Freedom downs Liberty at last

FROM THE MORNING CALL

As Liberty wide receiver K.J. Williams spun toward the Bethlehem Area School District Stadium turf with a catch, Freedom's Nick Kopchak wrestled him for control of the football.

One second remained on the game clock when their tussle ended, with both teams believing their player had won the battle for the ball. The referees ruled Kopchak finished the play with possession, giving the Patriots a game-clinching turnover.

The play provided a fitting cap to a rivalry matchup in which the teams traded explosive offensive plays, miscues and momentum swings from start to finish. Freedom kicker Sean Wrobel delivered the winning points by drilling a 35-yard field goal with 27 seconds to play as the Patriots earned a 45-42 Lehigh Valley Conference win Saturday afternoon.

In clinching a spot in the Districts 2-4-11 Class 4A subregional playoffs for the first time since 2008, Freedom (8-2 overall, 7-2 LVC) denied two fellow LVC teams district berths. Liberty (6-4, 5-4) needed to win Saturday to qualify for districts. By losing, the Hurricanes prevented Whitehall from collecting the 10 bonus points it needed to grab the eighth and final spot for districts, a spot that instead went to District 2's Delaware Valley. Whitehall and Liberty are both headed for the Eastern Conference 4A playoffs.

With its first win over Liberty since 2002, Freedom projects as the No. 6 seed for the subregional tournament. The Patriots will head to No. 3 Easton in the quarterfinals for a rematch of a 21-14 overtime game won by the Red Rovers in Week 8.

The official playoff brackets will be released Sunday around 3 p.m. The Patriots will probably still be celebrating then.

"Everybody stepped up at once," Freedom senior Okezie Alozie said after a game in which he ran for 143 yards and a touchdown, recovered two fumbles and returned an interception 57 yards for a score. "Our line blocked well. For the most part, our defense made big plays when it came down to it. That's what it's all about.

"We moved on to the next play whenever we messed up. That was most of it, just not getting down on ourselves when we messed up."

Both teams committed their share of miscues Saturday, combining for 12 penalties and eight turnovers. A late mistake by Liberty and well-timed execution by Freedom proved to be the difference.

Liberty scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter to open a 42-35 lead, with quarterback Jimmy McCarthy (171 passing yards, 81 rushing yards) putting the Hurricanes ahead on a 4-yard keeper with 3:51 to play. After kicking off, they forced Freedom into a fourth-and-12 from its 39-yard line.

The Patriots decided to go for it despite having all three of their timeouts left, a move that turned golden thanks to quarterback Brian Uliana (221 passing yards) and wide receiver Frank Bucsi. Uliana rolled left and hit Bucsi along the sideline for a 16-yard gain that kept the drive alive.

Two plays later, Bucsi slipped behind Liberty's secondary and hauled in a 44-yard touchdown pass that helped the Patriots tie the game 42-42. The catch capped a career day for Bucsi, who caught seven passes for 191 yards and four touchdowns one week after his name was accidentally left off a list of seniors being recognized by Freedom.

"We haven't won the [Bethlehem] city championship in like 20 years and hadn't beaten Liberty in nine years," Bucsi said. "That's enough motivation to win."

Said Freedom coach Jason Roeder: "I don't think they're going to forget Frank Bucsi for a long time."

Wrobel also etched his name in Freedom history. He was set up by Alozie, who pounced on a fumbled pitch from McCarthy to Devon Jones (eight carries, 195 yards, two touchdowns) for his second fumble recovery of the day. That gave the Patriots the ball at Liberty's 16-yard line with 1:14 to play.

A run that lost 3 yards and two incomplete passes left Wrobel lining up for a 35-yard field goal. He split the uprights for the winning points.

"I usually take the time to look at the goal posts and just visualize it going through," Wrobel said. "I saw the ball go down, just kicked it as hard as I could, and it went through for me."

Liberty gave Freedom a final scare, covering 67 yards on two pass plays to get the ball to the Patriots' 11-yard line. That's where Kopchak ripped the ball away from Williams (five catches, 130 yards), giving Freedom its fifth takeaway.

When the Patriots took a knee to send their fans pouring onto the field in celebration, Liberty was saddled with a loss in which it amassed 579 yards of total offense.

"I just feel sorry for our kids," Liberty coach Dave Brown said from a somber locker room. "They're just unbelievable. We were so close. It's kind of been that way in a couple other games. We finished some games and we haven't finished others. That game could have went either way."

For the first time in Roeder's seven-year tenure, the Freedom-Liberty game tilted to the Patriots. He and his players lingered on the field long after the final snap, receiving congratulations from Freedom and Liberty fans alike.

"It's a credit to them that we're this excited," Roeder said. "We've been chasing them for seven years. I've asked kids to believe in our program and the way we were doing things. I asked them to believe on some sad Saturdays. We talked about playing for our community and playing for our school and playing for our alums that came close and didn't quite get it.

"That's what today's all about."

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