HobbsDailyReport.com
MARION – Getting big games from two underclassmen and playing through two lightning-caused delays, Freedom High closed the football regular season by beating McDowell 41-14 on Friday night to finish in a three-way tie for third place.
FREEDOM 41
McDOWELL 14
The visiting Patriots rode the passing of sophomore Jayden Birchfield — who threw for five scores and ran for another — and a four-score reception night by freshman Desmond Caldwell to its eight straight road win in their series against the Titans (2-9, 1-6).
Freedom (7-4, 4-3) tied Hickory and St. Stephens for third place in the Northwestern 3A-4A while McDowell, which could have earned a state playoff bid by winning, tied South Caldwell for seventh place.
South Caldwell advances to the postseason as the league’s No. 1 4A representative by virtue of its win over McDowell earlier this season.
Birchfield threw scoring passes to Caldwell, who was playing his first varsity game, twice in the second quarter and once in the third quarter and fourth quarter to finish with nearly 350 passing yards.
That pushed Birchfield past the single-season school passing record at Freedom previously held by Michael Helms (2,617 in 2010).
Birchfield also threw a TD pass to Jaxon McMahan, who had three catches to reach 65 and break the single-season receiving record at Freedom that was held by Khris Gardin (64 in 2012).
Friday night’s game was stopped once in each half by lightning in the area and the players were off the field for about 1 ½ hours over those two stoppages.