Freeport, Belle Vernon to clash in WPIAL semi
BUFFALO TWP — No different from any of the previous weeks this season, Freeport’s John Gaillot chatted with a coaching mentor of his.
The effect of the conversation was much different, however.
Gaillot and his predecessor, Bill Dillen, talk for about half an hour each week about what can be tweaked to make sure the Yellowjackets (10-1) are running on all cylinders.
“He’ll call or I’ll call him,” Gaillot said. “I have him on Hudl, so he’ll check out what we’re doing. I say, ‘If you see anything, let us know.’ ... It’s definitely a huge perk to have somebody with his knowledge to look at stuff, too.”
Now in his early 70s, Dillen, who was animated and intense in his days on the Freeport sidelines, typically helps soothe Gaillot with the exchange of ideas. This time around, sizing up the team’s WPIAL Class 3A semifinal matchup against top-seeded Belle Vernon (8-2), he had the ‘Jackets coach ready to run through a wall.
The adrenaline will no doubt be there when the two teams play at Gateway High School Friday night.
“He got me all fired up,” Gaillot said. “I’m not going to be able to sleep. He was always good at pregame speeches ... You just wanted to crush people.”
The two had a lot to talk about, including how to approach the talents of five-star college prospect Quinton Martin. The game-breaking junior tailback has scampered for 994 yards and scored a 25 total touchdowns. He has offers from Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan, and Texas, among others.
“He’s being recruited by the best for a reason,” Gaillot said. “He’s definitely legit D-1 for sure. He’s very physical and everything.”
He’ll be up against a Freeport defense that has given up only 12.7 points per contest to this point. That mark is better than everybody in the classification but fellow semifinalists Avonworth (10.2) and the Leopards (9.0).
“They’re kind of a well-knit unit,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said about Freeport. “They play as a team. I think that’s the most evident thing from the film ... They’re fast to the ball, they’re aggressive, and they finish. You don’t see too many (loafers) out there. You don’t see too many kids not giving 100% on every single snap.”
The effort is a given. Schematically, though, it’s hard to anticipate what the ‘Jackets are throwing at you.
“They jump into a five-man front, a 3-4 with aggressive edge pressure,” Humbert said. “They jump into a four-man front, a lot of quarters, a lot of man. They’re very diversified in what they do defensively.”
The Leopards’ only two losses of the campaign came on back-to-back weeks — against McKeesport and Penn-Trafford. Since then, the freight train is certainly rolling. They’ve beaten their last __ challengers by a combined 334-42 score. That stretch includes last week’s 55-7 district quarterfinal triumph over East Allegheny.
“I know that they’ve got a lot of top-level players, but we don’t waver,” Gaillot said. “We might lose by a hundred, we might lose by three, we might win by 20. Nobody knows. One thing is for sure, our kids come to play.”
A win for Freeport would mean its first WPIAL title game appearance since 1989. The Leopards made the Class 4A final a year ago, losing to Aliquippa.
