3 min read

FREEPORT — It’s gutsy to attempt a two-point conversion at any point in a football game — even more so when your team is down by a point with 2:27 to go in the fourth quarter. 

Freeport went for it anyway. 

“I did not want to extend this game, and when you have a chance to maybe close out a team like that, you go for it,” Freeport coach Paul St. Pierre said. “… If we didn’t make it, we still had a chance for our onside kick. Who knows? But when you have a chance to beat a team like that, you don’t mess around with it. You don’t risk overtime. You just take 2 yards and hope you can get in.” 

That decision, coupled with a final defensive stop clinched the Falcons’ win, defeating Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale 29-28 on Friday night in an early-season Class D South clash. 

Following a 1-yard touchdown run from quarterback Andrew Thomas, running back Keigan Haveran found the end zone for the go-ahead two-point conversion. 

“On that game-winning touchdown drive, all I was thinking was just, ‘I got to score, I got to score,’ to help redeem myself from that first half,” Thomas said.

Haveran’s two-point conversion, his second of the night, finished the game, and his first-quarter touchdown started things off, putting Freeport ahead 7-0 after its first drive. Winthrop answered later in the quarter on a 92-yard rushing touchdown from running back Tristyan Ortiz. 

The Ramblers scored the only touchdown of the second quarter with 0.3 seconds on the clock. Quarterback Porter Lavigne threw an 80-yard pass to wide receiver Lucas Rice, giving Winthrop a 14-7 lead heading into halftime. 

Freeport recovered a fumble on Winthrop’s first possession of the second half, then the two teams traded touchdowns and were tied at the end of three quarters.

On the first play of the fourth, Lavigne found Rice for another long touchdown, this time a 66-yard pass that put the Ramblers up 28-21. 

Then came Thomas’ and Haveran’s late-game heroics. Lavigne and Winthrop had a final possession to try to retake the lead, but a turnover on downs sealed the Falcons’ victory over the reigning Class D champions, who had their 11-game winning streak snapped.

Freeport’s offensive line. The Falcons’ unit up front met the moment at the all right times. Its efforts on the line began with Haveran’s 11-yard score in the first quarter and ended with his two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. The Falcons’ linemen may not have scored themselves, but they helped their team score when it mattered most.

• “This is huge. It’s usually a battle between us and Winthrop every year, and I’m so glad we could pull away with the win on this one.” — Andrew Thomas

• “It’s not a bad thing for us to feel a little sting now and then. It’s been a long time since some of these kids have. So we’re just going to get back to work and get ready for next week.” — Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton

• Freeport: Andrew Thomas (22 rushes, 151 yards, TD), Keigan Haveran (six rushes, 26 yards, TD, two two-point conversions)

• Winthrop: Porter Lavigne (7-15 passing, 236 yards, three TDs), Lucas Rice (five catches, 194 yards, two TDs; INT)