FREEPORT — Andrew Romanchak drags himself out of bed at 6 a.m.

That's how his summer went.

Wake up early, have a quick breakfast and head off to the high school to lift.

It was the start of a new offseason ritual for the Freeport senior quarterback.

Romanchak wants this season to go smoother.

He learned his lessons from last year.

“A lot of it was us not preparing well enough. We came into some games thinking it was going to be different than it was,” Romanchak said of Freeport's 2-7 season. “We did learn a lot from last year and we're bringing that into this season.”

Last season, Romanchak was at the helm of a young Yellowjackets' squad that went through an adjustment period. That's what made the offseason more important.

Romanchak spent many of the workouts with sophomore 6-2 wide receivers Brandon and Dylan Hochbein.

Brandon (11 catches, 156 yards) and Dylan (15 catches, 185 yards) are Freeport's top two returning wide receivers.

Brandon Hochbein feels that Romanchak does a good job of taking the pressure on his shoulders.

“I feel like he keeps the team in check. He's like the principal of the team,” Brandon Hochbein said. “He's talking to everyone and keeping everyone's head in the game and focused on what we're supposed to be doing.”

Yellowjackets coach John Gaillot has seen improvement from Romanchak, who has drawn some interest from a few Ivy League and Division III colleges.

There are little signs of how he pressed at times last season.

Romanchak completed 43.5 percent (60 of 138) of his passes for one touchdown nine interceptions.

Turnovers were a concern.

At times, he felt his footwork was a little off and he was throwing sidearm more than he is used to.

During the offseason, he worked on his release point, footwork and timing.

“I got away from my mechanics a lot going back and watching film. Trying to do too much and take too much on the game myself,” Romanchak said. “My receivers are more capable of doing what they need to and if I get them the ball they make the plays.

Romanchak is a dual threat. He led the team in rushing yards (388) and scored five of Freeport's 12 offensive touchdowns.

Gaillot said Romanchak didn't always have help last season. After three weeks, the Yellowjackets dropped between 25 and 30 passes.

“I think with Andrew, he was pressing and trying to make that play. He made a lot of plays for us,” Gaillot said. “Him pressing was the issue throwing the ball. There were some balls he shouldn't have thrown or taking too long to make the reads.”

Dylan Hochbein thinks this group is more suited to help Romanchak. The Hochbein's both excelled at track last season and feel more comfortable running.

“We can make moves. Last year, I felt like when I got the ball I didn't know what to do,” Dylan Hochbein said. “I was going to get hit and fall down. I feel like I can give a person a juke and get more yards.”

Romanchak wants to leave an impression in his senior year.

With the weapons he has returning, Romanchak's confident he can help turn things around at Freeport.

“Right now, we're trying to be the best we can be. If we play to the best of our potential, we can surprise some teams out there,” Romanchak said. “Our main goal is to go out and do better than we did last year because that wasn't fun.”