By Jeff Odom
Freedom football coach Todd Donohoe couldn’t help but laugh with his players as they huddled together after the game under a steady rain that had been falling since the opening kickoff.
After two lopsided losses to open the season, his Patriots (2-2, 1-0) won their second straight game and tied the win total from last season, beating Class 7A-District 7 rival Steinbrenner 25-19 at home Sept. 21.
“The kids are working so hard, the coaching staff too,” Donohoe said. “Freedom really needed this.”
The Patriots defense didn’t allow a touchdown by dominating the Warriors’ (1-3, 0-1) offensive line and sacking quarterback Curtis Fitch three times. Steinbrenner, which was without its top wide receiver Jon Marc Carrier because of a knee injury, also fumbled five times, three of which were recovered by Freedom.
“We bend, but we didn’t break,” said senior linebacker Isaac Tanner. “We just stood together as a team, and that was the biggest thing.”
The Patriots relied heavily on their rushing attack, which quickly wore down the Warriors’ defense.
Led by running back Andre Folks, the Patriots drove 65 yards to set up their first score. Sophomore quarterback Taylor King found Sayff Saed in the back of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown to go ahead 7-3.
The four-point lead lasted only 16 seconds as Steinbrenner halfback Kendall Pearcey answered with an 80-yard return to the house on the ensuing kickoff.
That’s when King told his offense it was time to go.
“We came into the game with high confidence and really executed,” King said. “On offense, we still need to get better, but we keep working every play.”
Freedom scored again to open the second quarter as Nate Godwin punched it in from near the goal line.
“We watched a lot of film, and we knew where they were going to come at,” Godwin said. “We brought the pain to them, and just did what we got to do.”
After the Warriors missed a 48-yard field goal, the Patriots were back at it with the trio of Folks, Godwin and King, which combined for four first downs on the drive. King called his own number on first-and-goal from the two-yard line for another Patriots touchdown to extend the lead to nine after a missed extra point.
Steinbrenner cut the deficit to six with a 42-yard field goal by Michael Ruggles before the break, but Freedom extended it to 12 on their first play after halftime.
King (9-of-13, 148 yards) rolled out and found Alunte Fleshman, who got around two defenders and scampered 90 yards for a touchdown.
The Warriors scored one more time in the fourth quarter as Tyler McClain and Nick Ringo jumped a Patriots fumble in the end zone to make it a one possession game.
Steinbrenner’s defense stifled Freedom on its next two drives, setting up one last comeback attempt.
Passes of seven and 11 yards to Pearcey put the ball on the 27-yard line, but Fitch threw four straight incompletions to end the game.
“We came to Brandon (last week) and the offense stepped it up; we came out here tonight and they stepped it up again,” Godwin said. “We’re going to keep working hard, keep competing and we want to go to the playoffs and keep moving.”
The Patriots host Alonso Sept. 28. The Warriors have a bye this week before hosting district rival Gaither Oct. 5. All games start at 7:30 p.m.
