Gonzalez leads Liberty over Freedom, 39-21

Written by: David Mika on Sunday, November 8th, 2009. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

BETHLEHEM – What was at stake Saturday afternoon? The winner of the game between rivals Bethlehem Liberty and Bethlehem Freedom was guaranteed a berth in the District 2-4-11 Class 4A playoffs.

What was the game plan for the Liberty coaching staff? Simple, unleash Liberty quarterback Anthony Gonzalez. Just 19 seconds into play Gonzalez took the snap, went left and took off for a 70-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

Head coach Tim Moncman said, “That was sort of the plan coming in to let him carry us. He’s a special kid and football player.”

Gonzalez rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns. He passed for 114 yards and two scores to lead Liberty over Freedom 39-21 before a crowd of 10,000.

Gonzalez also broke a rushing record held by Darren Mason. His 70-yard run in the first quarter surpassed the 3,014-yard mark.

Gonzalez said, “All I wanted was a win. You’ve got to give the offensive line credit.”

With the win, Liberty earned the No. 7 seed and will play at No. 2 East Stroudsburg South (9-1) Friday night at 7 pm.

In the second quarter Gonzalez broke away again for another big run. This time he went 91 yards for the score to give the Hurricanes a 13-0 lead. He made it 21-0 on a one-yard run and two-point conversion with 2:58 to go in the half.

Freedom’s Darrius Webb answered right back with a 60-yard run for the score. Gonzalez hit Michael Harris for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds to go in the half. Liberty led 27-7.

Freedom climbed to within 13 mid-way through the third quarter, 27-14. The Patriots drove on 12 plays when TJ Luddy hit Joe Liberati for a three-yard touchdown pass.

Senior running back Darrius Webb rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown. He finishes the season with 1,734 yards. He has led the Lehigh Valley Conference in rushing the past two seasons. Even with these impressive numbers, Freedom could not top Liberty.

But Liberty pulled away again with two more touchdowns. Gonzalez scored on a three-yard run. He also hit Vladimir Marchena for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

Freedom (5-5) lost its third straight and did not qualify for Eastern Conference playoffs.

After a 0-3 start by Liberty (6-4) they will make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive time.

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One Response to “Gonzalez leads Liberty over Freedom, 39-21”

1. Julian says:
   November 9th, 2009 at 11:47 am

   Very proud of them boys. They fought all year to make it back to the playoffs. Lets see what happens from there. GO CANES!!!!!