NORTH VERSAILLES — Freeport was starting to take control of its Allegheny Conference matchup against East Allegheny Friday.

Then, in a matter of minutes, it was fighting for its football life.

The Yellowjackets scored on their first four possessions before an interception and a fumble on a kickoff return led to two late first-half scores for the Wildcats.

The Yellowjackets, however, regrouped at the half and went on to a 36-20 victory.

Quarterback Brendan Lynch led the way with 227 of the team’s 401 rushing yards on 19 carries. He rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two more scores.

“There were a couple of times we scored a little too fast,” said Freeport coach John Gaillot. “We went to the heavy set and powered it down.”

“Freeport was really prepared tonight,” said Wildcats coach Jason Ruscitto. “I respect the job they do. I thought we did leave some plays on the field and in the execution. Our kids did battle.”

The Yellowjackets (6-1) scored on its first possession thanks to a 10-play, 57-yard drive that consumed 5 minutes, 37 seconds, capped by a 24-yard hookup from Lynch to Dustin Koedel.

The drive was sustained on an 8-yard run by Josh Wisniewski at the EA 37.

A 30-yard scoring run by Lynch on the next possession opened up a 13-0 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Martell Crosby took the ball and pitched it back to Taizjon Brown, who broke free for a 73-yard touchdown with 11:37 left in the second quarter.

When Lynch added a 9-yard TD run and Josh Wisniewski caught a 23-yard scoring pass from Lynch, the Yellowjackets enjoyed a 27-7 advantage with 5:20 left until halftime.

On East Allegheny’s next possession, K.J. Marshall broke free on a 51-yard run to give the Wildcats a first-and-10 at the Freeport 14.

That drive ended, however, when Alec Stivers tackled quarterback Kyle Whipple to give possession back to Freeport.

Lynch, though, was intercepted on the next play from scrimmage by Praise Gainer and four plays later, Whipple found Shawn Adair for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Freeport fumbled the kickoff and the Wildcats needed just five plays to score on a 4-yard Marshall run with 14.9 seconds left to make it 27-20.

“I give John credit,” Ruscitto said of Gaillot. “His kids came out ready in the second half.”

With the win, Freeport guaranteed itself a playoff berth and will host Washington at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.