Hungry and confident
BUFFALO TWP — Freeport's football players have, simply put, been there, done that.
The Yellowjackets return 14 players with ample experience on both sides of the ball. Freeport was 3-3 last season, losing in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
“Our biggest strength is our experience,” 14th-year head coach John Gaillot said. “We've been ravaged by injuries the past three years and a lot of kids have had the opportunity to play.
“Many of these kids were thrown to the wolves as freshmen. We took our lumps then. Now they're seniors.
And hungry.
And confident.
“We believe the talent and experience are here to get to the WPIAL championship game,” senior quarterback Garrett King said. “We need to hold on to that belief. A season like that has been a long time coming here.
“I want to help lead us there.”
Freeport has not played in a WPIAL football title game since the 1989 season, when the Yellowjackets dropped a 20-14 decision to Steel Valley at Three Rivers Stadium.
King is one of those 14 players returning, though he missed last season with the most serious injury of all. He battled testicular cancer.He is now cancer-free and is the starting quarterback. Ben Lane and Zach Clark shared that position as sophomores last season.“Garrett is a natural leader,” Gaillot said. “He's very intelligent, has good mechanics, speed for a big kid ... he's just football smart.”Lane was a do-everything type of player for Freeport last year and will be even more in the forefront that way this season.“We plan to use Ben in a variety of different ways,” Gaillot said. “Yeah, he can be a gamebreaker — very explosive.”Lane led the Yellowjacket ground game with 76 carries for 348 yards and six touchdowns last year. He threw for 769 yards and seven TDs as well.Lane also averaged 40 yards on five kick returns in 2020 and will be prevalent on Yellowjacket special teams this season.Clark threw for 164 yards and a touchdown during his brief work at quarterback as Freeport remained effective throwing the football, even with King sidelined.“These kids are athletic and versatile,” Gaillot said. “We can do a lot of things offensively.“The biggest thing we have to do is avoid injury. We're already dealing with one early.”Billy Lyons, a senior linebacker who led the 'Jackets with 64 tackles last year, was battling an injury during preseason camp.King will have plenty of targets in the passing game as Vincent Clark caught 20 passes for 383 yards and three scores last year, Brady Stivenson had 14 receptions for 213 yards and two scores, tight end Cole Charlton 11 catches for 115 yards. All three are back.Logan Jendrejewski returns at center with Aidan Lindsay and Bear Freeman also back as starting offensive linemen.“The brethren that's here, that's our biggest strength,” Vincent Clark said. “Our team chemistry is unmatched.”Charlton, one of many three-year starters on the team, agreed.“We've been playing football together since second or third grade,” he said. “The strength of our offense is versatility, the strength of our defense is our aggressiveness.“Our goal is the WPIAL championship. We have the team to get that done.”Jackson Reiser, a linebacker, had 59 tackles last year. Vincent Clark, Lane and Jendrejewski all had 37 tackles. Charlton had four quarterback sacks and two interceptions, Colton Otterman 33 tackles and six QB sacks.Parker Lucas and Andrew Sullivan are other players who have started games for Freeport on both sides of the ball.Vincent Clark was perfect on seven PATs last year and booted a 37-yard field goal.“As long as we stay healthy, this team is capable of big things,” Gaillot said.FREEPORT2021 ScheduleAug. 27-ARMSTRONG, 7 p.m.Sept. 3-at Knoch, 7 p.m.; Sept. 10-AVONWORTH, 7 p.m.; Sept. 17-at Apollo-Ridge, 7 p.m.; Sept. 24-DERRY, 7 p.m.Oct. 1-at Valley, 7 p.m.; Oct. 15-at Burrell, 7 p.m.; Oct. 22-NORTH CATHOLIC, 7 p.m.; Oct. 29-at Deer Lakes, 7 p.m.2020 results (3-3)Deer Lakes 29-7, Apollo-Ridge 14-48, Derry 34-14, Burrell 38-18, North Catholic 14-26PlayoffsElizabeth Forward 20-34
