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Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_10.03.08 - Index

2B | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM SPORTS OCTOBER 3, 2008
Falcons soar over West, focus on future
Photo by Curtis Evans
The West High Wolf Pack had a tough time
containing Freedom’s Cameron Gupton all
night. The Falcon fl ash fi nished with 104
yards rushing, 50 yards receiving, two touchdowns
and an interception in the undefeated
Falcons’ 30-21 win.
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
Last Friday evening was a beautiful
night for football at Freedom High
School, and the Falcons did not disappoint,
extending this season’s unbeaten
streak to four games with a 30-21 win
over Tracy’s West High Wolf Pack.
You’d never know that the Falcons
are fl ying high with a perfect 4-0 record
by listening to head coach Kevin Hartwig
after the game. He told his team that they
are 1-0, meaning that they had won one
game that night and he didn’t want them
to get too comfortable.
When asked in an interview about
his team’s 4-0 record, he “corrected” his
interviewer, saying that his team is 1-0:
“We take it one week at a time. Tomorrow
when we come to practice, we are
0-0.”
The Falcons led for most of the
game, but were closely hunted by the
Wolf Pack, unable to shake them loose
until with four minutes left in the game
a blown snap by the West center led to
a safety. That provided Freedom with a
more comfortable nine-point cushion,
which proved to be the fi nal margin of
victory.
West actually jumped out to the lead
with a 51-yard touchdown drive on its
second possession.
Freedom answered right back, however,
with a 52-yard drive of its own, the
highlight of which was a 30-yard run by
quarterback Ryan Rodriguez after he
was fl ushed out of the pocket and weaved
downfi eld, dodging several tackles. The
touchdown came on a nine-yard pass to
Roman Runner.
The Rodriguez-to-Runner connection
also paid off on Freedom’s next possession.
The Falcons’ no-huddle offense
chewed up yardage by mixing 10-yard
runs with 10-yard passes. Runner then
caught a pass on the fi ve and carried a
West player hanging onto him into the
end zone for the score.
West tied the game 14-14 with 48
seconds left in the half on a 9-yard pass
from Frankie Cabrera to Mike Thornton.
Freedom regained the lead with
three minutes to go in the third quarter
on a fi ve-yard run by Cameron Gupton,
who notched a 100-yard-plus night on
the ground.
The Falcons took a seemingly commanding
lead with 6:30 to go in the
game on a short pass to Gupton, who
reached the ball over the goal line as he
came down. The celebration was led by
the Falcon mascot, who fl apped and
whipped up the crowd from his perch on
the shoulders of several cheerleaders.
West responded with a quick scoring
drive, thanks to a long bomb, and
intercepted a Rodriguez pass on West’s
nine with four minutes to go.
Any question of whether West would
drive downfi eld and tie the game was answered
on the fi rst play from scrimmage,
when the center sailed the ball high over
the quarterback’s head. The ball bounced
through and out of the end zone for the
safety. The capper came when Gupton
intercepted a West pass with just under
three minutes to go.
Whether the Falcons are 4-0, 1-0
or 0-0, it’s been a perfect season so far,
thanks in large part to Rodriguez, Gupton
and Runner. Rodriguez had a 200yard-plus
night and Runner gained well
over 100 yards in receptions.
Non-league action continues today
with a Falcon-on-Falcon matchup at
College Park High School (2-1) in Pleasant
Hill. College Park beat Antioch High
47-21 last week.
BVAL Football
Sept. 26
Freedom 30
Merrill West – Tracy 21
Heritage 57
Dublin 0
Antioch 21
College Park 47
Deer Valley 13
James Logan 12
Pittsburg 35
Berkeley 12