OAKLEY, CA – Freedom’s offense caught fire in the second half, scoring touchdowns on its final four possessions to lead the Falcons past San Leandro 48-20. The late scores broke open what had been a 21-14 game at halftime and at the end of the third quarter.
Freedom quarterback Jonathan Pierce had another big game, finishing 11-of-19 for 303 yards passing and four touchdowns. A key piece to the Falcons offense, and Pierce’s main target, was receiver Baylei Coston, who finished with 265 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
Running back Ronnie Rivers would only finish with 60 yards rushing, but with 7:32 left in the first quarter, Rivers scored on a 89-yard kickoff return to even up the game at seven, and would score a one-yard touchdown with 11:02 left in the fourth quarter to give Freedom a 28-14 lead.
San Leandro’s offense started off hot early, scoring a touchdown on its first drive, and was led by running back Omari Land, who finished with 87 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Jermaine Jackson also finished with 121 combined yards and scored a touchdown with 9:36 remaining in the game, cutting Freedom’s lead back to 28-20 before the Falcons would score the final 20 points of the game.
Quarterback Mutasem Qutob also ran for a score, but he threw an interception with 4:39 in the first quarter that was returned 59 yards for a touchdown by Freedom senior linebacker Kyle Harmon.
Coston would score Freedom’s final two touchdowns, in about two minutes in the fourth quarter, to give the Falcons the final margin of victory.
Freedom (4-0) plays at Bishop O’Dowd (2-0) next week, while San Leandro (1-3) hosts James Logan (0-4).
