Freeport 'D' comes up big in rout
WEST DEER TWP — Colton Otterman had Deer Lakes quarterback Derek Burk trapped in the backfield Friday night at Lancer Stadium.
Burk tried to fire the ball around the Freeport junior outside linebacker to no avail, as Otterman tipped the ball before snaring it out of the air and returning the interception 15 yards for a score. Freeport's defense scored twice and set up another touchdown with a long fumble return during a 35-0 Allegheny Conference victory.
“My first thought process was I was going to sack him,” Otterman said. “Then I saw his arm, so I tried to block it. I wasn't thinking about picking it. I blocked it, it went high and I caught it.”
Parker Lucas also returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown during the second quarter for the 'Jackets. Freeport also set up another score on a 40-yard fumble return by Jacksen Reiser.
Ben Lane scored on a 9-yard run on the next play to extend the lead to 28-0 with 8 minutes, 40 seconds left in the game.
“Three huge plays by our defense,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said. “Our defense has been stellar all year long. That has always been Freeport football since I grew up. Our defense is top notch.”
Freeport (5-4, 4-1) won despite a sluggish performance on offense. The 'Jackets were limited to 120 yards of total offense, 104 rushing and 16 passing.
Lane led Freeport in rushing with 38 yards on 11 carries.
Deer Lakes showed life at the outset. The Lancers forced Freeport to punt on its first possession and then marched the ball 42 yards on eight plays. After being forced backward following a chop block, Burk threw the interception to Otterman.
Lancers coach Tim Burk said Deer Lakes moved the ball well, it just didn't finish drives.
“That's one of those things,” Lancers coach Tim Burk said. “We thought we had a chance to make some plays. Obviously, it was the wrong read. Those things happen. We have to be able to overcome those things.”
Freeport's defense was stellar. The 'Jackets limited Burk, who had 1,045 passing yards entering the game, to 37 yards and forced him into two interceptions.
“Our defense is the strongest thing we have,” Otterman said. “That's what has guided us through the season, mostly. We're hoping it continues to guide us through.”
Lane, who also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Clark in the fourth quarter, doubled the 'Jackets lead to 14-0 by scoring on a 20-yard run with 11:22 left before halftime. Lucas' 86-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Freeport a 21-0 lead with 17 seconds left in the half.
Freeport clinched its first home playoff game since moving to their on-campus stadium in 2016. Beating Deer Lakes (4-6, 3-3) assured Freeport it would finish in second place in the conference.
“This is huge,” Gaillot said. “We should get a home playoff game and a good seed. It would be the first one if we could get the job done. It means a lot to these kids and that was our goal the last four or five weeks.”
<b> Freeport 7 14 0 14 — 35Deer Lakes 0 0 0 0 — 0 </b><b> First Quarter </b>F — Colton Otterman 13 interception return (Vincent Clark kick), 2:33<b> Second Quarter </b>F — Ben Lane 20 run (Clark kick), 11:22F — Parker Lucas 86 interception return (Clark kick), :17.3<b> Fourth Quarter </b>F — Lane 9 run (Clark kick), 8:40F — Clark 15 pass friom Lane (Clark kick), :58.1<b> Individual Statistics </b>Rushing: Freeport, Ben Lane 11-38, Shane Jack 10-25, Zach Clark 5-24, Brady Stivenson 2-16, Garrett King 2-6. Deer Lakes, Cody Scarentine 23-57, Colton Bach 2-0, Seth Scuibba 1-(-1), Derek Burk 7-(-13).Passing: Freeport, Ben Lane 6-8-31-0. Deer Lakes, Derek Burk 7-17-37-2.Receiving: Freeport, Vincent Clark 1-15, Shane Jasck 1-9, Brady Stivenson 2-7, Zach Clark 2-0. Deer Lakes, Jake Thimmons 2-18, Ryan Cochran 1-7, Seth Scuibba 1-6, Cody Scarentine 1-5, Connor Walkerr 1-3, Josh Jordan 1-(-2).
