NUMINE — Coming off a loss in a heated contest against Deer Lakes last week, Freeport knew it needed a fast start.

Three plays into the game, Curtis Hughes took care of any worries, gathering in a Brendan Lynch pass in the flat and turning it into a 44-yard touchdown, opening the floodgates for the Yellowjackets.

In a dominant performance against the overmatched West Shamokin Wolves, the Yellowjackets captured the road conference victory, 42-0.

Hughes' touchdown was just the beginning of the big plays for the 'Jackets (5-3, 4-2), as standout receiver Derek Durand pitched in with two of his own.

After getting into the end zone twice on his team's first 10 offensive snaps, Durand lined up to return a punt late in the second quarter. He received the ball at his own 25, darted left, got to the corner and picked up a bone-crunching block from Shawn Liberto on his way for the score.

"I owe it all to my team," Durand said. "My quarterback puts the ball where I can catch it, and I just go make it happen. If I didn't have my line, I wouldn't be able to do what I do. And Shawn Liberto — I owe that one all to him."

But Durand's big night wasn't over. The Yellowjackets wanted to get their quarterback and receivers more work early in the second half, and it took only two plays for Lynch to find a streaking Durand.

Lynch launched the ball down the near sideline and let his star wideout make the catch, but it was the run after the reception that caught everyone's eye.

Durand juked around two Wolves on the near sideline, broke two more tackles to get to the opposite side of the field before reaching the corner and speeding his way to his fourth touchdown.

"He's just unbelievable at what he can do," said Freeport coach John Gaillot. "He's one of the top receivers in our conference, and I think in the WPIAL. If anybody can see the way he runs routes, you'll know what I'm talking about. He's the best route-runner I've ever seen."

Durand's final touchdown capped the scoring for Freeport after it had run just 13 offensive plays. The 'Jackets had taken advantage of turnovers deep in West Shamokin territory and used big plays to put points on the board quickly.

Freeport ran only 24 offensive plays on the evening.

On the other side of the ball, the 'Jackets' defense swarmed the Wolves all night, surrendering only 43 yards on 45 plays.

Defensive lineman Cody McClelland had two sacks in the first half, and Dalton Hubert and Hughes had one each.

Freeport dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and imposed their style of game on the Wolves — a stark contrast from the loss last week.

With one week left in the regular season, Gaillot likes how his team continues to improve and mature.

"Honestly, it's been a roller coaster," he said. "We could have performed better at times, and I take responsibility for that. But they responded today, and this is what I believe we can do."