BETHLEHEM – When it mattered the most, the Patriots made the plays, outscoring the Golden Hawks 15-0 in the second half to win, 24-3 against cross town rival Bethlehem Catholic at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Leading the way was running back Aaron Beete who rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
“You know what you’re getting with him.” said Roeder. “He is as tough as they come and he doesn’t need much room to find the hole.”
In the first half, both teams were a little out of sync. Freedom managed to get the only touchdown in the first half. Chase Walker threw a dart and Amare DuBoise made the diving catch for eight yards. Nathan Stannard’s kick made it 7-0 Freedom.
The defense was stellar all night for Freedom. The Golden Hawks started on offense deep in Freedom territory. The Patriots took advantage. Ryan Roeder made the tackle on Bethlehem Catholic’s running back in the end zone for a safety.
Bethlehem Catholic got on the scoreboard late in the first half. Christian Hawach’s 35-yard field goal with 22 seconds left cut into Freedoms lead.
“Give credit to Bethlehem Catholic. They battled and were physical the first half,” said Head Football Coach Jason Roeder. “We were just a little off the first half.” The score stayed 9-3 with Freedom leading.
“The message at half was we are close. Let’s clean it up and go out there and make those plays in the second half,” said Roeder. Freedom did just that.
Their first possession of the second half resulted in a 14-play, 84-yard drive when Beete went in from two yards out and got the two-point conversion to make it 17-3 with 4:00 minutes left in the third quarter.
On the Golden Hawks next possession, they turned the ball over when Cayden Vassa fumbled the ball. Dylan Hill recovered it with 2:15 left in the third quarter. It was his second fumble recovery of the game.
“When you hustle and are always around the football, good things are going to happen,” said Roeder.
Off the turnover, it took six plays for Beete to score his second touchdown of the night, a two-yard touchdown run to make it 24-3.
With the win, Freedom improves to 7-0 and Bethlehem Catholic drops to 4-3.
Next weekend, Freedom hits the road at Northampton and Bethlehem Catholic is home against Nazareth Area.
Scoring Summary:
| Thursday, October 3, 2024 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Bethlehem Catholic | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Freedom | 7 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 24 |
1st Quarter
FR: Amare DuBoise 8 yard pass from Chase Walker (Nathan Stannard kick) 4:39
2nd Quarter
FR: Ryan Roeder made tackle in end zone 7:55
BC: Christian Hawach 35 yard field goal :22
3rd Quarter
FR: Aaron Beete 2 yard run (Aaron Beete run good) 4:00
4th Quarter
FR: Aaron Beete 2 yard run (Nathan Stannard kick good) 11:58
