The last time the Warriors played the Freedom Bulldogs, they were underdogs in a very important game, and came out victorious in dramatic fashion.

There was familiar feeling on Friday.

The Warriors were underdogs going into a section game against the undefeated Freedom Bulldogs. The Warriors knew that they could not afford to start sluggish against such a strong opponent, so they had to find a way to jump ahead early and play aggressive. They set the tone early in the very crucial game, scoring 13 points within the first three minutes of the game. The scoring fest started out on the opening kickoff of the game when Jordan Mollenkopf found a seam and bolted 93 yards to endzone. On the Bulldog’s ensuing possession, a pass was intercepted by Frank Conti that set up Jaize Ziegler’s one-handed touchdown catch. The Warriors were upsetted last week, losing to their biggest rival Neshannock with a 33-13 setback. After a great week of practice and preparation, the Warriors had scored as many points as they did the previous week but in only a few minutes of play. There was a feeling of deja vu in the air, as the Warriors knocked off Freedom the year before thanks to a strong ground game fueled by a dominant offensive line and a sturdy defense that kept chunk plays to a minimum. The Bulldogs had been blowing opponents out of the water the first few weeks of the season by averaging nearly 50 points per game and allowing only 6 points coming into the game. The scoring fest did not stop there, as running back Braydon Cameron added another score to extend the lead to 20-0. Freedom was down, but they were not out. In the second half they manufactured a scoring drive at the start of the second half to cut the deficit down. Then the Warriors added yet another score, this time from Nate McCutcheon to seemingly put the game out of reach at 27-7. The Bulldogs rallied again, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one of which came on the benefit of a trick play to come within striking distance at 27-21 with a couple minutes remaining. It looked as if Freedom would get one last possession, but Mohawk pulled out a trick play of their own as Nate McCutcheon took a reverse to convert a crucial third and long which would then allow them to run out the clock. Last year’s run to the playoffs capped off with the win over Freedom, and they will look for this one to kick start another win streak as they will face off at Western Beaver next Saturday at 12:30.