Oklahoma Freedom Defeat Carolina Cowboys, Clinching PBR Freedom Fest Event Win
By: Kacie Albert
Oklahoma Freedom: 180.5 / Carolina Cowboys: 176.5
OKLAHOMA CITY – For the third consecutive day of PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series competition in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Freedom closer Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) delivered a walk-off score to propel his team to victory. On Sunday afternoon, Kolbaba clinched the 180.5-176.5 victory for the Freedom against the Carolina Cowboys. The victory improved Oklahoma to 3-0 inside Paycom Center and secured the team the PBR Freedom Fest event win as they became the first team to win their inaugural homestand. The Oklahoma Freedom have now won seven consecutive games, one away from tying the Austin Gamblers’ league-leading eight straight victories earned earlier this season.
After neither team converted in the first, the Freedom were the first to put points on the board in the second. While Carolina bucked off in the top of the frame, Freedom young gun Briggs Madsen (Tremonton, Utah) was a picture of near perfection in the bottom of the second. Matched with Smooth Over It (Lazy S4 Cattle/Shuler/Samford), Madsen reached the requisite 8 for a monstrous 91.25 points, the Freedom’s league-leading fifth 90-point ride of the season.
The Cowboys didn’t remain scoreless for long. As the third got underway, Head Coach Jerome Davis tasked Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) with a familiar opponent in Casper (Crescent City Bucking Bulls/Lari Crane/Gene Owens). Having attempted the bull three times prior, Taylor was successful twice, including for a commanding 90.75 points in their first meeting en route to Taylor’s premier series event win in Indianapolis in January 2022. While Taylor was sent airborne inside Paycom Center before the 8, he clutched the end of the bull rope in hopes of securing a score. After an official review, Taylor was deemed to have had the rope in his hand as the clock hit 8 seconds and was awarded an 86.75-point score.
The Freedom bucked off in the bottom of the frame, but Madsen’s score allowed them to carry a 4.5-point lead into the fourth. With the scoreboard unchanged in the penultimate frame, the game came down to the final round, with 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) up for the Cowboys and Kolbaba once again last out for the Freedom. Needing to score, Swearingen delivered for the Cowboys, giving them an 85.25-point lead after riding Theodore (Lari Crane/Gene Owen) for 89.75 points.
No stranger to the must-ride position, Kolbaba was poised as he climbed aboard Lone Survivor (Whitman Bucking Bulls/Jenkins Cattle Co.). In perfect time with his animal athlete counterpart, Kolbaba reached the whistle as the Sooner State crowd erupted in raucous cheer. Scored 89.25 points, the Freedom surged to a 4-point lead to win the game. With the Cowboys and Freedom the lone two teams to go 2-0 through the opening games, the Freedom’s win earned them the title of PBR Freedom Fest Champions.
The Oklahoma Freedom are now 11-8 this season, while the Carolina Cowboys, who went 2-1 in Oklahoma City, slipped to 12-7.
With the event win clinched, Freedom Head Coach Cord McCoy used his first pick in the Bonus Round to match Chase Outlaw with 2021 PBR World Champion Bull Woopaa (Barker Bulls/Hookin’ W Ranch).
First out in the Bonus Round, Outlaw erupted from the chutes as Woopaa delivered his characteristic high-flying, powerful out. After initially ruled to have made the 8, the trip went into review as the officials looked for a potential slap. Deemed to have been a clean trip, Outlaw was awarded a career-best 94.5 points to win the Bonus Round for the Freedom, garnering them 8 Bonus Points and completing their clean sweep of PBR Freedom Fest.
Outlaw’s score is now the top in PBR Team Series competition.
The PBR Team Series will next travel to Ridgedale, Missouri, for the sixth team-hosted homestand as the Missouri Thunder welcome the league for PBR Thunder Days. The event will be on Friday, September 23 at 7:45 p.m. CT, Saturday, September 24 at 6:45 p.m. CT and Sunday, September 25 at 1:45 p.m. CT.
The game matchups for the opening night of competition in Ridgedale on September 23 are:
Austin Gamblers @ Kansas City Outlaws
Nashville Stampede @ Oklahoma Freedom
Texas Rattlers @ Arizona Ridge Riders
Carolina Cowboys @ Missouri Thunder
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer replays of all the PBR Team Series action from Oklahoma City. Check https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/pbr-ridepass for the latest programming schedule. For a behind-the-scenes look at the creation and launch of the new league, tune in to PBR Team Series: Getting the Job Done, presented by ZipRecruiter, Thursdays on PBR RidePass on Pluto TV at 8:30 p.m. ET. Check https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/pbr-ridepass for the latest programming schedule.
© 2022 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.