Freedom battles to the end
Rock-solid Patriots scored first and were in the game all the way, but fall to powerhouse
SPRINGFIELD, Pa. — Earlier this season, a video message and some nice new equipment from Freedom High graduate and Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson inspired the Patriots football team.
On Friday night, the Rock’s favorite high school football team seemed to draw inspiration from another Rock, Rocky Balboa, from the Rocky movie genre.
Freedom went toe-to-toe with a PIAA juggernaut, but took one punch too many and fell to St. Joe’s Prep 24-21 in the wind and bitter cold at Cardinal O’Hara High School in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals.
Prep is now 7-0 in playoff games against Eastern Pennsylvania Conference teams, but Freedom gave the Hawks as much of a battle as they’ve ever received from a Lehigh Valley squad.
Samaj Jones, who started the season at quarterback for the defending and six-time state champs, replaced the guy who replaced him, Dane Picariello, and delivered a clutch performance.
Jones ran for touchdowns covering 29, 73 and 11 yards to thwart an upset bid by District 11 champion Freedom, which had its nine-game winning streak snapped and finished 11-3.
“Samaj was our starter since the beginning of the year and got banged up a couple of weeks ago,” said Prep coach Tim Roken. “Dane came in and has done an unbelievable job leading us after playing some H-back and tight end. We’re in this together and those two guys work together and we need every single one of them.”
Jones’ first touchdown off a 29-yard scamper gave St. Joe’s Prep (10-2) its first lead of the night at 10-7 with 2:24 left in the first half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Free
dom drove to the Hawks 24, but came up just a few yards short on a fourth-down pass.
Two plays later Jones was off to the races as he eluded Freedom tacklers and outraced the rest.
“We played hard as I expected and we played fast and physical,” said Patriots coach Jason Roeder. “We didn’t come down here to look respectable. We came down here to win. We knew [Jones] was the runner and he’s a runner obviously. He’s dangerous with the football and broke some tackles on us.”
The Patriots led most of the first half thanks to a big turnover. Lorenzo Feliciano’s interception to the Prep 6 set up Deante Crawford for a 3-yard TD run with 9:40 left in the first half.
St. Joe’s Prep got a 38-yard field goal from Antonio Chadha and then the TD run by Jones to go on top and nearly added to its lead on the final play of the half after Freedom went for it and missed on fourth-and-short from near midfield.
A big pass play set up Chadha for a 30-yard field goal try but Jayden Colon blocked it to keep it at 10-7 at intermission.
Freedom moved the ball well in the second half but had trouble finishing drives.
Jones’ 73-yarder made it 17-7 with 9:50 left, but Freedom came right back and got a 3-yard TD run by quarterback Brian Taylor to make it 17-14 with 5:51 to go.
Prep tried to run out the clock but got much more on a drive capped by Jones’ 11-yard scoring run with 2:11 left.
Again, Freedom wouldn’t quit and got big throws by Taylor on one last drive that ended with a 4-yard TD toss from Taylor to Ethan Neidig with 23.5 seconds remaining but the onside kick went out of bounds and Prep was able to kneel down to end it.
“We knew Freedom was going to come in and give us their best punch,” Roken said. “It’s a very disciplined ballclub, very wellcoached. My hat’s off to them. They have some great players and we were just able to finish at the end, but that’s a very good ballclub right there.”
Prep will play District One champ Garnet Valley, a 54-14 winner over Coatesville, in next weekend’s 6A semifinals.
Freedom, meanwhile, didn’t get the Monday practice, but Roeder told his team they will get together again and reminisce about a special season.
“When you get to this level there’s a fine line between winning and losing and we came up a little short, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort,” Roeder said. “It’s going to be tough to say goodbye to eight seniors who have done so much and meant so much to our program. They’re awesome, coachable kids. There will be time for reflection and appreciating everything we’ve been able to accomplish. But it’s going to take a little time because this one is going to sting.”
Did you know?
Part 1: Freedom senior running back Deante Crawford, who entered Friday’s game with 1,585 rushing yards, is the 11th Patriots player to reach 1,000 yards in a season.
The others are Mike Lawrence, who did it twice in 1982 and 1983, Kyle Moore (1988), Frank Cooper (1992), Dave Walters (1999), Eddie Mateo (2008), Darius Webb (2009), Okezie Alozie (2011), Dashaun Peterson (2016), Abdul Beaskley (2017) and Jalen Stewart (2019).
Webb is No. 1 on the school’s single-season list with 1,741 yards. Mateo had 1,692 and Crawford entered the night third.
Part 2: St. Joe’s Prep had three alums picked first in the 2020 NFL draft. They were running back D’Andre Swift who went to the Lions, defensive back John Reid who went to the Houston Texans and is now with Seattle, and offensive lineman Jon Daniel Runyan who went to the Packers.
Part 3: Kevin Stefanski, the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and the 2020 NFL Coach of the Year, is another Prep alum. He was the Catholic League MVP as a senior in 1998 and during his freshman year, he was a teammate of current Giants coach Joe Judge. Judge transferred after his first season at Prep.
Part 4: Two current Prep players have fathers who played in the NFL. Linebacker Josiah Trotter is the son of former Eagles great Jeremiah Trotter, who is now an assistant coach at Prep. Anthony Sacca is the son of former Penn State and NFL quarterback Tony Sacca. The young Sacca led Prep with three interceptions entering the game.
Part 5: Prep has four retired numbers. No. 7 in honor of Swift; No. 12 in honor of former NFL MVP Rich Gannon; No. 25 in honor of Reid and No. 43 in honor of Victor Hobson who played in the NFL with the Jets and Cardinals.
Part 6: Entering Friday’s game Prep had a 19-1 PIAA playoff record. The lone loss was a 41-21 defeat to Pine Richland in the 2017 6A championship game.