If there was one elixir to help mitigate the pain for Freedom’s football team after losing in the District 11 6A championship last Friday night, it would be another game on the calendar.

The Patriots (5-2) will get that opportunity Wednesday afternoon when they take on Liberty at 1:30 p.m. at BASD Stadium in the season finale for both teams, after the game was rescheduled from earlier this season due to COVID concerns.

It’s a contest that both teams need, but one that Freedom might need more after falling to Nazareth (8-0) 37-29 in Friday’s championship.

“No doubt,” said Freedom head coach Jason Roeder of looking forward to this week’s contest. “It’s a chance to redeem ourselves and be able to spend more time with the kids and go through the healing process.”

While Friday marked the fourth time in five years the Pates have been in the district final, it unfortunately ended in defeat to a Nazareth team that made more plays to pull out the title, the biggest coming on the opening kickoff of the second half, when Dominic Felician returned the kick 91-yards for a score to put Nazareth ahead 14-9 and they never looked back.

That score opened the doors to three more touchdowns in the third quarter, as Freedom running back Deante Crawford ran for three scores on the night and 135 yards with two of touchdowns coming in the highly entertaining third period.

Unfortunately, Nazareth matched Freedom punch-for-punch in the second half, capped off by Tyler Rohn’s one-yard plunge with 8:13 left in the fourth quarter to give them a 37-29 lead after a blocked PAT.

That kept the hope alive for Freedom down one possession and they made it interesting till the end, driving down to the Nazareth 15-yard line, facing a 4th and 11, Pates’ quarterback Ethan Neidig threw a jump ball into the corner, only to see Felician come down with the interception as time expired.

Neidig finished the night 7-of-18 for 122 yards and an interception. He also ran for a touchdown.

Nazareth quarterback Matt Bugbee was 12-of-17 for 145 yards, but also ran for two touchdowns.

Rohn had 49 yards and two scores for the Blue Eagles too.

“Nazareth is a good team, but our kids played hard,” Roeder said. “There was just some mistakes we made in kickoff coverage that hurt us.”

Liberty (0-6) lost to Parkland 45-14 on Friday night, as they prep for this week’s tilt against the Pates.

Sophomore quarterback Thomas Mason threw for 100 yards and two touchdowns, as well as rushing for 103 yards in his first career start.

While this week’s contest won’t be the same as previous city rivalry contests between both schools, it’s a game that Roeder is thankful for.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to play, that’s for sure,” he said. “I guess you can say it’s par for the course with how this year has been. I just hope our guys can get back at it mentally on a short week.”