BUFFALO TWP — After two blowout wins to start the 2026 season, Freeport’s third victory didn’t come nearly as easily.

The Yellowjackets had to overcome a second-half collapse with a late touchdown drive to pick up a 35-30 win in a back-and-forth thriller over Apollo-Ridge Friday night at Freeport Stadium.

Freeport (3-0) quarterback Danny King went 8 of 16 passing for 212 yards and four touchdown passes, along with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Two of the touchdowns went to Canon Wisniewski, who caught three passes for 81 yards.

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“It’s an awesome feeling when it feels like I’m leading the team and I’m the one manning the offense,” King said.

When asked how he ranked Friday night’s game on the list of those he’s played in his high school career, King said, “I’d be doing it wrong if I didn’t say No. 1.”

“The seniors ... they show us what to do every year,” said ’Jackets running back Braydon Pomaybo, who rushed for 49 yards on 11 carries. “They always do the right thing, and they teach us to fight and we always keep fighting. The seniors in the past years did a really great job coaching us up, and they always showed us what to do day in and day out.”

On the other side, Apollo-Ridge (2-1) quarterback Chris Dailey finished 13 of 30 with 177 yards and one touchdown, while Preston Clemens rushed for 78 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown.

The second quarter was where the real fireworks began, as the teams combined for 36 points in a 12-minute period that took over an hour to complete. A total of 22 points were scored in the final four minutes of the half, with each team trading a touchdown in the last 30 seconds.

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A rare play occurred toward the end of the first half when senior Freeport kicker Judah Thompson converted a 32-yard field goal which bounced off the right upright, off the crossbar and through the goalposts.

Shortly after halftime, Freeport stretched its lead to nine with an 8-yard touchdown run by King. After that, however, the Freeport offense stalled for much of the second half, and the Vikings scored 10 unanswered points to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, including a 9-yard touchdown run by Clemens.

Just when it had to, however, the ’Jackets’ offense came back to life with a seven-play, 73-yard touchdown drive which culminated with a 36-yard touchdown run by King.

“Honestly, I was thinking (after the touchdown), now we’ve got to lock in on defense,” King said. “We’ve got to stop these guys from scoring.”

The defense did exactly that, as Dailey threw four straight incompletions, giving the Yellowjackets the ball back and allowing them to run the remaining two minutes out.

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The game turned ill-tempered in the final minutes, with numerous unsportsmanlike conduct fouls on both sides delaying the finish. Apollo-Ridge’s defense rushed at King at least twice as he took a knee to run out the clock.

“I think we’ve got to have our guys be more quiet and disciplined ... especially when they’re trying to get in our heads,” King said.

The next challenge for the Yellowjackets comes on the road when they take on North Catholic.

Apollo-Ridge 7 13 7 3 — 30

Freeport 0 23 6 6 — 35

1st quarter

A-R — Zach Myers 42 pass from Chris Dailey (Beck Andree kick) 0:29

2nd quarter

F — Bryson Paga 43 pass from Danny King (Judah Thompson kick), 10:45

A-R — Logen Schrock 32 pass from Beau Gorley (Beck Andree kick), 7:39

F — Thompson 32 field goal, 3:57

F — Canon Wisniewski 11 pass from King (Thompson kick blocked), 2:29

A-R — Dailey 3 run (Andree kick missed), 0:29

F — Luke Selinger 4 pass from King (Thompson kick), 0:05

3rd quarter

F — King 8 run (Thompson kick missed), 9:39

A-R — Preston Clemens 9 run (Andree kick) 3:55

4th quarter

A-R — Andree 19 field goal, 11:08

F — King 36 run (2-point pass failed), 2:57

Individual Statistics

Passing: Apollo-Ridge, Chris Dailey 14-30-177-0, Beau Gorley 1-1-32-0. Freeport, Danny King 8-16-212-1.

Rushing: Apollo-Ridge, Preston Clemens 14-78, Chris Dailey 11-26, Beau Gorley 3-41, Gavin Orvosh 5-17, Zac Myers 1-5. Freeport, Danny King 12-99, Braydon Pomaybo 11-49, Luke Selinger 6-24, Bryson Paga 2-(-11).

Receiving: Apollo-Ridge, Gage Wingard 8-104, Logen Schrock 5-94, Zac Myers 1-42, Austin Coughanour 1-11. Freeport, Carson Wisniewski 3-81, Braydon Pomaybo 2-59, Bryson Paga 1-43, Camden Schlegel 1-27, Luke Selinger 1-2.