Freeman Accounts for 5 Touchdowns to Lead York Over Dreher

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COLUMBIA |</strong> York had everything going its way in jumping to a huge lead over Dreher Thursday night, but the Cougars had to fend off a second half charge to escape with a 35-28 victory in the Region 3-AAAA opener.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592333' first='Tayshon' last='Freeman']</strong> found a wide-open <strong>Zee Isom</strong> for a 55-yard touchdown with 44 seconds in the third quarter for the winning points after the Blue Devils rode the legs of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592244' first='BJ' last='Mack']</strong> to tie it earlier in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We believed in our coaches, and they told us to run the play and execute it and we did that at a high level,” Freeman said. “I couldn't do it without the players around me making the plays whenever we needed. They stepped up very big.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freeman and company make it look like it was going to be a cakewalk after the first series of the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dreher had taken a 6-0 lead on the first possession of the game when Mack broke free for a 59-yard touchdown after he seemingly was bottled up in the backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But it was all Freeman and the Cougars for the remainder of the half. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734560' first='Levi' last='Ward']</strong> and <strong>Zy Gill</strong> were controlling the line of scrimmage and Freeman was spreading the ball around to his playmakers. Freeman called his own number on York's first possession and scored on a 4-yard TD run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a punt on the second series, Freeman found <strong>TC Douglas</strong> on a wheel route for a 29-yard touchdown pass. Freeman scored his second rushing touchdown on the next drive, this time from five yards out to give the Cougars a 21-6 halftime lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freeman then tossed his second touchdown of the night to open the third quarter, a 22-yarder to <strong>Ky Ky Davis</strong> to give the Cougars (2-3, 1-0) what seemed like a comfortable 22-point cushion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But enter Mack and the offensive line led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820923' first='Chanson' last='Evans']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818909' first='Aiden' last='Holmes']</strong>. Mack carried the 13 straight times to open the third quarter and scored on two of those – 5 and 3 yards. In between those two TD's, <strong>Joseph Pohlman</strong> stepped in front of a pass in the flat at the 50 and returned it for a pick-six.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mack cramped up some in the third and fourth quarter, but he was the bulk of the offense. The senior ran for 222 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns. York knew he was getting the ball and couldn't find a way to stop him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dreher as a team finished with 260 yards of total offense and Mack had 230 of those yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Mack was killing us,” York coach Dean Boyd said. “He ran right at us. He would come like he was coming across and he would cut it back and they were trap blocking us and we couldn't stop it.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two plays after the Blue Devils tied it, Freeman found a wide open Isom for the game-winning score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freeman finished 17-of-22 with 212 yards and three touchdown passes to go along with two rushing scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dreher (2-3, 0-1) had one final chance and reached the York 5-yard line until a bobbled snap and an interception by Davis with 2:24 sealed things. The Blue Devils had one final crack at it but turned it over on downs near midfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After allowing touchdowns on the first two second half possessions, the Cougars got three stops in a row. In the first half, the defense forced four straight three-and-outs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“This is really big for us. We've been working but we have to keep working and getting better,” Davis said. “I'm Mr. Clutch. Every time in the clutch, I want it to come to me. I'm going to make that play.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>YORK NOTES</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Zo Miller</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822258' first='Noah' last='Morrison']</strong> are a couple of defensive linemen that can create havoc. Add in defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819731' first='Connor' last='Sweatt']</strong> and the Cougars should be able to match up with anyone in the trenches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis hardly ever comes off the field for the Cougars. He was the leading receiver with 8 catches for 88 yards and he had the game-sealing interception at the goal line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822266' first='Caleb' last='Sanders']</strong> paced the rushing attack with 16 carries for 94 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>DREHER NOTES</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Devils were limited with a couple of key players not able to play on Thursday. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820928' first='Chris' last='Baker']</strong> and defensive end <strong>Cortez Gilmore</strong> were unable to play. <strong>Isaiah Garrett </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822188' first='Josiah' last='Jones']</strong> played well from their linebacker spots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->