The District 11 football tournament began Thursday night, but some of the scores weren’t very playoff-like.
In the 3A bracket, there were scores of 79-0 and 64-0, and in 5A, top seed and unbeaten Southern Lehigh rolled 42-10.
But if competitive postseason football was what you were looking for, Bethlehem Area School District Stadium was the place to be Friday night.
For the second time in a span of three weeks, Freedom and Easton staged a back-and-forth classic.
Easton’s Aiden River runs the ball against Freedom during a District 11 Class 6A football quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
On Oct. 23, Nathan Stannard’s 23-yard field goal with two seconds left gave the Patriots a 38-35 win.
Two weeks later on the same field, Stannard had another 23-yard field goal that proved to be the game-winner, but this one came with 8:46 remaining.
This time, it was the Red Rovers who had the last chance at victory, but Greyson Baker’s 30-yard attempt with 30 seconds left appeared to be partially blocked and Freedom was able to escape with a 18-17 victory in the District 11 6A quarterfinals.
Not only did the win send the Patriots (8-3) on to face top-seeded Nazareth next Friday in the district semis, but it also extended their win streak to four games. And, remarkably, it gave the program a winning record for the first time in its 60-year history at 321-320-6.
Jason Roeder, who is in his 22nd season as the Patriots’ coach, has been on the sidelines for 159 of those wins.
Perhaps few of his W’s were more satisfying than the one that eliminated Easton’s chances of winning a second straight district title, while it also extended the season to a 12th game after last year ended with a 26-14 loss to Liberty on the same field and in the same round of district play.
Freedom’s Jahaire Hughes runs the ball against Easton during a District 11 Class 6A football quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
“We’ve been playing in some humdingers this year, that’s for sure,”: Roeder said. “Special teams are important. There are three phases to this game and we came out on the plus side.”
Easton began its final drive at the 20 when a touchback was ruled on a punt that was nearly downed by Freedom’s Davyan Moore at the 1 Red Rovers’ 1.
“I would have liked to have gotten that one down there, but it is what it is,” Roeder said.
In a game that saw the lead change hands six times, Easton appeared poised to flip it a seventh time.
Quarterback Zahviay McGurn ran for 10 yards, and Akhir Brown broke loose for 15. Another 7-yard run by McGurn garnered a first down and a 15-yard facemask penalty and a 19-yard run by Brown put Easton in the red zone with a first down at the Freedom 11.
But a 1-yard carry by Brown was followed by a holding call and then an incompletion. McGurn got five yards to the Freedom 14, but on fourth and 13, it came down to a field goal try.
The ball never came close to going through the uprights as Freedom celebrated before taking a knee on their last snap to close it out.
“I really don’t know if it was tipped or not,” Roeder said. “I don’t think so. I have to look at it on film because I am not sure.”
Freedom’s Michael Stofanak throws the ball against Easton during a District 11 Class 6A football quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)
Roeder was sure that his team played with a lot of heart and character in fighting back against an Easton team that came into the playoffs off an upset win over Nazareth in the regular-season finale.
Lashawn Johnson was dealing with a hip injury that forced him out of last week’s win over Liberty after one series.
“We had a lot of guys battling some stuff this week,” Roeder said. “It was not an easy week for Freedom football and everyone here knew that. A lot of kids were battling stuff and I am proud of how they battled to come out with a win.”
Johnson finished, unofficially, with 171 yards on 24 carries, including an 18-yard TD run in the first half.
But his biggest run came on the fourth-quarter drive that produced Stannard’s go-ahead field goal.
On fourth-and-1 at Freedom’s 33, he broke loose for a 44-yarder to the Easton 23. While the Patriots couldn’t get into the end zone, they got it close enough for Stannard’s second field goal of the night.
“I was dealing with a hip injury, but I just had to push through practice and come through in the game,” said Johnson, who 243 yards on 35 carries and scored five touchdowns in the previous win over Easton. “I didn’t practice at all. I was back on Monday and when it came to the game, I just had to do what I had to do. On that fourth down play, the offensive line did their thing and all I had to do was follow them and that’s what I did.”
The series
Easton entered Friday’s game leading the all-time series at 41-17-2. The Red Rovers lost eight straight before back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025.
Did you know?
The 56 points scored by Freedom in its win over Liberty last Saturday tied the record for points scored by the Patriots in the series. They also scored 56 in 1996, a 56-39 win.
Tanner’s time
Whitehall’s Tanner Dogmanits entered Friday’s action against Stroudsburg with 2,068 yards this season, and 5,923 career yards. He also has 49 career TDs. His yardage moves him into the top 25 all-time in District 11 history in 23rd place. He moved ahead of Mark Borda of Bethlehem Catholic (5,740 – 1999-01), Peyton Falzone of Nazareth (5,840 – 2022-25), Dan Persa of Liberty (5,875 – 2003-06), and Dante Carr of Minersville (5,891 – 2022-25).
Catching Carter
Carter Vassa of Bethlehem Catholic enters Saturday night’s game against North Schuylkill at BASD Stadium with 57 receptions for 1,371 yards and 15 TDs. The 57 catches match the 57 Bucky Godbolt caught in 1972 which is good for 2nd place all-time at the school. Freddie Simmons holds the single-season record with 58 receptions in 2014. Vassa’s career totals have him catching 192 passes (3rd all-time) for 3,620 yards (2nd all-time) and 39 TDs (4th all-time). Vassa also entered the weekend with the District 11 lead with his 15 TD grabs, which is also a new school record. Simmons held the record when he caught 14 TD tosses in 2014. Current Becahi assistant Frank Trovato had 13 in 2002, and Stef Kern caught 12 in 1985.
Freedom 19, Easton 17
Easton 7 – 3 – 7 – 0 — 17
Freedom 6 – 3 – 7 – 3 — 19
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
E: Akhir Brown 18 run (Greyson Baker kick), 9:52
F: Lashawn Johnson 18 run (kick failed), 3:05
SECOND QUARTER
F: Nathan Stannard 28 field goal, 9:22
E: Greyson Baker 35 field goal, 0:04
THIRD QUARTER
F: Jahaire Hughes 6 run (Stannard kick), 7:05
E: Akir Brown 3 run (Baker kick), 1:16
FOURTH QUARTER
F: Stannard 23 field goal, 8:45