Freedom (PW) 35 - Westfield 28

[falcettik]

Freedom capitalized on a Westfield team that was out of sorts after losing QB Noah Kim to a severe leg injury with about 8:00 to go in the second half, building a 21 point lead before Westfield stormed back and had a chance to tie or win very late in the game. Westfield's Morin, taking most of the Westfield snaps in a wildcat formation after Kim went down, almost single handedly willed Westfield back into the game-to put it simply, he was brilliant. Stepping into a situation that was not all that familiar to him, as well as playing his usual spot as a safety and WR, Morin caught a 78 yard TD pass, had a 75 yard TD run, threw an 8 yard TD pass, and returned a fumble 62 yards for a TD.

FR opened the game on their own 12 yard line and soon punted from their own 24 yard line. WF took over at midfield and went three and out, giving FR the ball back at the FR 18 yard line. Freedom was again unable to move the ball and punted again, this time putting WF back on their own 22 yard line. Almost immediately Kim hit Morin on a pass down the middle and Morin outran the defense for a 78 yard score to put WF in front, 7-0 (Nugent XP) with 4:24 to play in the 1st quarter. FR then went three and out again, having to punt at the FR 37 yard line. WF's Asante broke through to block the kick and WF recovered on the FR 36 yard line. After several plays WF was unable to move the ball and faced a 4th and 11 at the FR 24 but the pass fell incomplete. FR took over and marched 76 yards, scoring on a 33 yard Powell to Hatcher pass to tie the game at 7 all (Sow XP) with 9:27 to play in the 2nd quarter. The next WF series changed the game. WF took the KO at the WF 20 yard line and got a first down at the WF 42 yard line, but then Kim was sacked by several FR players at his own 18 and suffered a severe leg injury that put him out of the game. On the next snap, the WF QB fumbled and FR's Fuga recovered the ball on the WF 12 yard line. A couple of plays later FR's Hatcher hauled in a 7 yard pass from Powell and FR took the lead, 13-7 (Hinton blocked Sow's XP) with 6:17 remaining in the half. WF took the KO to their own 45 and at this point WF put Morin in the wildcat formation. WF was unable to move the ball and punted, pinning FR on their own 10 yard line. At this point in the game the WF defense suddenly started to struggle to solve the FR offense and FR managed to march downfield to the WF 30 yard line where they faced a 4th and 1, converting when Powell ran 9 yards to the WF 21 yard line. Several play later Hawkins ran it in for a 1 yard TD score and FR extended their lead to 21-7 (2XP run good by Hatcher) with just 8 seconds to go in the half-that would turn out to be a huge drive for FR.

In the second half WF received the ball at their own 24 yard line and went three and out but the punt was short and high, then took a bounce back towards the WF end zone, giving FR the ball on the WF 22 yard line. After a penalty pushed FR back 5 yards, Powell hit Edwards with a 27 yard pass and FR took a huge 28-7 lead (Sow XP) with 9:05 to play in the 3rd quarter. WF started their next possession on their own 24 yard line, and after a short 1 yard run to the 25 yard line, Morin raced around the right side and outran the defense for a 75 yard TD score, drawing WF within 28-14 (Nugent XP) with 8:03 to go in the 3rd quarter. FR went three and out and a short punt coupled with a good return had WF on their own 47 yard line. Unable to move the ball again, WF punted after three plays and FR took over on their own 15 yard line. FR returned the favor, going three and out, but WF's Hinton fumbled on the punt return and FR recovered on the WF 48 yard line just before the end of the 3rd quarter. FR then went 52 yards and scored again when FR's Hawkins ran it in from 7 yards out and FR restored their lead, 35-14 (Sow XP), with 9:59 to play (this drive also saw a brilliant one handed catch in double coverage by FR's Hawkins to get FR into the WF red zone). WF then quickly went 65 yards and scored when Morin hit Woodley on an 8 yard passing TD to cut the lead to 35-21 (Nugent XP) with 7:07 remaining in the game. WF then tried an unsuccessful onside kick and FR had the ball on the FR 47 yard line. At this point WF's defense, which had been having difficulty at times solving the FR offense after Kim left the game, came back to life to give WF a chance. They forced a FR three and out to get the ball back on the WF 36 yard line, but soon the WF offense faced a 4th and 1 at the WF 45 yard line. After a false start made it 4th and 6, a running play was stopped by the FR defense and FR had the ball at their own 42 yard line with a two TD lead with just over three minutes remaining. FR elected to attempt a short pass and the FR receiver was hit and fumbled; WF's Morin scooped up the ball and went 62 yards for a TD to cut the deficit to 7 points, 35-28 (Nugent XP) with 2:54 to play. The WF KO went into the end zone and FR started on their own 20 yard line. WF forced a three and out, then WF's Ahiakpo broke through to block the kick and WF recovered on the FR 15 yard line with under a minute to play and a chance to tie or win the game. After an Asante run to the 12, a Morin run to the 9, and another Asante run to the 6 yard line, WF faced a 4th and one but the FR defense got good penetration and stopped the play for a loss of one yard to take over the ball with about 20 seconds left and secure their spot in the State Final next week.

 

[1amishfootballfan]

I am curious if you heard anything about what the reason was for Freedom's team to show up nearly 15 minutes late for the start of the game? It was a most curious sort of gamesmanship that I have never seen before. I am assuming it was gamesmanship since the team was there for the pre-game warm-up.

 

[falcettik]

I am curious if you heard anything about what the reason was for Freedom's team to show up nearly 15 minutes late for the start of the game? It was a most curious sort of gamesmanship that I have never seen before. I am assuming it was gamesmanship since the team was there for the pre-game warm-up.

From what I have been told by a FR fan, and have observed, Freedom typically shows up on the buses at the last minute and walks onto the field. It is not like they had traffic issues today or bus problems or just ran late-it appears to be their pattern so they know when they want to arrive; they do this at away games all the time. I am assuming they warm up somewhere else because they don't have the time to do so when they arrive only between 5-10 minutes before kickoff. That is what they did for the Woodbridge and WT Woodson games I attended. Today, I can only say it was gamesmanship. They arrived well after the scheduled kickoff time, then gathered and delayed at the entrance gate, then sent about 12-15 players into the restrooms. The referees had to go to the entrance gate and get the FR captains for the coin toss. A Freedom administrator was also overheard offering the excuse to the WF DSA that "two players had to take the SAT today". Really? All that said, I don't think it affected Westfield, I just think it was poor sportsmanship.

And not sure what you mean by "there for the pre-game warm up" because I was at the field by 12:20, prior to when even the WF players came out, and FR was no where to be found.

 

[1amishfootballfan]

Re: "pre-game"... I assumed... I was not there ahead of the game. Very odd indeed. Been to 100s of high school football games and have never seen anything like it.

 

[Bounty13]

They showed up a few minutes before the Woodbridge game too, right off the bus and onto the field. Didn't even warm up. Whoever is managing their schedule needs to build in an extra half hour.

 

[PHS236]

Centerville pulled that come out late crap against Varina years ago...Now you Get to play with Manchester lol. Good luck with your psycho crap with these boys. It all goes down on the field fellas

 

[springer76]

Centerville pulled that come out late crap against Varina years ago...Now you Get to play with Manchester lol. Good luck with your psycho crap with these boys. It all goes down on the field fellas

Manchester is going to walk away from these guys with their first football title!!! I can't wait!! A double header featuring Richmond's best!!! First Highland Springs (Stone Bridge) and Manchester (Freedom)...

 

[codywlms]

From what I have been told by a FR fan, and have observed, Freedom typically shows up on the buses at the last minute and walks onto the field. It is not like they had traffic issues today or bus problems or just ran late-it appears to be their pattern so they know when they want to arrive; they do this at away games all the time. I am assuming they warm up somewhere else because they don't have the time to do so when they arrive only between 5-10 minutes before kickoff. That is what they did for the Woodbridge and WT Woodson games I attended. Today, I can only say it was gamesmanship. They arrived well after the scheduled kickoff time, then gathered and delayed at the entrance gate, then sent about 12-15 players into the restrooms. The referees had to go to the entrance gate and get the FR captains for the coin toss. A Freedom administrator was also overheard offering the excuse to the WF DSA that "two players had to take the SAT today". Really? All that said, I don't think it affected Westfield, I just think it was poor sportsmanship.

And not sure what you mean by "there for the pre-game warm up" because I was at the field by 12:20, prior to when even the WF players came out, and FR was no where to be found.

I'm a coach on the staff. Yes we usually arrive right prior to kickoff because we warm up at our field. Majority of our away games are in 5 to 15 min time range. Yesterday it was highly unusual and bizarre. We departed freedom at 1215 more than enough time to get to Westfield. We left early this time because we knew after the long ride the players would need to stretch again at least.

Let's just say, we started our route with the map apps saying we would arrive at 120. Our bus drivers tried taking multiple routes (for reasons we don't know and didn't agree with) which kept making the trip longer. There was traffic but again we left in plenty enough time to account for that.

Once we arrived at the school the bus driver again for whatever reason pulled into the top of th school so we had to walk down from the street essentially. The reason you saw the kids huddled at the gate was because the 2nd bus with the kids on it for whatever reason got detached from the other buses so half of the team wasn't there.

I keep reading we do this all the time to be disrespectful, that's not the case. We generally just warm up and pre game at our field because all of the locations we generally play are with such a small distance.

 

[codywlms]

From what I have been told by a FR fan, and have observed, Freedom typically shows up on the buses at the last minute and walks onto the field. It is not like they had traffic issues today or bus problems or just ran late-it appears to be their pattern so they know when they want to arrive; they do this at away games all the time. I am assuming they warm up somewhere else because they don't have the time to do so when they arrive only between 5-10 minutes before kickoff. That is what they did for the Woodbridge and WT Woodson games I attended. Today, I can only say it was gamesmanship. They arrived well after the scheduled kickoff time, then gathered and delayed at the entrance gate, then sent about 12-15 players into the restrooms. The referees had to go to the entrance gate and get the FR captains for the coin toss. A Freedom administrator was also overheard offering the excuse to the WF DSA that "two players had to take the SAT today". Really? All that said, I don't think it affected Westfield, I just think it was poor sportsmanship.

And not sure what you mean by "there for the pre-game warm up" because I was at the field by 12:20, prior to when even the WF players came out, and FR was no where to be found.

As far as the SAT comment about 5 kids did take the test, and missed our pregame, but that didn't effect the departure time

 

[falcettik]

I'm a coach on the staff. Yes we usually arrive right prior to kickoff because we warm up at our field. Majority of our away games are in 5 to 15 min time range. Yesterday it was highly unusual and bizarre. We departed freedom at 1215 more than enough time to get to Westfield. We left early this time because we knew after the long ride the players would need to stretch again at least.

Let's just say, we started our route with the map apps saying we would arrive at 120. Our bus drivers tried taking multiple routes (for reasons we don't know and didn't agree with) which kept making the trip longer. There was traffic but again we left in plenty enough time to account for that.

Once we arrived at the school the bus driver again for whatever reason pulled into the top of th school so we had to walk down from the street essentially. The reason you saw the kids huddled at the gate was because the 2nd bus with the kids on it for whatever reason got detached from the other buses so half of the team wasn't there.

I keep reading we do this all the time to be disrespectful, that's not the case. We generally just warm up and pre game at our field because all of the locations we generally play are with such a small distance.

Coach, thank you for the explanation. I can only speak for myself but I appreciate the clarification and I don't think it was intended to be disrespectful, but I think you can understand how it was viewed by everyone at the stadium. But it was something that could have been avoided if your team considered the possibilities, given that it was a far greater distance than what you are accustomed to. Two things, if I may: 1) I know coaches are strict creatures of habit and hate to vary their routine, but if most of your games are within a few minutes of the school that system will work. But this was a state semi and I know you are well aware of NOVA traffic issues. Perhaps a variation was warranted. 2) If what you say is true about the bus drivers varying routes, maybe PWCS needs to look into how they train their drivers when identifying routes. Good luck to your team next week. Manchester is a formidable opponent, as you are well aware.

 

[codywlms]

Coach, thank you for the explanation. I can only speak for myself but I appreciate the clarification and I don't think it was intended to be disrespectful, but I think you can understand how it was viewed by everyone at the stadium. But it was something that could have been avoided if your team considered the possibilities, given that it was a far greater distance than what you are accustomed to. Two things, if I may: 1) I know coaches are strict creatures of habit and hate to vary their routine, but if most of your games are within a few minutes of the school that system will work. But this was a state semi and I know you are well aware of NOVA traffic issues. Perhaps a variation was warranted. 2) If what you say is true about the bus drivers varying routes, maybe PWCS needs to look into how they train their drivers when identifying routes. Good luck to your team next week. Manchester is a formidable opponent, as you are well aware.

The bus issue was bizzare. We essentially went in a 25 min circle all within 1 mile of our school. Yes, this was definetly a lesson learned on our end. We def understood how it looked. My wife told me yesterday she was even embarrassed and she hasn't missed a game since our staff has been here. We as coaches also I can assure you were not happy, and were embarrassed as well at how it played out.

Ultimately, we still had a game to play so if it seemed that weren't sympathetic or unapologetic, that was not the case.