OAKLEY, Calif. - Midway through the third quarter, visiting Amador Valley was threatening to regain the lead at Freedom, having led at the half and now poised to go back in front once again. But then, junior Roy Lee tipped a pass intended for the end zone and senior Mekel Ealy grabbed the deflected ball, racing 102 yards through open field for a Falcons' touchdown, one which changed momentum and ultimately led to Freedom's 48-29 North Coast Section Division I quarterfinal victory on Saturday night.
Ealy had missed time on the field earlier in the game with an injury, but was able to come back ready to make two of the Falcons' biggest plays during a game-changing third quarter.
"I was hurting, but I knew I had to fight for my teammates and come back as soon as possible," Ealy said. "The trainers did a good job stretching me out and getting me ready again, and once I got my blood flowing and got back in with some adrenaline, it was all good."
Amador Valley was not going away easily, and the Dons' cut the deficit back to five points at 27-22 in the third quarter when Chase Fitch scored from 19 yards out. But Freedom quarterback Joey Aguilar connected with Ealy for an 18-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 11 points, and Mykeang Daniels dashed 74 yards to cap a 28-point quarter for the Falcons, who had a 41-22 lead at that point.
"It's nice to know that we have some big-time players on our team who can explode at any time," said Freedom coach Andrew Cotter. "We have to clean up our mistakes, but our guys played well tonight overall, and we made some big plays on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball."
One of the biggest plays of the game, other than Ealy's pick-six, came in the second quarter. With Amador Valley trailing 7-6, quarterback Dominick Mazotti powered his way to the goal-line, like he had done so many times already this season. This time, however, Freedom standout Giles Jackson stripped Mazotti just before the end zone, and raced 99 yards in the other direction to increase the Falcons' lead to eight points at 14-6.
Amador Valley recovered from that setback, as Mazotti scored on a 19-yard run and Collin Tamas added a 32-yard field goal for a 15-14 Dons lead at halftime, but the host Falcons were just getting warmed up.
After Freedom's third-quarter explosion, Lee capped the scoring for the Falcons in the fourth quarter when he dashed down the right sideline for a 30-yard scoring run, which put the game away for good. The teams combined for 1,000 yards of offense in the game, with Freedom totaling 514 yards from scrimmage and Amador Valley putting 488 yards on the field. Aguilar tossed three touchdowns for the Falcons, connecting with Jackson, Ealy and Kihmani Tolefree.
With the win, Freedom advances to face California in the semifinals. The Grizzlies held off San Leandro, 17-7, in another quarterfinal, and defeated Freedom 42-27 earlier this season.
"They beat us the first time, so we need to come back stronger this week if we want our revenge," Ealy said. "It's going to be a fun game."
Freedom will be aiming for a third straight title game appearance, if it can beat the Grizzlies.
