FREEPORT — The way Shady Side Academy coach Dave Havern sees it, his squad caught Freeport at a good time last season.

A 17-0 Indians' victory in the season-opening contest helped start the team's journey all the way to the WPIAL Class AA semifinals.

Freeport rebounded to make the postseason as well, and brings several key members back to this year's game, which is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Swartz Field.

"Freeport's a real good football team," said Havern. "We were fortunate enough to play them early last year.

"It's nice to play for a small hometown team. Good things are happening for Freeport. They have good team speed and good senior leadership," Havern added.

Shady Side is coming off a 7-0 victory over Summit Academy last week to begin Allegheny Conference action. The Indians amassed 218 total yards, 212 coming on the ground.

Geno Thorpe's touchdown run in the second quarter was the only score, even though Brian Nickel, one of the top returning rushers in the WPIAL this year, ran for 123 yards on 29 carries.

"Any time you have a kid coming back with 2,000 (career) yards, people will look to focus on you," said Havern. "Yeah, Brian's a heck of a football player. He's a tough kid. We try and spread it around, but there's only one Brian.

"Teams are looking for him. He's tough enough to carry the ball 20 times a game, but we want other players to have the ball too," Havern added.

Against Summit Academy, Ben Cohen, Anthony Loyacona and Thorpe carried the load as did quarterback Reggie Mitchell.

Freeport coach John Gaillot knows a lot of the Indians' success will primarily ride on Nickel's shoulders.

"The key is stopping him," Gaillot said. "Mitchell's a heck of a quarterback so those are their two big threats. Their slot man (Thorpe) looks like he can score. They have a very talented group.

"This will be a big test for our defense to stop," Gaillot added.

Shady Side pitched the shutout by limiting the Knights to just 36 total yards and two first downs.

Havern credits his defensive coordinator, Dave Szlachetka, for the team's defensive fortitude.

"I think it's a testimony to Coach S," Havern said. "He's the best defensive guy around. His defense is always prepared and they were ready against a vastly improved Summit Academy team.

"You're always pleased with a shutout. The kids were prepared and we were pleased with their effort," Havern added.

Said Gaillot, "I think their defense is stronger this year, They slide to the ball. I've seen them on film and they have good pursuit angles.

"They allowed (36) yards and that's not a fluke. Coach Havern is an excellent coach," he added.

The Yellowjackets are coming off a 37-21 victory over Kittanning. Freeport got scoring runs by quarterback Alex Isenberg, Andy Teorsky (a team-high 90 yards) and Shawn Liberto. Darius Frantz also returned an interception for a touchdown.

Freeport gained 227 yards, 222 on the ground. Itws quite similar to how Shady Side won its season opener.

"We just wanted to nurse the clock," said Gaillot. "We didn't want to give up the big play. We just wanted to keep the ball as long as we could."