Friday night football games have become one of the most popular events for students and parents to have a blast; watching their team play, listening to the band and cheering in the bleachers with the cheerleaders. Although, every season must come to an end. For the Bulldogs, they are already anxious to bounce back for next year. After having a rough year due to numerous reasons, the Bulldogs still stay optimistic for the next season to come, waiting for the day where they can face their first game and show off what it truly means to be a Bulldog.
“We started out strong and then at the end of the year some people started getting hurt, and there was just setbacks because of that,” senior, Tyler Schultheis said.
On Friday, Sept. 29, the Bulldogs hosted Western Beaver for the Homcoming game. Although they fell short to the Golden Beavers, they still continued to play as hard as they could, with the final score being 48-0. The following week, the Bulldogs faced the Neshannock Lancers. A tough loss followed for the Bulldogs, ending the game with a score of 35-0.
Changing the tone from the past few games, despite losing, the Bulldogs faced the Mohawk Warriors on Oct. 13, ending the game with a score of 44-20. Junior Isaiah Leasha set the spirit for the rest of the game to come, scoring a tounchdown in the third quarter. Throughout the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs managed to score two more touchdowns. Senior Cody Patterson scored the second touchdown of the night, and then freshman Brayden Reynolds scored the third. For the rest of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs defended their territory and managed to keep Mohawk at 44 points.
“We sometimes play as individuals, and when we do play as a team we do very well and we are sucsusseful. I believe if we played as a team all the time we’d be very successful,” senior Wyatt Boyer said.
Reflecting on the season, players recognize the mistakes that they made on the field. For Boyer, playing as a team is the most crucial part of football. Instead of just playing as individuals, the team could be so much more if they worked together.
For one last away game, the Freedom Bulldogs visited the Beaver Fall’s football team at their field on Oct. 20 to face the Tigers.
The team’s last game concluded on Oct. 27 at home, versing the New Brighton Lions. The team had their senior night, giving everyone a chance to say a final farewell to the season. Seven seniors were honored that night, these seniors being; Tyler Welsh, Cody Patterson, Tyler Schultheis, Ryan Kredel, Tyler Henly, Wyatt Boyer and Caden Martin. After losing one of their Quarterbacks, Schultheis, the team hopes to recover in the following season.
After a long season for the Bulldogs team, they finally conclude their year. Both fans and players are sad to say goodbye to having some of their favorite memories underneath the Friday night lights, but the bulldogs are ready for some harsh off-season training to blast back even better for the following year.