2022 Valley News Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year: Freeport’s Jacksen Reiser

By: Michael Love
Saturday, December 17, 2022 | 8:21 PM

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Jacksen Reiser was focused on making the most of his senior season with the Freeport football team.

Preseason practices provided promise and potential.

But a torn ACL suffered in the Yellowjackets’ scrimmage with Slippery Rock put a halt to his gameplan.

The outlook was bleak. Reiser’s season appeared to be over.

“When it happened, I was thinking to myself, ‘No, I can’t be hurt,’ ” Reiser said. “I just couldn’t believe it. When I got the MRI, I thought I was done. Just like that. I thought I let the team down, and I thought I let coach G (John Gaillot) down.”

But after a while — he missed the first four games of the season — he realized he would be able to resume playing with a brace.

“I started doing some pre-surgery rehab. I was starting to feel a little better,” Reiser said. “I was moving around, and realized that I probably could give it a shot. I started to do some linebacker drills with the brace on and felt pretty good. At that moment, something clicked in my brain that I could do it.”

Reiser did do it. He came back in Week 4 against Mt. Pleasant and made six tackles in the Yellowjackets’ 24-6 victory.

He followed that up with 10 stops in a key 12-7 victory over Allegheny 6 rival Shady Side Academy. He then made 10 more the next week in a convincing 35-13 win over East Allegheny.

Reiser was on a roll, and he made 10 or more tackles in a game six times, including a season-best 16 (12 solo) in the Yellowjackets’ 42-6 WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal victory over West Mifflin.

“I thought about my teammates and my coaches, and I really wanted to be out there with them and help us get to where we wanted to be at the start of the season,” said Reiser, who continues the recruiting process with hopes of finding a good connection to continue playing in college.

With his leadership and play-making ability on the field, and his impact on his team off the field, Reiser is this year’s Valley News Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year.

He was selected from a talented field of candidates from throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley.

“I gave it my best shot, and everyone had my back,” Reiser said. “It was such a great feeling. I am so grateful I was able to finish my high school career on the field.”

Reiser had surgery Dec. 7 to fix his knee. That same day, he arrived at the conference awards luncheon to accept his award as the defensive player of the year as voted on by the conference coaches.

“It all started with Jacksen last year when he tore up his shoulder getting ready for our playoff game,” Gaillot said. “He got a special brace made and was out there basically tackling with one arm. He gave it his all. He had surgery and came back. This time, when he went down but said he was coming back, it was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in my 15 years as coach.

“When you talk about physical and mental toughness, he put it all out there. He wasn’t just back to be back, he made a huge difference for us. He played so well. He was such a hard-nosed player, and I was blessed to be able to coach him.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Freeport