Football Game Preview: St. Stephens Indians vs. Freedom Patriots

St. Stephens hasn't had much luck against Freedom recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Indians will be playing at home against the Patriots at 7:30 p.m. St. Stephens will be strutting in after a win while Freedom will be coming in after a loss.

St. Stephens took a loss when they played away from home back in September, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They never let Alexander Central get on the board and left with a 21-0 victory. That looming 21-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Indians yet this season.

Maddox J Zablan looked great while leading his team to the win, rushing for 48 yards and one TD, while also catching one score. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making two total tackles and defending three passes.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something St. Stephens proved: they limited Alexander Central to a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Heath Alejo for the heroic effort on defense: he. St. Stephens' ground attack was stronger, having averaged five.

St. Stephens didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Jayven Brown, Ezven Mora, and Jyrese Chisholm picked up one apiece.

Meanwhile, Freedom played a tough game on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against Watauga, falling 42-20. The loss was the Patriots' first of the season.

Having lost for the first time this season, Freedom fell to 5-1. As for St. Stephens, the win got them back to even at 3-3.

St. Stephens came up short against Freedom when the teams last played back in February of 2021, falling 18-14. Can the Indians avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.