By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on twitter.
Bethlehem- On a cold and rainy night at BASD Stadium and in front of a sparse homecoming crowd, the Freedom Patriots used a solid defensive effort and a balanced attack on offense to overcome a shaky start to defeat the Vikings 35-14 Friday night.
Central Catholic wasted little time getting on the board first as Darnell Ferrell took the opening kickoff 95 yards right up the middle to open the scoring at 7-0 just 13 seconds into the contest.
“I have got to give our kids credit, to start the game off like that and then to have the resolve and discipline to put it behind them and just go out and play Patriot football the rest of the game,” Freedom coach Jason Roeder stated after the game. “We made some plays up front against a very good team tonight. We did all the little things well like up front blocking and tackling. I am very proud of these kids,” he concluded.
Freedom was led by Andres Santos, who was replacing the injured Roberto Diaz at running back. Santos had two scores on offense on runs of four and 26 yards to give his team a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. He finished the night with 21 carries for 119 yards. He also had a 22 yard fumble recovery for a score on defense.
“I am out here to show everyone that I am playing for my teammate (Diaz) right now.” He is my friend as well,” Santos stated. “It felt good doing this against a very good team like we played tonight,” he finished.
Special teams also played a key role in the victory, after a blocked punt gave the Pats the ball at the Viking 25, quarterback Joe Young hit Jonah Gundrum in the end zone, with Gundrum making a leaping catch over the defender, to give his team a 21-7 lead at intermission.
“The play of our young guys on special teams really set us up with great field position throughout the game,” Roeder added. “We work on this during the week. It is a point of reference,” he added. “It sets us up in positive situations. The kids really enjoy the fake punts and punt blocks. It’s a momentum changer, “ he concluded.
Central Catholic, who may have had the upset of the season last week against Easton, could only manage one score via the offense, that came late in the fourth quarter on a two yard run by Tom Murphy after the game had pretty much been decided.
