There's no time for reflection during the toughest three-week stretch of the season for the Freeport football team.

Following a loss to undefeated Steel Valley, the Yellowjackets will travel to Highlands at 7 p.m. Friday for an Allegheny Conference showdown with the undefeated Golden Rams.

Win and Freeport will be set up for another tough game against 4-1 Deer Lakes.

“They are excited for the challenge,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said about his team. “They get excited no matter what, they don't care who the opponent is. We just want to flush it and move on from last week.”

Scoring wins over Highlands (5-0, 4-0) and Deer Lakes the next two weeks could put the Yellowjackets in position to win the conference title.

To win, Freeport (4-1, 4-0) will need to cut down on the turnovers. The Yellowjackets had six in a 34-7 loss to the Ironmen last week.

Freeport quarterback Ryan Weigold missed time with an injury last week, forcing Josh Beale to spell him. Weigold, who has thrown for 1,035 yards and 12 touchdowns, is expected to play this Friday.

“The offense needs to rebound,” Gaillot said. “We were a little out of sync with Weigold getting injured. The reason I said last week's game on me is I didn't get Josh Beale enough reps in practice.”

Highlands coach Sam Albert is prepared for how dangerous Freeport's offense can be. That's something he picked up during the summer.

The Yellowjackets beat the Golden Rams in a 7-on-7 passing camp at Westminster College.

He's still working on a plan to stop Freeport.

“They are so balanced,” Albert said. “They can run the ball this year, last year they didn't run the ball well. I don't know how you stop them.”

Highlands' defense, which allowed 52 points in the first two weeks to Summit Academy and Apollo-Ridge, has since settled in.

The Golden Rams have only allowed 28 points in the past three games.

The Golden Rams offense is nothing to look past, either.

Quarterback Brayden Thimons is a dual threat, passing for 708 yards and six scores.

Thimons is also the second-leading rusher with 312 yards.

Jermaine Jett leads Highlands with 375 yards rushing.

Grinding the clock against Freeport will be a key.

“I think you want to hold the ball against anybody,” Albert said. “As potent as an offense as they have, you want to keep them off the field.”

Gaillot believes the Yellowjackets will be ready for the challenge. Having a tough non-conference challenge against Steel Valley helped the defense get prepared for the Golden Rams' attack.

“They had so much team speed, no one in our conference has that much,” Gaillot said. “I think speed-wise, we played faster than we ever did last week.”