BETHLEHEM – Bethlehem Liberty sophomore quarterback Doug Erney passed for career high 342 yards and three touchdowns and his Hurricanes defense forced six Patriot (2-8) turnovers en route to a 25-7 win over Freedom Saturday afternoon at BASD Stadium.
With the win Liberty finishes the regular season with a 5-5 record and leads the overall series, 31-14. The Hurricanes should find out later this weekend if they qualify for the Class 4A Eastern Conference playoffs.
Freedom came out strong on the opening drive. Freshman quarterback Joe Young drove his team deep into Liberty territory, but Young fumbled the ball and Liberty recovered it on the 31-yard line.
“We were worried about their running game,” said Liberty head football coach John Truby. “They ran all over us and came out strong early.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Liberty broke a scoreless tie on an Erney to Darius Jones 70-yard touchdown pass. Freedom’s Jared O’Donnell blocked the extra point and the Hurricanes led 6-0.
Liberty’s Xavier Wilcher intercepted a Joe Young pass that resulted in another Hurricane score. Harvey House scored on a 24-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed and Liberty led 12-0.
Freedom finally got on the scoreboard, capping an 11-play, 66-yard drive when Louden Klotz powered in from 11-yards out to cut the lead to 12-7 with 2:13 remaining in the first half.
Liberty answered right back and it took only one play. Erney hit Jones in stride at mid-field for the 75-yard touchdown pass with 1:55 left.
At the end of the first half, Liberty’s defense forced four turnovers and went into halftime with an 18-7 lead.
The Hurricanes wasted little time to extend their lead in the second half. Erney hooked up with Josiah Wright for another big play. This one went 64-yards for the score.
The Hurricanes defense continued their domination in the second half creating two more turnovers. One of them was a spectacular one-handed interception by K.J. Williams late in the fourth quarter.
NOTE: Freedom turned the ball over six times. Freshman quarterback Joe Young threw five interceptions.
Syracuse University bound K.J. Williams had only two catches for 37-yards in his final regular season game. Darius Jones had a big day for the Hurricanes. He caught four passes for 190-yards and two scores.
Liberty had three scoring drives of 60 yards or more. “We knew we were capable of big plays,” said Erney.
