STOCKTON, CA - Running back Dusty Frampton led the way for the St.Mary's offense, finishing with 348 yards rushing and five touchdowns, including his final touchdown with 5:13 left in the fourth quarter on a one-yard scoring run, to lift St.Mary's to a 49-40 victory over Freedom in the CIF 1-AA North regional.
"My linemen did a great job blocking and opening up holes for me," said Frampton.
The Rams offense started slow, throwing two interceptions on back to back possessions to start the game, including an interception thrown by Jake Dunniway that was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Kevin Lonergan to give Freedom an early 7-0 lead with 8:10 left in the first quarter.
St Mary's offense would respond by scoring touchdowns on back to back drives, both scored by Frampton, to give them a 14-7 lead with 2:30 left in the first quarter.
Freedom's special teams would answer right away, as running back Ronnie Rivers would return the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to even up the game, 14-14, with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
The Falcons offense scored its first touchdown of the game on a 33-yard touchdown throw from quarterback Jonathan Pierce to receiver Giles Jackson, with 11:52 left in the second quarter, to give Freedom a 20-14 lead after a missed extra-point.
Pierce finished with 271 yards passing and three touchdowns, but did throw one interception. Pierce's top targets in the game were Baylei Coston, who finished with 115 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Jackson, who finished with 138 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
St Mary's offense finished strong to end the first half, scoring twice, including a three-yard touchdown run by Shawn Villegas with 3:03 left in the second quarter to give the Rams a 28-20 lead heading into halftime.
The Falcons would start off fast in the second half, as they capped off a 77-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown throw from Pierce to Coston to trail 28-26 with 8:08 left in the third quarter.
Dusty Frampton and the Rams offense would answer yet again, however, capping off a 61-yard drive on a five-yard touchdown run by Frampton to give St.Mary's a 35-26 lead with 5:54 in the third quarter.
After another Freedom touchdown from the connection of Pierce to Jackson, the Rams would answer on yet another Frampton touchdown run to give St.Mary's a 42-33 lead with 10:44 in the fourth quarter.
Freedom would respond with a one-yard touchdown run by Rivers to cut the lead to a 42-40 lead, but Frampton would score his final touchdown with 5:13 left in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for the Rams.
"We found a way to hang on and grind it out," said St. Mary's coach Tony Franks.
I’m very proud of our young team,” Freedom coach Kevin Hartwig said. “We were nine points away from a state championship game. Not many teams can say that.”
