Kolbaba Ensures Freedom Will Have Chance to Earn Freedom Fest Event Win
By: Justin Felisko
OKLAHOMA CITY – The only thing colder than the ice running through Derek Kolbaba’s veins this week was the ice bag he had on his left shoulder after he delivered the Oklahoma Freedom a second consecutive walk-off victory at Freedom Fest.
The 26-year-old earned the Freedom (10-8, Freedom Fest 2-0) a sixth consecutive victory overall when he rode Schott in the Dark for 90.25 points on Saturday night to defeat the Texas Rattlers (6-12, Freedom Fest 1-1) 90.25-83.25 inside Paycom Center.
The ride came less than 24 hours after Kolbaba led Oklahoma to a 179.25-177.25 victory over the Austin Gamblers (10-8, Freedom Fest 0-2) on Friday night with 91 points on HomeBru.
“I’m feeling really good in those moments and just trying to take deep breaths and go out there and let my body do what it knows how to do,” Kolbaba said. “And it’s been working out.”
On both nights, the crowd at Paycom Center was on its feet, cheering Kolbaba on before he even nodded for the gate.
“It was really cool,” Kolbaba said. “It’s one of those things that’s just trickling down. The pressure just starts building a little bit, and those are the kinds of moments you want to put yourself in just to see what you’re made of. It was definitely a special feeling, just to step off and know that you just rode a great bull with the game on the line, and all your buddies are right there trying to build you up as well. It was pretty special, for sure.”
Oklahoma Freedom coach Cord McCoy was left holding his breath on Saturday night, though, when Kolbaba immediately called for the PBR Sports Medicine Team when he landed hard on his left shoulder/elbow after riding Schott in the Dark.
There was no celebration from Kolbaba, and the Walla Walla, Washington, bull rider was rushed off the dirt as he grimaced in pain.
Luckily, Kolbaba said he avoided serious injury and will not need to undergo any further testing after meeting with Dr. Tandy Freeman late Saturday night.
“Oh, it’s just sore,” Kolbaba told PBR.com. “I landed on my elbow and felt a little pain in there. It started getting better as I was walking out, and now it’s just sore. Definitely not worst-case scenario by any means.”
McCoy is thrilled to see Kolbaba heating up at just the right time for the Freedom with the stretch run to the PBR Team Series Championship (Nov. 4-6) well underway. There are only three regular-season events remaining following Freedom Fest.
“He’s like butter, man,” McCoy said. “He’s on a roll. It feels like we never give up anymore. If they push it back to one more bull for us, we still got a shot. If all the guys can just stay focused and never give up, then that hope of you’ve got a shot will be big. We proved it last night. We had to be 90 to win and had to do it today with the last bull. I’d rather not wait until the last bull from now on, but hey, we’ll take the win however we can.”
Oklahoma’s six-game winning streak has them up to fourth in the PBR Team Series standings, only two games behind the No. 1 Carolina Cowboys (12-6).
“It’s one of them feelings,” Kolbaba said. “It’s like now is the time to either step up or go pack your shit.”
Speaking of Carolina, the Cowboys will look to spoil the Freedom’s attempt at becoming the first team in league history to win their homestand on Sunday when the two teams square off on the final game of Freedom Fest (3 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network).
The winner of the Carolina vs. Oklahoma game will be the Freedom Fest champion.
“There’s only been a couple of times that we’ve been able to go into Sunday with an opportunity to win, so it feels good just to have a chance,” McCoy said. “We are excited about Sunday. The crowd, man, they’re good. It makes a difference. For bull riders who have rode in all these arenas before and didn’t know that home-team advantage would be an advantage, now I think we’re proving it here.”
Kolbaba explained his team has to continue to thrive on not overthinking the moment. There will certainly be plenty of talk about Sunday’s marquee matchup at Paycom Center, but the job remains the same for the five riders riding for Oklahoma in the winner-take-all game.
They just need to keep making the 8-second mark.
“We’ve kind of been kind of really driving and pushing into our brains that it’s just like any other game,” Kolbaba concluded. “That’s the best thing that we’ve been doing, is taking it literally one game at a time. I ain’t looking at what any other team is doing. I mean, hell, it seems like half the time, all the games we’ve had, I’ve barely even watched the other team.
“We’re just focusing on these bulls we have in front of us and letting everything else just kind of work out.”
“SUNDAY GAME SCHEDULE (3 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network)
Arizona Ridge Riders (11-7, Freedom Fest 1-1) @ Nashville Stampede (5-13, Freedom Fest 1-1)
Missouri Thunder (9-9, Freedom Fest 1-1) @ Kansas City Outlaws (7-11, Freedom Fest 1-1)
Texas Rattlers (6-12, Freedom Fest 1-1) @ Austin Gamblers (10-8, Freedom Fest 0-2)
Carolina Cowboys (12-6, Freedom Fest 2-0) @ Oklahoma Freedom (10-8, Freedom Fest 2-0)*
*Winner will win Freedom Fest event title
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media
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