It has been eight years since both sides of the Liberty and Freedom football game entered the rivalry contest with records over .500.

“There’s definitely a different feeling in the building,” Hurricanes coach Shawn Daignault said. “Every time we got another win, there was a little bit more buzz. This week, it was palpable, for sure.”

Freedom (8-1), ranked No. 2 by lehighvalleylive.com, will clash with the No. 9 seed Freedom (7-2) for the 58th time at 1 p.m., Saturday at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

“This is where you want this game to be,” Freedom coach Jason Roeder said of the matchup between two teams that qualified for the District 11 Class 6A tournament. “To play in this type of game, it’s just a wonderful opportunity that you want your kids to enjoy.”

The Patriots have topped Liberty five straight, but are trying to bounce back from their first loss of the 2024 campaign, a 25-21 loss to Easton.

“It’s not like you come in all smiles and giggles from Monday,” Roeder said. “… We invested a lot in kids and coaches, and the losses hit hard. We talked about it. We said we had to be right by the full training on Tuesday and we were. It’s about understanding the huge task at hand, the huge opportunity and getting back to work.”

Capturing a city title would push the Patriots into the D-11 standings with a lot of momentum.

“It was definitely a rough weekend, but I think we bounced back,” senior linebacker Ryan Ellis said. “It was a good week of training. The (Freedom) week means a lot, so we’re ready.”

The Liberty aren’t trying to reinvent themselves after falling to the Red Rovers, who won the Northampton Division crown of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference on Friday night with a 63-55 win against Nazareth.

“It’s the attention to detail. It’s easy to look at a few plays and say they were plays. But, you have to look at the details and what made those negative plays go wrong,” Roeder said. “It comes down to alignment, assignment, key reading and everyone doing their job. We’ve made execution a point of emphasis since our first meeting (of the season). It’s not like we have to change any part of our plan.”

Liberty enters Saturday on a rivalry win after beating Bethlehem Catholic for the first time since 2015.

“It’s actually going to help us a lot,” Hurricanes wide receiver Joaquin Vazquez said of the result against the Golden Hawks. “Especially coming off two losses to two great programs (Nazareth and Easton), I think it will put us in the right mindset. Freedom comes from loss, so it’s going to be a dogfight. We all know that.”

Daignault learned that whatever happened last week (or the past nine weeks) will ultimately count for little when Saturday’s contest begins.

“This is one of those games where, no matter the situation, you’d better be prepared to get your opponent’s best game. I expect nothing less than that,” he said. “They are so well coached. They don’t have a lot of weaknesses. They have size; they have speed; they have a QB (Chase Walker) who can throw it. We’re going to have to play our best game if we want to make this a contest.”

The Liberty won a combined five games between 2021 and 2023 before righting the ship in 2024.

“They have players at every position and their coaching staff, led by coach Daignault, does a good job with them,” Roeder said. “They can throw the ball; I can run the ball; play fast on defense; they are good on special teams. They are the complete package. To win seven games in our league, they do a lot of things right.”

Despite their struggles, the Hurricanes believed this fall would be different long before they reeled off six wins to open the campaign.

“We came into the season with that kind of confidence,” Vazquez said. “Last year I had a difficult year. We were in a few games that we could have made it. ​​Things happen for a reason. We live life with no regrets and keep believing.”

The Liberty seniors are special to Daignault, who is in his fourth year at the helm of the program, for a few reasons: It’s the first group his staff has guided through his entire varsity career and it includes his son, Cole, who is a tight end/defensive end.

“All they know is how we’ve done things since I’ve been here,” Shawn Daignault said. “They kind of laid the groundwork to get what they’re looking for. They were truly willing to go through hard times to get to where they are successful. It’s a group I’m proud of and will remember for a long time.”

Daignault indicated that the father-son dynamic also went smoothly.

“We’re both doing pretty well. I think they probably feel a little more pressure than I do in terms of having to lead by example to do things the way we asked them to do,” the coach said. “If he quits for a second, everybody might look and say, ‘Oh, the coach’s son isn’t doing it. Why should you? I think he feels that a little bit. They probably wouldn’t admit it… But, we are able to compartmentalize our lives. When we’re here, it’s different and he’s just one of the guys on the team.”

Roeder, who is in his 20th season leading the Patriots, also has a senior son on the roster: tight end/linebacker Ryan Roeder, whose defensive production has increased over the past four games.

Freedom, which has been snake-bitten with significant injuries, will need all hands on deck Saturday after losing two more starters in the aftermath of the Easton game.

“Everybody’s dealing with it, and we’re going to deal with it,” Roeder said.

Ellis had to fight through illnesses to stay on the field for the Patriots.

“He has that toughness. Play through bumps and bruises. He brings an edge to our offensive line,” Roeder said. “He’s been limited defensively this year, which hurts us a little bit. He leads by example and can be a vocal leader. He’s a guy who’s been in a lot of big games in the past and I think the kids enjoy that.”

Ellis is motivated by his teammates who were shut out.

“I’ve been blessed enough to be able to overcome injuries,” the senior said. “I have great teammates who have gone down with ACLs and can’t play.”

Saturday will be the last time the Liberty have starting quarterback Antonio Fontanez in the lineup this fall. Fontanez, who threw for 1,406 yards and nine touchdowns, is ineligible for the postseason due to PIAA transfer rules.

“He’s going to embrace the role of kind of a player-coach as long as we hang around in the playoffs,” Daignault said.

That’s all the more reason for the Canes, who lead the series 34-23, to empty the tank against Pate.

“I love all these guys, especially the upperclassmen. … We’ve all been together since we were little,” Vazquez said. “… It’s definitely an environment to play in. It’s not something you play in every day. … We just have to stay focused, stay locked in and win together.”

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Kyle Craig can be reached at [email protected].