LV Game of the Week: #9 Easton and #5 Freedom

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With Easton entering the PennLive top ten this week, we have our first matchup of state ranked opponents in the Lehigh Valley this season when the Rovers travel to BASD Stadium on Friday to take on #5 Freedom. The Patriots are one of the few remaining undefeateds in 6A, and they've played like the clear EPC favorite through the first eight weeks, easily taking down fellow contenders Nazareth and Parkland. This is the biggest game Easton has played since 2014 and how the Red Rovers respond in a huge, late season game with stakes will be the next big test in Matt Senneca's second year. The winner here has the inside track on the top seed in the D11 playoffs and home games through semifinals.

 

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Freedom
Offense
QB: Chase Walker (Sr. 6’4 240; East Stroudsburg – baseball): 101-167; 1,626 yards, 16 TDs, 4 INTs
RB: Aaron Beete (Sr. 5’10 165; Kutztown): 125 carries, 1,090 yards, 13 TDs
WR: Shacre Colwell (Sr. 6’2 170): 31 catches, 551 yards, 7 TDs
WR: Amare DuBoise (Sr. 5’10 165): 23 catches, 394 yards, 5 TDs
WR: Jelani Fedrick (Sr. 5’9 175): 18 catches, 300 yards, TD
TE: Jacob Hauze (Jr. 6’3 245): 4 catches, 55 yard
LT: Dylan Hill (Sr. 6’3 250)
LG: Aaron James (Jr. 6’2 280)
C: Dan Schiffert (Jr. 6’4 300)
RG: Ryan Ellis (Sr. 5’11 245)
RT: Tanner Wheeler (Sr. 6’5 280; Richmond)

The Freedom offense has been the league’s best unit in 2024. It starts up front with the best offensive line in the Lehigh Valley. It’s a big, athletic group with difference makers at tackle in Wheeler and Hill, who are both three-year starters. Schiffert and James are both putting themselves on college radars, and it’s the physicality and athleticism on the interior that really makes a difference. Chase Walker has blossomed in his second year as a starter into a real quarterback versus an athlete playing quarterback. He also has a dangerous set of receivers in Colwell and DuBoise. Colwell in particular is a problem, he’s rangy and fast and a state level track athlete with FCS and MAC offers in football. And Beete is the latest in Freedom’s running back assembly line. They’ve had tremendous success with taking multiyear starters in their secondary and plugging them in at tailback as seniors and watching them explode. Jalen Stewart, Deante Crawford, Jalen Fletcher, Noah Pierre and now Beete are all 1,000 yard rushers in their only years as starters in the last five full seasons (skipping COVID). Beete is really fast, and more physical than his measurables would tell you. He also does a great job hiding behind the huge guys he has up front, then exploding to the second level.

Defense
DE: Jacob Hauze (Jr. 6’3 245): 11 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks
NT: Tanner Wheeler (Sr. 6’5 280; Richmond): 7 tackles, TFL
DE: Dylan Hill (Sr. 6’3 250): 13 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks
DE: Ryan Ellis (Sr. 5’11 245): 10 tackles, 2 sacks
LB: Ryan Roeder (Sr. 6’0 205): 23 tackles, 5 TFL, sack, INT
LB: Xavier DeJesus (Jr. 5’11 185): 23 tackles, 4 TLF, sack
LB: Jayden Macon (Sr. 5’10 205): 31 tackles, 2 TFL
DB: Gabe Fihlman (Sr. 6’0 180): 23 tackles, INT
DB: Amare DuBoise (Sr. 5’10 165): 19 tackles, INT, RET TD
DB: Shacre Colwell (Sr. 6’2 170): 10 tackles, 2 INTs
DB: Aaron Beete (Sr. 5’10 165; Kutztown): 26 tackles, 2 INTs
DB: Jelani Fedrick (Sr. 5’9 175): 6 tackles, INT

Jason Roeder’s Freedom teams have made their money on defense and this year’s group is another good one. Again, the strength is up front, with Wheeler, Hill, Hauze, and Ryan Ellis all giving them versatile big athletes in the three man front. Wheeler in particular is a load. Their back seven took a massive hit when Justin Peluso, a Lafayette commit and a clear All State candidate, was declared out for the season with a leg injury after week five. Roeder’s nephew Ryan has filled in admirably, and they still have a ton of athletes, but they don’t quite have the massive playmaker back there with Peluso out. As always, they’re great at forcing turnovers – nobody coaches ripping the ball out quite like Greg Moore (the Freedom DC) and they’ll attack on every play. Fihlman and Colwell in particular are problems in the secondary with their combination of speed and size.

 

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Easton
Offense
QB: Cole Ordway (Jr. 5’11 170): 69-114, 1,118 yards, 11 TDs, 4 INTs/45carries, 297 yards, 4 TDs
RB: Will Day (Sr. 5’10 185): 100 carries, 653 yards, 14 TDs
RB: Dorian Thomas (Sr. 5’9 170): 128 carries, 788 yards, 11 TDs
WR: Jasir Frutchey (Sr. 6’4 215): 19 catches, 347 yards, 5 TDs
WR: JC Wilson (Sr. 6’3 205): 15 catches, 273 yards
WR: Cael DiSora (Sr. 6’3 195): 6 catches, 77 yards, 2 KR TDs
WR: Andrew Biddle (Jr. 5’10 165): 13 catches, 275 yards, 3 TDs
TE: Kurtis Crossman (Jr. 6’3 225): 3 catches, 41 yards
LT: Algee Macon (Jr. 6’2 205)
LG: Marquis Labossiere (Sr. 5’10 255)
C: Gavin Crosson (Jr. 6’1 290)
RG: Jackson Fuhrer (Jr. 6’3 240)
RT: Elijah Grovesnor (Jr. 6’4 250)

If Freedom doesn’t have the best offensive line, Easton does. This unit took their lumps last year when four players got tons of playing time as sophomores, who probably weren’t physically read for varsity football. But they’ve been mauling teams in 2024, and that’s freed up the best running back duo in the Valley in Dorian Thomas and Will Day to combine for 1,435 yards and 24 touchdowns in the first seven games of the year. It’s a thunder-lightning duo, with Thomas the track speed back and Day the mauler, though Day has a big enough set of responsibilities on defense that Thomas has been the bell cow in terms of carry distribution. It will be interesting in a talent equated game to see how many carries Day gets on offense. But the biggest improvement throughout the year has been Cole Ordway, who has really stepped his game up in the RPO – he’s hit big touchdown completions after pulling the ball the last three weeks. They’ve got monster receivers, with Frutchey, Wilson, and DiSora all big, physical targets, and Biddle has emerged as a shifty target from the slot on underneath routes.

Defense
DE: Algee Macon (Jr. 6’2 205): 25 tackles, 8 TFL, 6 sacks, blocked kick
DT: Marquis Labossiere (Sr. 5’10 255): 22 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks
DT: Omar Mahmoud (Sr. 5’11 255): 11 tackles, 5 TFL, sack
DE: Kurtis Crossman (Jr. 6’3 225):: 23 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 sacks
DE: Anthony Diaz (Jr. 6’3 215): 12 tackles, 3 TFL
LB: Mekhi Grant (Sr. 5’10 215): 35 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 INTs
LB: Mason Fleming (Sr. 5’11 195): 37 tackles, 8 TFL, 2 sacks
LB: Will Day (Sr. 5’10 185):: 34 tackles, 2 TFL, sack, FF, INT, SAF
LB/DB: Jasir Frutchey (Sr. 6’4 215):: 19 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 INT, SAF
DB: Cael DiSora (Sr. 6’3 195):: 35 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 INTs
DB: Andrew Biddle (Jr. 5’10 165):: 21 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 INTs, RET TD
DB: Sean McPeek (So. 6’4 195): 13 tackles
DB: JC Wilson (Sr. 6’3 205): 13 tackles

Historically, Easton is a program driven by its running game and defense, and getting back to that DNA is why they’re winning. The defensive line is incredibly deep for a high school program, they’ll roll out seven different players who get real snaps with little drop off between them. They’ve used Algee Macon as a pass rush specialist (splitting reps with Anthony Diaz) and Macon has been a major disruptor off the edge, sharing the EPC lead in sacks. Kurtis Crossman has put himself on FCS radars at the other end spot. Marquis Labossiere is the classic short Easton defensive tackle with a huge motor who plays with leverage and creates havoc in the middle, and they’ll also roll Omar Mahmoud, Jackson Fuhrer, Darius Pound, and Elijah Grovesnor through those spots in the middle as they morph from a 3-3-5 to a 4-3 depending on down and distance. The linebacker play has been great – Mekhi Grant is putting his name in the hat for DPOY in the league after the Peluso injury and a big showing against Freedom may solidify that. And the secondary has caused a lot of havoc – it’s a size mismatch with a lot of teams, particularly DiSora and Frutchey, who are better defenders than offensive players. Frutchey gets used as a Swiss army knife – they’ll line him up at rush end, outside linebacker, or safety depending on the looks they get from the offense. Biddle has had an All State caliber year at slot corner, and is amongst the state leaders in interceptions.

 

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Freedom’s Offensive Keys
1. Big Passing Plays
Chase Walker averages nearly ten yards an attempt, and even in games where he’s not super accurate, he’s blown games open with huge chunk plays. Eight completions for 220 yards against Allentown Central Catholic. Eight completions for 221 yards against Nazareth. Eleven completions for 227 yards against East Stroudsburg South. Shacre Colwell and Amare DuBois both average more than 17 yards per catch, and especially if Easton commits a lot of resources to stopping the run, Walker can blow the game open throwing it over the top, particularly to Colwell.
2. The Offensive Line
Easton will throw a ton of defensive linemen at Freedom to keep their front fresh. Tanner Wheeler, Ryan Ellis, and Dylan Hill will play a lot both ways, and they’ll have to be the better conditioned team. Aaron Beete has been able to get his in every game this year, which is a credit to the Freedom offensive line. How they pass protect against a really good Easton pass rush will determine whether key #1 is possible.

Easton Defensive Keys
1. Stop the Run
Easton has played two close games and five blowouts. In the blowouts, they’ve suffocated the run to the tune of 58 yards per game and 2.5 yards per carry. Against Emmaus and CB West, it’s 222 yards and 6.3 yards per carry. The Emmaus total is kind of misleading, as the Green Hornets ran for 137 yards on two plays, and 63 yards on their other 23 carries. But big plays in the run game by Freedom will end Easton’s chances here pretty quickly.
2. Cover Shacre Colwell
Against the best teams on their schedule, Colwell has been the difference maker in the Freedom offense.

• Torrey Pines: 4 catches, 112 yards, TD
• Parkland: 2 TDs
• Nazareth: 3 catches, 139 yards, TD
• Bethlehem Catholic: 6 catches for 72 yards
• Northampton: 8 catches for 97 yards, TD

He plays like a shifty slot receiver, who can really make things happen after the catch. But, he’s 6’2 and is probably the best jump ball receiver in the Valley (see, both end zone fades against Parkland). Easton is the one team that can match his size in the secondary – don’t be surprised if he gets bracketed by 6’4 Sean McPeek and 6’3 Cael DiSora. Amare DuBoise is a good second option, but Easton has to make him the primary receiver.

Easton Offensive Keys
1. Make Freedom Pick Their Poison
Easton has done a fantastic job in their seven game winning streak being flexible offensively. They ran the ball down Spring-Ford, Emmaus, Northampton, and Liberty’s throats. Stroudsburg and Northeast sold out to stop the run and Easton was able to adjust and torch them through the air. Freedom is the most complete defense they’ve seen. If they’re going to stay in their shell and rely on their size and versatility up front to stop the run, Easton offensive line will have to impose their will and Day and Thomas will need to get chunk plays on a light box. If Freedom starts creeping their strike down and getting safeties involved in the run game, we’ll need to see more of JC Wilson and Jasir Frutchey on the outside than we have lately. I don’t necessarily think the RPO slot/tight end seam stuff is going to be there against Freedom, though Andrew Biddle has been a real positive surprise on offense. But this feels like a game where it’s the big guys on the perimeter will have to show out against a lot of the 5’10 guys in the Freedom secondary.
2. No turnovers
The hallmark of the Freedom football resurgence since 2013 has been their ability to force turnovers. This group has 22 in eight games. Easton has only coughed it up seven times in eight games. Something is going to have to give. This is one reason I think Will Day will be the featured running back. He’s the bigger, sturdier back, who has not fumbled once in his career and particularly if this game turns into grind mode, I feel more confident in him taking care of the football against a Freedom back seven that is going to gang tackle and rip the ball like crazy.

Freedom Defensive Keys
1. Use structure to mess with the run game
We talked about this last week with Liberty, but the 3-3-5 can be awkward to run against and Freedom has excelled in getting unblocked linebackers into the backfields if offensive lines aren’t sharpe with their communication. The absence of Justin Peluso gets felt the most here, he’s a monster who could really explode through gaps and mess up a run game. Ryan Roeder will be in that role Friday and he’ll need to play his best game of the year. Easton’s offensive line, particularly the right side with Jackson Fuhrer and Elijah Grovesnor, really gets to the second level well, and Kurtis Crossman at tight end has emerged as one of the best run blockers in the Valley. How well Freedom’s linebackers stay off of those blocks will be how well they stop the run.
2. Keep Cole Ordway in the Pocket
The Easton offense has become more dangerous as quarterback Cole Ordway has become more comfortable extending plays with his legs, either keeping his eyes downfield for big completions (see the opening touchdown to Andrew Biddle last week) or pulling the ball down and picking up yards with his legs (he ran for 96 yards against Stroudsburg and 102 last week against Liberty). Making him a purely pocket passer severely restricts what Easton does on offense. They’ll roll him out to give him options, but the more Freedom can keep him in a box, the better their chances on Friday.