WEST DEER TWP — Milestones and a playoff berth were reached Friday night at Deer Lakes High School as Lancer quarterback Derek Burk became the A-K Valley’s all-time career passing leader behind a 202- yard passing performance with three touchdowns to help secure a Deer Lakes 35-0 win over Freeport.

Lancer running back Zier Williams also broke the 1,000 yard barrier, scoring two touchdowns for 101 yards on 14 carries for Deer Lakes (7-4).

“My heart goes to those guys,” Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said, father of Derek. “Those two deserve it. That means we are balanced, playing a team game. They deserve every honor they get.”

On the flip side, Freeport (3-7) saw its playoff hopes go out the door as the Yellowjackets needed a win and some help to get in, but fell short.

“Our kids battled all year,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said. “We could’ve thrown in the towel four or five games ago, but we continued to fight. They never quit.”

A defensive battle was seen on both sides in the first 10 minutes of the game, and Freeport even blocked a Deer Lakes punt, but penalties and a sack backed up the Yellowjackets and forced a punt.

On the following drive, the Lancers marched the ball down the field behind the arm of Derek Burk, but the drive was capped off by a Williams touchdown run to give Deer Lakes the early edge in which it never gave up.

“Any chance you get to beat Freeport, it’s a good opportunity,” coach Burk said. “Freeport is a good football team and a lot of credit goes to John (Gaillot). Those kids play tough and they are so gritty.”

The running game for the Yellowjackets was shut down as leading rusher Colton Otterman was held to negative four yards on the day.

“We struggled in all phases,” Gaillot said. “Throughout the season I think we were getting better, but it wasn’t enough and that’s on me. We’ve got to get in the weight room and get bigger.”

Deer Lakes would go on to score two touchdowns in the second quarter, both touchdown passes by Derek Burk.

With a 21-point lead heading into the second half, it set the stage for Williams to get the touches which eventually took him over the 1,000 yard mark, but it wasn’t until the Lancers’ final drive that sealed it.

The playoff situation for Deer Lakes will come down to some other games that happened Friday night, but there is hope for a potential home playoff game.

“We have to go over our checks and balances,” Coach Burk said. “Sometimes we get a little confused on certain things, but again being able to be balanced and do the dynamic things that we’ve been able to do all year should bode well for us.”

Coach Gaillot was seen emotional with his team following the game and his passion for the kids on the field runs deep despite missing the playoffs.

“I love the guys and I’m so proud of them,” Gaillot said of his team. “It’s a privilege to teach and coach at Freeport.”

Freeport 0 0 0 0 – 0

Deer Lakes 7 14 7 7 – 35

First quarter

DL – Zier Williams 1 run (Noah Shurina kick) :05

Second quarter

DL – Ryan Cochran 62 pass from Derek Burk (Shurina kick) 9:56

DL – Zach Grant 13 pass from Burk (Shurina kick) 6:29

Third quarter

DL – Williams 3 run (Shurina kick) 7:13

Fourth quarter

DL – Wayne Love 12 pass from Burk (Shurina kick) 3:46

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Freeport, Drew Ross 14-12, Colton Otterman 4-(-4), Brady Sullivan 3-4, Justin Jack 4-9. Deer Lakes, Derek Burk 8-47, Zier Williams 14-101, Aiden Fletcher 2-2.

Passing: Freeport, Drew Ross 14-26-119-0. Deer Lakes, Derek Burk 11-18-202-0.

Receiving: Freeport, John Campbell 1-7, Colton Otterman 1-2, Cyprian Selinger 2-38, Brady Sullivan 6-52, Madden Wisniewski 2-26, Justin Jack 2-(-6). Deer Lakes, Zach Grant 4-49, Ryan Cochran 3-78, Wayne Love 4-75.