Patriots stun Vikes in LVC opener

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Brian Uliana rolled to his right, nothing but green turf beckoning him as he ran.

When he cut upfield and sped for a game-clinching first down, he burst open the Lehigh Valley Conference football race.

If Downingtown East dented Central Catholic's aura of dominance a week ago, Freedom ripped it away Friday at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Uliana, Okezie Alozie and Andrew Klotz paced a Patriots ground game that ripped off 307 yards in a 34-24 win over the Vikings in the LVC opener for both teams.

Uliana, Freedom's junior quarterback, finished with 199 yards of total offense (128 passing, 71 rushing). His 25-yard gallop late in the fourth quarter ended any chance for a miraculous rally by Central Catholic (0-2 overall, 0-1 LVC), which scored two touchdowns in a 1-minute, 22-second span after falling behind 34-10 early in the fourth.

"I was so excited [on that run]," Uliana said while his teammates celebrated around him. "At that point it was a make-or-break situation. If we wouldn't have gotten the first down, they would have had a big drive. We just had to get the first down.

"When coach [Jason Roeder] told me that I had to keep the fake, I knew that I had to bust my butt to get that first down and stay inbounds to keep that clock running. The line blocked, we sold the fake good, and it ended up in our favor."

A series of clock-churning drives allowed Freedom (2-0, 1-0) to rip off 27 unanswered points from the second through fourth quarters, leaving Central Catholic shell-shocked. Freedom's offensive line of Kory Cherry, Tarrek Lee, Josh Grube, Gerald Hall, Tyler Peerson, Brad Romig and Mike Salzarulo owned the point of attack for the Patriots, who out-gained the Vikings 435 yards to 192.

Alozie finished with 205 yards from scrimmage and scored three rushing touchdowns, including runs of 62 and 59 yards. He and Uliana consistently found room on the perimeter, while Klotz (25 carries, 61 yards) hammered at the middle of Central Catholic's defensive front.

"We're young up front, but I've got tough, physical kids," Roeder said. "They're well-coached. Our offensive staff did an unbelievable job controlling the game and managing the game for us. It's a great night to be a Freedom Patriot."

Central Catholic, meanwhile, endured another rough week. The Vikings trailed just 13-10 late in the first half before watching the game spiral out of control in a 13-minute span.

It started when Freedom's Nick Kopchak grabbed a tipped ball for a pick of Central Catholic quarterback Brendan Nosovitch (17-for-35, 176 yards) and raced 61 yards for a touchdown that gave the Patriots a 20-10 lead with seven seconds left in the first half. Freedom then wrapped two touchdown drives of 11 plays around a three-and-out from Central Catholic to open the second half, grabbing a 34-10 lead.

The Vikings could not escape that hole. Freedom harassed Nosovitch all night, sometimes generating pressure with three rushers. It sacked him four times and held him and Colin McDermott to 16 yards on 16 carries. Nosovitch and McDermott combined for over 3,300 rushing yards during Central Catholic's drive to the PIAA Class 3A title last season.

The lone bright spot for Central Catholic was a record-setting night for senior wide receiver Kevin Gulyas. He had five catches for 55 yards and one touchdown, leaving him with 30 career touchdown catches and 2,396 career receiving yards. Jeff McGeehin held the old career marks at Central with 29 touchdowns and 2,377 yards.

Individual records matter not to the Vikings at the moment. They need to find a way to keep a season that started with them ranked in a couple of national polls from veering further off track.

"We've got to find some pride," Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough said. "We've got to find some heart, and we've got to play for 48 minutes."

With Central Catholic reeling, the Patriots can count themselves among the many teams hoping to end this season as LVC champions. They have started with two efforts worthy of a title push.

"With the classes [Central Catholic] has had coming up through middle school and all the way up to high school, this is the first time most of us have beat them in football," Alozie said. "It feels really good. We worked hard all offseason, and we knew that when we came to Week 2 that we wanted to give them a battle."

samiller@mcall.com

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