HobbsDailyReport.com
WENTWORTH – Freedom High had five first-half turnovers and never rebounded on Friday night as Rockingham County won 47-29 in a first-round state 3A football playoff game.
No. 7 ROCKINGHAM COUNTY 47
No. 10 FREEDOM 29
No. 7 Rockingham (9-3) grabbed a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 33-0 en route to earning a second round game next Friday at No. 2 Kings Mountain (11-1).
Kings Mountain advanced by beating No. 15 Forestview 48-13 in Kings Mountain on Friday night.
Freedom, finishing 7-5 to post its eighth straight non-losing season, got its first score with about 10 minutes to play in the third quarter on a pass from sophomore quarterback Jayden Birchfield to wide receiver Jaxon McMahan.
The Patriots were within 40-13 after Birchfield hit Christian Fox with a TD throw, and they trailed 47-21 with about three minutes to play on Tristian Somerville’s 5-yard run.
Freedom is 13-11 in its last two seasons after a run of six straight seasons with at least 10 wins.
The Patriots’ sixth straight postseason bid added to their woes in state playoff road games – they are 13-25 overall in the postseason but only 2-13 on the road.
Freedom’s two road playoff wins came in the same season, 2012, when the Patriots won at Burns and at East Henderson.