford.

In the first half the Freedom offense had only two plays go for gains of less than five yards and one of those was Crawford’s 1-yard TD run.

“They’re an incredible football team,” said Bears head coach Blaec Saeger. ““They are enormous. They’re strong. They’re disciplined. They’re fast. They’re athletic. They’re everything you need in a football team, which is why they are down here competing for a title with all these monster schools. I give them all the credit in the world. They’re where every program like us wants to be.”

The Patriots went ahead with a pair of first-quarter scores, one on a 40-yard Crawford run and the next on Taylor’s 44-yard pass to Owen Johnson (4 catches, 78 yards, 2 TDs).

Johnson and Taylor connected for another touchdown, this time from nine yards out early in the second quarter.

Taylor ran in a 3-yard score later in the period and the back-breaker came with 51 seconds left in the half when Crawford plunged in from a yard out to put his team up by a mercy-rule score of 35-0.

Jalen Fletcher’s 22-yard third quarter touchdown run capped the scoring. Freedom kicker Zeyad Rayab made all six extra points on the night for the Patriots.

The Bears (4-3) still have District 11 Class 6A playoff hopes with two games remaining on their schedule, which includes Pocono Mountain West next week and Stroudsburg to finish the season.

Freedom is now on a four-game win streak with just two weeks left in the regular season. The Patriots climbed up to third in the District 11 Class 6A rankings with the win, behind only Parkland and Northampton. The top four places are all somewhat close and even with wins the Patriots could find themselves as low as fourth, or as high as first or second when the regular season is complete.

Roeder had no inclination to look at district rankings with Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty remaining on the schedule.

“We have a city game this week,” he said. “It’s all about playing Bethlehem Catholic right now. Everything we do is about that. There will be time when the season is over to look big picture but right now it’s all about Bethlehem Catholic.”