Victoria East lost to visiting Freeman 42-35 on Friday at Memorial Stadium on Senior Night. East is now 3-5 overall and 3-4 in district play. Freeman is 3-6 overall and 3-4 in district play.
Trailing 42-35 with no timeouts left, East forced a Freeman punt with two minutes remaining. Freeman was at its own 13-yard line and punted on fourth-and-2. The punt was not fielded by the East returner and bounced past midfield. A special teams player from East touched the ball as it rolled toward the end zone, and a scramble followed. Freeman recovered at the East 38 with 1:48 left, then kneeled three times to run out the clock.
Earlier, East had a fourth-and-goal from the Freeman 5, but a pass by sophomore quarterback Xavier Sanchez was batted down at the line of scrimmage, turning the ball over on downs. In the first half, Sanchez ran 46 yards for a touchdown on fourth-and-7, giving East a 22-21 lead. Freeman answered on its next possession to lead 28-22. With 38 seconds left in the half, Sanchez threw a 16-yard corner fade to senior receiver Lawson Brown for a touchdown. The extra point was no good.