The Freedom Eagles are coming off one of their best seasons in their short history. And now, they have only one more chance to make the 4a playoffs. A typical Loudoun County school, they are growing ever larger. After the 2016/2017 school year they will move up to 5a.
Drawing from a student population that is probably larger than any other 4a school, will they be able to use this asset to their advantage? Can they get one or more wins and finally reach .500 or better?
It
is a neat name. However, one of the most baffling things I've ever heard is how two schools opened within a year of each other in neighboring counties - and ended up with not only the same school name, but also the same colors and mascot! Freedom in Woodbridge opened first. So,
nobody who had anything at all to do with the new school being completed at that time in South Riding ever heard one thing about the other, brand-new Freedom High Eagles, in their black-and-gold unis? Just seems really strange to me that the South Riding people didn't make even one change during that last year, not even to the colors. Maybe there were some motifs involved in construction or decor that made a change unfeasable that late in the game. These are the kinds of things I wonder about, in the wee hours.
Anyway, turning to football. Last year, Freedom in South Riding finished only one game below .500, largely due to what seems from a distance to be a head-scratching loss to a 2-8 Park View team. Viewed another way, Freedom's season was very close to being another disaster. The Eagles won a squeaker over a winless Fluvanna team, and only beat new kids Rock Ridge by one TD. The only teams they beat convincingly were Loudoun Co. (actually a fairly decent win, considering the margin) and 0-10 Riverside, who apparently was
really bad in their first year. So, just a couple of bad bounces, and Freedom could easily have logged another two-win campaign.
Freedom in 2015 beat the terrible teams, struggled to beat the other bad teams, and without exception was pummeled by every good team they played. Based on that, I'd say the Eagles will stay grounded for the 2016 post-season.
