FOX CHAPEL — The Freeport High School football team overcame first half woes Friday night in their 40-23 win over Shady Side Academy at McKelvey Stadium.

The Yellowjackets struggled with their passing game, which gave up three interceptions in the first half.

Quarterback Austin Romanchak threw two interceptions in the first quarter on two back-to-back drives, both snatched by Shady Side's Skyy Moore. Moore was carried off with an ankle injury in the second quarter.

“The first two were catches that went straight through our receivers' hands,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said.

The Indians kept Freeport scoreless after the first quarter and scored on a field goal and a rushing touchdown. On both drives, they started on their opponents side of the field.

Gaillot said he was at fault for his team's slow start.

“We started out flat,” he said. “It wasn't on the players, it was on me.”

Romanchak threw one more interception with under a minute left in the half, but Freeport showed some life by scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter by running down the field.

Their Yellowjackets found some success running the ball with 428 yards from the same three players, who inevitably led the team's offense in the second half as the Yellowjackets pulled away to a safe margin.

Romanchak ran the ball after struggling with passing. He finished the game running for 132 yards on 22 carries. Also vital to the Yellowbacks running game was running back Conor Selinger who ran 17 times for 235 yards with one touchdown, but running back and kicker Jake Sarver put up the most points for the Yellowjackets. He ran for two touchdowns and kicked one field goal and five extra points. He claimed credit for 20 of Freeport's points.

Sarver said it felt great to be a versatile threat.

“I feel great,” he said. “It was a team effort.”

Sarver said he has the offensive linemen to thank for the team's running performance.

“It was all about the line,” he said. “There were a lot of openings.”

Sarver said the game gave them a new experience. He said it was good for the Yellowjackets to struggle the way they did, so they could prove to themselves that they were capable of surging back.

“It feels good that we can go through adversity because we reacted well and came out with a win,” Sarver said. “We went through a lot as a team and we can learn a lot from this.”

Gaillot said he was pleased his team was able overcome the challenge, and he said Shady Side's team really impressed him with their effort.

Shady Side entered the game with 19 players to Freeport's 62.

Shady Side coach Dave Havern said he has half the players he had three years ago, but the players that are on his team have a lot of grit.

“I got 20 guys down there that are giving everything they have,” he said. “We gotta' fight through this.”