Freedom got off to a strong start last week in their marquee showdown with Parkland, but the Trojans used a dominant offensive performance to pull away for a 41-21 victory at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

The Patriots (1-1) jumped ahead 14-7 in the second quarter, highlighted by a 58-yard touchdown pass from Michael Stofanak to Davyan Moore and a touchdown run by Lashawn Johnson. But Parkland responded by scoring the next 27 points and eventually put the game away behind a balanced offensive attack.

Parkland (1-1) totaled 475 yards, with quarterback Finn Coen throwing for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the first half before running back TJ Lawrence took over after halftime. Lawrence rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns.

Freedom head coach Jason Roeder said Parkland proved to be the better team across all phases of the game.

“The big plays hurt us in the first half, and the ground and pound hurt us in the second half,” Roeder said. “They were the better football team tonight. You can’t put your finger on one aspect of the game. We got beat in all three phases.”

Parkland used their rushing attack in the second half to blow open a 20-14 halftime lead, as the Trojans didn’t throw a pass in the second half.

Lawrence ran 13 times for 199 yards with all three of his scores coming after halftime.

Freedom ended Parkland’s 34-point run in the fourth quarter after Jahaire Hughes ran 14 yards to the three-yard line before fumbling. Reshaun Jones recovered the loose ball and carried it into the end zone for the Patriots’ final touchdown.

Freedom had one final opportunity to add to its total, driving to the Parkland two-yard line late in the game, but the Patriots were unable to score before time expired.

The loss was a sharp contrast to Freedom’s explosive 51-20 victory over Downingtown West in the season opener, but Roeder said the Patriots must quickly learn from the setback and continue improving.

“We felt really, really good last week, and we feel really, really bad this week,” Roeder said. “Whenever you’ve got young kids, you’ve got to learn from it and move on and get better.”

Freedom will now look to bounce back next week when it hosts Phillipsburg on Friday night in another renewal of a former EPC rivalry. The Stateliners (2-0) enter the matchup coming off a 24-10 victory over Emmaus after opening the season with a win over Parkland.