Freedom falls to Hilltoppers

Credit: Jennifer Frew | The News Herald

Freedom High player Kreg Fulbright, No.3, gains some yards for the Patriots on Friday against R-S Central High.

By: Josh McKinney | sports@morganton.com
Published: October 10, 2009

Rutherfordton --

Freedom High (2-5, 0-3 SMAC) started out hot, but they were no match for the offensive attack of R-S Central High (7-1, 3-0 SMAC) as they fell 38-7 to the first-place Hilltoppers on Friday night.
Freedom was able to move the ball into R-S Central territory on five occasions, but they were only able to come away with the touchdown that they scored on the first drive of the game.
"Well, we moved the ball real well in the first half, just had a hard time stopping them," said Freedom head coach Mike Helms. "A lot of good things in the first half. Specifically offensively, you know, we did a lot of good things."
After winning the opening coin toss, Freedom began a drive that featured a number of exciting carries by Patrick Parks, including a 3-yard touchdown run. Wesley Franklin added the extra point to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead.
R-S Central wasted no time in answering back, as Leon Brown returned the kickoff all the way to Freedom's 40 yard line. A 32-yard run by Oddie Murray put them in position to score, and they did just that on second down, as Jacob Kinlaw found William Brown in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass. The extra point by Cody Owens was good, tying the score at 7-7.
After a quick three-and-out by Freedom, R-S Central started another drive, this time on their own 38 yard line. From there, they quickly moved the ball down the field on the ground before Kinlaw connected with Leon Brown on a 26-yard touchdown strike. Owens' extra point again floated through the uprights, giving R-S Central a 14-7 lead.
As the first quarter came to a close, Freedom's Patrick Hill made one of the most spectacular plays of the game, as he leaped up and over a Hilltopper defender to come down with a first down grab on a third and long. However, Freedom was unable to capitalize on the momentary momentum, and they punted the ball away early in the second quarter.
Later in the second quarter, R-S Central put the ball in the end zone after just five plays, the last being a 5-yard touchdown run by Murray, who was a thorn in the Patriots' side the entire night. Owens' extra point was successful, and the score remained 21-7 as the teams headed to their locker rooms at halftime.
On its first drive of the second half, R-S Central moved the ball 63 yards in three plays, setting up a two-yard touchdown dash by William Lynch. Owens connected on his fourth extra point of the game, and the scoreboard read 28-7 in favor of the home team.
R-S Central scored two more times in the game, once on a 31-yard field goal by Owens late in the third quarter, and again in the fourth quarter when Leon Brown capped off an eight-play, 59-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run. The extra point by Owens was good for the fifth time on the night, and R-S Central found itself with a 38-7 lead, which held up for the rest of the game.
Freedom's leading rusher was Patrick Parks, who finished with 17 carries for 114 yards. However, despite just one touchdown, there were some other bright spots for the Patriots. Mike Helms made some good throws in the passing game and Kreg Fulbright had a couple of impressive runs. In addition, Jordan Corpening, Dean O'Neil, Jordan Bingham and Clay Bryant all recorded receptions.
The leading rusher for R-S Central was Oddie Murray with 112 yards on just seven carries.
"They are a very good team, very powerful, very good at what they do, so we've got to get better at stopping that Wing-T offense," said Helms. "We play it again next week, so we'll go back and look at it and make corrections and do the best we can with it and hope that we can make some corrections and get better."
Freedom looks to stop this losing streak next Friday night as it hosts Hickory in a non-conference matchup. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Freedom falls to Hilltoppers

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