GREENSBURG — One bad quarter spoiled the whole bunch for Freeport Friday night.

Greensburg Central Catholic returned a kickoff for a touchdown, blocked a punt, recovered two fumbles and completed a pair of 43-yard passes — all in the game's first 10 minutes — while posting a 42-6 WPIALClass AA first-round football playoff victory over the Yellowjackets.

The Centurions (10-0) had a 32-0 lead after the first period.

"Our kids started out nervous and it showed,"Freeport coach John Gaillot said. "This was our first playoff game in five years. We're not used to this type of atmosphere."

Daunte Weaver-Johnson returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for GCC's first touchdown. To make matters worse, Freeport's Andrew Vidra fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Centurions' Ross Ferens recovered at the Yellowjackets' 20-yard line.

Six consecutive running plays by 1,000-yard back David Miller resulted in a score. Freeport (6-4) was offside on the PAT, prompting the Centurions to hand the ball to Miller for the two-point conversion.

On the 'Jackets next possession, GCC's Ed Day blocked Vidra's punt. On the next play from scrimmage, Trent Hurley tossed a short pass to Adam Palcic along the right sideline. Freeport missed a tackle and Palcic raced to complete a 31-yard touchdown play.

Less than six minutes into the game, the Centurions had a 22-0 lead.

"I was pleased with the way we came out of the gate,"GCC coach Muzzy Colosimo said. "We coasted a little bit after that, but we still played hard."

The Centurions' next touchdown occurred on a third-and- 28 play — after Freeport's John Douglas sacked Hurley for a 13-yard loss. Hurley found Weaver-Johnson behind the secondary for a 43-yard scoring toss.

Freeport suffered six turnovers, giving GCC 38 takeaways on the season. A lost fumble late in the opening quarter set up a Brian Gongaware 32-yard field goal to complete the Centurions' opening-quarter onslaught.

"I'm proud of the way or kids regrouped and played the final three quarters,"Gaillot said. "We never quit fighting."

The win proved costly to the Centurions, as Miller suffered a severe knee injuryin the second quarter. He had 13 carries for 44 yards and scored his 33rd touchdown of the season.

Trailing 42-0 in the third quarter, Freeport got on the board when Andy Teorsky scored on a 3-yard run. The seven-play, 47-yard drive was set up by Shawn Liberto's 45-yard kickoff return.

Teorsky's score was preceded by a 30-yard halfback pass from Tom Blythe to Derek Durand, advancing the ball to the GCC3-yard line.

Liberto had 144 yards in kick and punt return yardage.

The Centurions led WPIALClass AAin scoring, averaging 45.6 points per game.

"That's a darn good football team,"Gaillot said. "We made strides this season. We're losing 16 seniors, but a lot of our underclassmen saw significant playing time all year."

Greensburg Central 42, Freeport 6

Freeport 0 0 6 0—6Greensburg CC 32 3 7 0—42F GCC6 First Downs 1329-63 Rushes-Yards 41-14736 Passing Yards 1312-10-2 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 4-8-099 Total Yards 2885-4 Fumbles/Lost 2-14-33 Penalties-Yards 5-35

First QuarterGCC — Daunte Weaver-Johnson 96 kick return (Brian Gongaware kick), 11:46GCC — David Miller 1 run (Gongaware kick), 9:03GCC— Adam Palcic 31 pass from Trent Hurley (Gongaware kick), 6:17GCC— Weaver-Johnson 43 pass from Hurley (Gongaware kick), 3:55GCC— Gongaware 32 field goal, 1:14

Second QuarterGCC — Gongaware 32 field goal, :44

Third QuarterGCC— David Nowicki 18 run (Gongaware kick), 5:30F — Andy Teorsky 3 run (kick failed), :35

Individual Statistics

Passing: Freeport, Alex Isenberg 1-9-6-2, Tom Blythe 1-1-30-0. Greensburg Central, Trent Hurley 4-8-131-0.

Rushing: Freeport, Alex Isenberg 3-13, Andy Teorsky 9-27, Tom Blythe 1-0, Austin Shockey 4-10, Jake Campbell 8-21, Alan-Michael Wisniewski 1-13, Kevin Hughes 1-(-12), Team 2-(-9). Greensburg Central, Trent Hurley 4-7, David Miller 13-44, Zack Wilson 4-15, Nick Karabin 1-3, Andy Biros 7-50, Ross Deglow 2-5, Brandon Kalp 1-1, David Nowicki 8-26, Team 1-(-4).

Receiving: Freeport, Andy Teorsky 1-6, Derek Durand 1-30. Greensburg Central, Nick Karabin 1-43, Adam Palcic 1-31, Daunte Weaver-Johmnson 1-43, Evan Marshall 1-14.