Easton Football rebounds to hand No. 1 Freedom its first loss

Easton 25, Freedom 21 – Quick Summary

The Easton Area High School football team sent a message to any remaining naysayers Friday night.

The Red Rovers are back and they are real championship contenders.

Easton, ranked No. 4 by lehighvalleylive.com, defeated top-ranked and undefeated Freedom 25-21 in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Northampton Division matchup at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

Turning point: Trailing 21-19, Easton faced a third-and-17 at the Freedom 46-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Cole Ordway found wideout JC Wilson, who made a great effort to extend the ball and get just the distance needed for a first down.

Four plays later, tailback Dorian Thomas dashed into the end zone for a 1-yard score, giving Easton a 25-21 lead with 9:05 left.

Freedom’s next possession was wiped out by a 6-yard loss on a rush by Easton’s Jasir Frutchey.

Easton earned three first downs on the ensuing series with 5 minutes, 23 seconds left before firing the ball back to Freedom.

The Patriots took over at their own 20-yard line with 1:14 left, but without a timeout. Quarterback Chase Walker connected with wide receiver Amare DuBoise for a 38-yard reception to Easton’s 39-yarder.

However, after a spike to stop the clock, Walker was hit on a throw by defensive end Algee Macon. The altered pass went into the hands of Red Rovers linebacker Mason Fleming and sealed the score with 9 seconds to play.

Top performers: Easton’s defense grabbed four interceptions: two by Will Day and one each by Fleming and Sean McPeek.

Thomas carried the ball 23 times for 96 yards and three touchdowns. Day added 70 rushing yards to his defensive heroics.

Ordway completed 7 of 13 passes for 72 yards and ran for 70 yards and a score.

Freedom tailback Aaron Beete rushed for 98 yards on 22 carries.

What it means: Easton defeated Freedom for the first time since 2017, snapping an eight-game losing streak to the Patriots.

The Red Rovers, projected to move into first place in the District 11 Class 6A playoff seeding, improved to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the division. With a win over Nazareth next week they can secure the Northampton Division title.

Freedom fell to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the division. The Patriots will look to bounce back next weekend against rival Liberty.

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Kyle Craig can be reached at [email protected].