Freedom High School football team looks to bounce back against Central Catholic

Brian Uliana had arguably the best seat in the house for the Freedom High School football team's season opener last Friday at East Stroudsburg South.

The senior quarterback insists, however, the Patriots team he knows has yet to step on the field.

"Friday night taught us a lot of things," said Uliana of the Patriots' 16-14 loss to the Cavaliers. "One thing we learned is games aren't won just because you wear Freedom on your chest. That game was a big hit for us."

The Patriots have a chance to redeem themselves tonight when they host Central Catholic to open the Lehigh Valley Conference portion of their schedule. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

"This team is hungry to get back on the field (tonight)," Uliana said. "People are going to have their opinions, but we know we're not the same team that took the field against East Stroudsburg (South). We have a lot to prove."

Freedom was in a similar situation a year ago entering Week 2. The difference being the Patriots were 1-0 heading into a meeting with Central Catholic, which was the defending PIAA Class AAA state champion at the time.

Uliana and the Pates stunned the Vikings 34-24, effectively putting the rest of the LVC on notice they were not a team to be taken lightly.

Tonight, the Patriots will be fighting to regain the respect they earned by going 8-3 in 2011 and battling to avoid going 0-2 and falling behind in the race for a possible District 2-4-11 sub-regional playoff berth.

"It's a lot like last year," Freedom coach Jason Roeder said. "We're in Week 2 and we have something to prove. And like last year, we're up against a real good Central Catholic team. It's a lot easier coming off of a win, but that's not the case right now."

Central Catholic may have lost to graduation the bulk of the playmakers that led it to back-to-back district titles, but the Vikings proved they're still dangerous with a 35-7 mercy rule win over Allen in their opener.

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Freedom High School football team looks to bounce back against Central Catholic