Olsen, Armstrong roll after slow start in victory over Freeport
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Friday, August 27, 2021 | 10:40 PM
Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen releases the ball as Freeport’s defense pressures him in the first half Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, at Freeport High School.
Armstrong’s Jackson Reiser breaks a tackle and turns up field against Freeport on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, at Freeport High School.
Armstrong’s Jack Valasek breaks up a pass intended for Freeport’s Cole Charlton during the first half Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, at Freeport High School.
Freeport quarterback Garrett King is forced out of the pocket by Armstrong’s defense during the first half Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, at Freeport High School.
Freeport’s Ben Lane takes a kickoff return 94 yards for a touchdown the first half at against Armstrong on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, at Freeport High School.
It took a little more than a quarter for Cadin Olsen to get into gear.
But when the 6-foot-5, 205-pound junior quarterback started clicking with some new players in the lineup, the Armstrong River Hawks were on their way to an opening night victory, 48-14 at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium.
Olsen threw 267 yards on 18 completions, including three touchdowns, as Armstrong tallied 34 points in a wild second quarter.
Senior Noah Shuttleworth had five catches for 162 yards for the River Hawks.
“We had a couple of sophomores there on the offensive line that had never played, so we had pass protection issues,” said Armstrong coach Frank Fabian. “Once we got that taken care of, and they were bringing the heat.”
With some players out with injuries and a smaller roster, things took a toll on Freeport after a while.
“With all the heat and we only had 30 players dressed, and we went against a team that had 68 players, they could rotate kids in,” said Freeport coach John Gaillot. “We had a lot of heart tonight. We’d have a player leave the game with cramps, come in two plays later and go back out. It was hard against a team with that much depth.”
It was the first meeting between the two schools.
After stopping Freeport deep in its own territory late in the first period, Armstrong was able to earn favorable field position at the Freeport 28. Five plays later, Alex Patton scored from 6 yards to put the River Hawks on top 7-0.
But the lead didn’t last long. Ben Lane took the ensuing kickoff at the 6, raced to the opposite sideline, found a lane rolled 94 yards for a touchdown.
Both teams exchanged scores after that, with Jaxson Crissman running 3 yards out of the wildcat formation. The Yellowjackets answered with a 24-yard pass from Garrett King to Jackson Reiser. Friday was King’s first game back after missing last season battling cancer.
Olsen took over after that, tossing three touchdown passes in the final 4 minutes, 34 seconds of the first half.
The first one was a 16-yarder to Connor Cigola, followed by a pass along the sideline to Shuttleworth that covered 50 yards and put Armstrong up 27-14.
With 5 seconds to go in the half, Olsen stepped up in the pocket and found Dozick Zablocki for a 16-yard scoring play.
Armstrong, which deferred to the second half after winning the coin toss, proved the strategy was correct. The River Hawks drove 66 yards in eight plays with Patton taking it in from 2 yards to make the score 41-14.
Freeport committed 10 penalties for 118 yards.
King completed 10 passes for a net of 69 yards.
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