The fall has gotten away from me and I've been lax on big Lehigh Valley posts on here (props to Stalker for always having the central part of the state covered) but last night Freedom absolutely romped in a battle of the Lehigh Valley's two best teams. After playing a classic in the regular season, won by a furious Patriots comeback with a TD and two point conversion in the final seconds to tie and a two point conversion in OT to win 32-21, Freedom made all of the adjustments, particularly defensively, and held Emmaus 13 points below their lowest season output and ran away with a 49-17 win and the first D11 title in program history.
Freedom won the game at the end of the first half. After the Patriots went up 14-3, Emmaus put together a long TD drive capped by a Sone Ntoh touchdown run. Emmaus held Freedom to a three and out and got the ball back, down 14-10 with 3 minutes left in the half and one of the most potent offenses in the state taking the field. On the first play, Freedom corner Rontay Dunbar jumped a comeback route and returned an interception for a touchdown. Suddenly, it was 21-10 game. Emmaus got the kickoff back and went in to a two minute drill. With a minute left, EPC Defensive Player of the Year Tristan Wheeler came unblocked on an A gap blitz and strip sacked Ethan Parvel, giving Freedom the ball at midfield with a minute to score. The Patriots hit two big pass plays, and opted to go for it from the 1 yard line with two seconds left in the half, where Wheeler crossed the plane on a second effort to put Freeodm up 28-10 at the break. Freedom got the opening kickoff of the second half and drive for a score to go up 35-10 and that was all she wrote.
Freedom's defense played very well - their linebackers are really good and can really run, particularly Wheeler, a Richmond commit and definite All State player. They also are really good and really big on the defensive line, and created a ton of pressure on Parvel, who was throwing off of his back foot all night. They also held the Emmaus rushing attack to 68 yards on 30 carries. Kaden Moore, the 6'4 315 pound junior, dominated the line of scrimmage and Freedom up tons of space for Wheeler, Jack Gawlick, and Jalen Stewart to be in the backfield all evening.
Offensively, I finally saw the Jalen Stewart I heard about from Lehigh Valley football people going in to his sophomore year. He's been an excellent linebacker/safety for the past two seasons, but really hadn't shown a ton as a running back. Last night, he ran for 181 yards and 4 TDs on 18 carries and looked like an absolute monster. He's big (6'1 215) but was breaking away once he got to the second level. With Moore and that massive Freedom offensive line blocking for him, he looked unstoppable.
Jared Jenkins was also sharp all night, completing 9-12 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. He was great about buying time with his legs and extending plays, but scrambling to throw, though he did run for 50 yards. He's accurate and efficient, and I'd imagine will be a Patriot League, Villanova/Delaware level player as scholarship offers start coming in for the junior.
Congrats to Jason Roeder. He's the longest tenured coach with his school in the EPC South (hard to believe) and has put Freedom football on the map for the first time, well, ever. He's also a class guy who is well respected by pretty much everybody in Lehigh Valley football. I'm happy for him that his program has finally climbed the mountain.
Freedom won the game at the end of the first half. After the Patriots went up 14-3, Emmaus put together a long TD drive capped by a Sone Ntoh touchdown run. Emmaus held Freedom to a three and out and got the ball back, down 14-10 with 3 minutes left in the half and one of the most potent offenses in the state taking the field. On the first play, Freedom corner Rontay Dunbar jumped a comeback route and returned an interception for a touchdown. Suddenly, it was 21-10 game. Emmaus got the kickoff back and went in to a two minute drill. With a minute left, EPC Defensive Player of the Year Tristan Wheeler came unblocked on an A gap blitz and strip sacked Ethan Parvel, giving Freedom the ball at midfield with a minute to score. The Patriots hit two big pass plays, and opted to go for it from the 1 yard line with two seconds left in the half, where Wheeler crossed the plane on a second effort to put Freeodm up 28-10 at the break. Freedom got the opening kickoff of the second half and drive for a score to go up 35-10 and that was all she wrote.
Freedom's defense played very well - their linebackers are really good and can really run, particularly Wheeler, a Richmond commit and definite All State player. They also are really good and really big on the defensive line, and created a ton of pressure on Parvel, who was throwing off of his back foot all night. They also held the Emmaus rushing attack to 68 yards on 30 carries. Kaden Moore, the 6'4 315 pound junior, dominated the line of scrimmage and Freedom up tons of space for Wheeler, Jack Gawlick, and Jalen Stewart to be in the backfield all evening.
Offensively, I finally saw the Jalen Stewart I heard about from Lehigh Valley football people going in to his sophomore year. He's been an excellent linebacker/safety for the past two seasons, but really hadn't shown a ton as a running back. Last night, he ran for 181 yards and 4 TDs on 18 carries and looked like an absolute monster. He's big (6'1 215) but was breaking away once he got to the second level. With Moore and that massive Freedom offensive line blocking for him, he looked unstoppable.
Jared Jenkins was also sharp all night, completing 9-12 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. He was great about buying time with his legs and extending plays, but scrambling to throw, though he did run for 50 yards. He's accurate and efficient, and I'd imagine will be a Patriot League, Villanova/Delaware level player as scholarship offers start coming in for the junior.
Congrats to Jason Roeder. He's the longest tenured coach with his school in the EPC South (hard to believe) and has put Freedom football on the map for the first time, well, ever. He's also a class guy who is well respected by pretty much everybody in Lehigh Valley football. I'm happy for him that his program has finally climbed the mountain.
