CLEVELAND — Richard Freelon rushed for three touchdowns to lead the No. 8 ranked Delta State Statesmen to a 28-23 win Saturday over No. 20 North Greenville to advance to the National Semi-Finals as Super Region 2 Champions.

Freelon rushed for 130 yards on 23 carries, along with the three scores.

The sophomore transfer from Jacksonville State tied for third in Statesmen (11-2) playoff history with the three touchdowns and had the third highest rushing total in Statesmen playoff history.

“He had some awesome runs,” said head coach Ron Roberts. “He is a powerful back that came up big for us today. We always look for that player who is going to step up big in these types of games and Richard did a great job.”

“The great thing about having a lot of backs is that you can look and see who has the hot hand. Richard established that early on and we went with him in the second half. He showed his speed and power and did a tremendous job going into the whole the offensive line gave him.”

On Delta State’s first drive of the game, Freelon put the Statesmen up 7-0 with a 4-yard touchdown run that capped off a 76-yard drive.

The drive started with a Micah Davis pass to Erick Clayton that went for 44 yards. Tim Smith then caught an 8-yard pass on third down to set up Freelon’s touchdown run on the next play.

The Crusaders (11-3) answered with a touchdown to tie the game, taking advantage of short field position after a Statesmen turnover at the 16-yard line. Willy Korn connected with Taylor Malphrus on a 13-yard touchdown pass to tie the game.