Nov 9, 2018 4 min read

MONACA – After hauling in a contested 39-yard pass in Freedom territory, wide receiver Seth Phillis again split out wide. But he had to be envisioning making Burgettstown history again with another game-winning field goal.

The Blue Devils’ standout junior kicker made a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the first round last season to end a 40-year drought without a playoff victory. He had made five of seven attempts this year entering Friday night. And he kept the Burgettstown deficit to only one point with a pair of successful field goals in the first and second quarters.

A field goal with little time left would have likely ended 41 years without a WPIAL semifinal appearance for the Blue Devils.

Phillis never got that opportunity.

Trying to inch closer for an easier attempt, second-seeded Burgettstown fumbled on a third-down veer play and No. 7 Freedom recovered and held on to win a defensive battle, 7-6, in a WPIAL Class AA quarterfinal game at Central Valley High School.

“Obviously, we knew we had to get closer for Seth Phillis to knock down another one,” said Burgettstown coach Mark Druga.

The Blue Devils fumbled at Freedom’s 22-yard line, and it was recovered by linebacker Cody Ross with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Phillis’ season-long attempt was 48 yards, but with a light rain and wind blowing into the Blue Devils’ faces, any additional yardage would have helped.

“Unfortunately, we just had a miscommunication and the ball bounced out,” Druga said. “There is no finger pointing. We had other situations where we could have just executed better. At the end of the day, we just didn’t execute at the end to get that field goal.”

After the fumble, the Burgettstown (10-1) defense forced the Bulldogs into a three-and-out and had one more chance with 56 seconds remaining but failed to capitalize.

“We’ll take the one-point win,” said Freedom interim coach John Rosa. “You have to take it. It’s a matter of moving on. Thank God our defense was able to stay strong at the end. Seven (points) was enough. I never would have thought that.”

The opening possession of the game produced the only touchdown as Freedom (11-1) marched 80 yards on 13 plays through the stingy Blue Devils defense. After being stopped three consecutive times inside the four-yard line, Ross took a handoff from one foot away on fourth down and plunged into the end zone to give Freedom a 7-0 lead at 6:21 in the first quarter.

“We planned on scoring on the opening possession but didn’t think that was going to be the only (score),” Rosa said. “To Burgettstown’s credit, it is a really good and tough football team. We were fortunate to get the first (score). I was disappointed we didn’t have a couple more, but we shot ourselves in the foot and had a couple of penalties.”

After surrendering the opening-drive touchdown, Burgettstown’s defense stepped up. Defensive tackle Angelo Fratini stuffed Ross in the backfield on fourth-and-two at the Blue Devils’ 22-yard line. The next possession for Freedom, which started at the Burgettstown 37, ended with an interception by Phillis at the 5, keeping the deficit at 7-3.

Freedom took a 7-6 lead into halftime after Phillis made a 36-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the second quarter.

The offense opened up in the second half for Burgettstown as it looked to take a lead on its first drive but a 51-yard jet sweep from Phillis was erased by a holding penalty.

The only consistent offense for the Blue Devils came from Jake Lounder, who threw for 82 yards and ran for 124 on 19 carries.

The Burgettstown defense stopped the Bulldogs on all three of possessions in the second half, including when they pulled a 27-field goal wide left midway through the fourth quarter.

Freedom was paced by Jake Pail, who had 133 yards on 21 carries. Ross had 17 carries for 50 yards and the lone score.

“Our defense has been tremendous the entire year,” Druga said. “(Freedom’s) offense caused a headache in the beginning, but we ratcheted up, made some adjustments and the defense continuously, time and time again, stopped them. We had our chances. To be that close, it’s going to sting for a little bit.”