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It panned out pretty well for the Freedom football team, however.

Making his Friday night debut, Patriots rookie signal-caller Ryder Huffman turned in a three-touchdown performance to lead Freedom to a 26-21 Northwestern 3A/4A Conference win at Hibriten, wrapping up the league’s top 3A seed and a likely home game to open the NCHSAA 3A state playoffs next Friday.

With the freshman JV callup playing in lieu of junior starter Kaden Davis, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury suffered in a win at Ashe County two weeks before, the FHS coaching staff let Huffman come out throwing, and he emerged on the other side having completed 13 of 21 interception-free passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and the QB also cashed in on a 45-yard TD run.

“What a great experience for a young guy to step in. And the guys around him played well,� said Freedom first-year head coach J.K. Adkins, who is back in the playoffs following back-to-back NCHSAA 1A state championships with Mount Airy the past two seasons.

“I’m sure he was nervous to start the game. He took a big shot early and got right back up. I think, from there, he just kind of settled in, did a great job. … He had a good supporting cast, and we played well defensively for most of the game, too.�

It was a stellar performance considering the circumstances, and taking into account that a loss may have meant no postseason berth for the Patriots (6-4, 3-2 NWC) due to being leap-frogged by the Panthers. Huffman found out on Monday that he would be the starter.

“We came in and the coaches sat me down and talked to me at school,� Huffman said. “I knew then. I was pretty nervous my first practice with varsity. The team gathered around and they helped me out during the week.�

Things started out a little bumpy with back-to-back fumbles on Freedom’s first offensive drive, including a punishing hit on Huffman while he was looking to pass, but the unit settled in from there and Huffman led an eight-play, 60-yard drive on the second possession that ended with Jaiden Belin’s 8-yard TD run to tie the game at 7-7.

“After the first drive when I got hit, it woke me up to varsity football,� Huffman said. “It got real then. There wasn’t that much pressure, though. I knew the coaches and the team have got me. My dad’s always told me a diamond (is formed) under pressure.�

Huffman’s first explosive moment through the air came on a 74-yard scoring bomb to Kobe Johnson to give Freedom a 13-7 lead in the second quarter. Then, early in the third period, the QB found a crease and took off for the 45-yard scoring run and a 19-7 lead.

“It’s just all glory to God and the team,� Huffman said. “(Belin) stepped up (on my touchdown run) and the receivers got downfield and blocked. It’s all thanks to them.�

After the Panthers closed within 19-14, Huffman made perhaps his most important play when he scrambled around on fourth-and-15 and found Johnson on a jump pass in the end zone. Johnson was the most reliable target on the night, finishing with 121 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions.

“I told (Huffman) that I trust him and that any ball thrown to me is either going to be a catch or an incompletion. It’s not going to be intercepted,� Johnson said. “I feel like that helped a lot in being trustworthy for him and have him not have to worry.�

The entire Freedom roster seemed to do a good job of not worrying about the stakes of the game, hanging tough when it mattered most — like when Hibriten got the ball back with 91 seconds to play and the FHS defense forced a turnover on a fumble on the first play of the drive, allowing Huffman to seal the deal with a trio of kneel-downs.

“The coaches told us not to worry about outside distractions,� Johnson said. “Just play the game of football. Football is played with the 11 people on the field and everybody in a Freedom jersey. Don’t worry about people in the stands trying to distract you from that.�

The win has the Patriots expecting a home game to open the postseason this week at Patton High School on the other side of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ as FHS’ stadium is still undergoing repairs following flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

But it also snapped a five-game losing streak to Hibriten dating back to 2016, and it allowed Freedom to jump back ahead in the all-time series, 9-8, versus the Patriots’ inaugural opponent from 1973. FHS won 42-8 in that contest, played at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ High School.

“Hibriten’s a great program and they’ve been in the playoffs for 20-some years straight,� Adkins said after his team eliminated the Panthers from postseason contention. They play a really tough nonconference schedule. I know their win-loss record doesn’t indicate how good they are, but I’m proud of our guys, proud of our effort and we earned the right to play at home.

“I’m ready. The postseason is special. You never know where the ride is going to take you. Like I was telling the guys, our focus has got to be on the next opponent, and that’s it. All of our time and effort is toward that, and let the chips fall where they may.�

Davis, who served as a pre-game captain in plainclothes in the prior week’s loss at Watauga, reprised that role in full uniform against Hibriten and may be ready to roll when Freedom opens the playoffs next Friday.

“He’s getting better each day,� Adkins said. “So, we’ll just take it day-by-day like we have been and see what happens.�

If Huffman is needed under center again, however, he feels prepared.

“We put in a lot of work in the offseason,� Huffman said.

Now, the team knows they can trust him, too.

“It’s huge for confidence,� Adkins said. “And not just his own self-confidence, but the confidence of the guys around him, too. That’s big.�