Freeport boys ready for tall task vs. No. 2 Laurel Highlands

By: Jerin Steele
Thursday, February 16, 2023 | 5:57 PM

On their senior spotlight questionnaire, most of the Freeport basketball seniors said their favorite moment in their career was going to Uniontown last year and earning a playoff win.

If they can go down to Fayette County and pull another playoff stunner Monday, the spotlight pages might need to be updated.

The No. 15-seeded Yellowjackets will once again make a long trip and try to bust the Class 4A bracket, but this time they’ll face a defending WPIAL champion in No. 2 Laurel Highlands in the first round.

“I’ve just been telling the guys to remember that feeling from last year, how sweet it was and all the preparation that went into going down there and getting an upset,” Freeport coach Sean Devinney said. “I feel like this year would be even sweeter, because of the team that Laurel Highlands is and the players they have. We know how uber-talented they are, but we accept the challenge.”

Laurel Highlands and Uniontown are separated by less than two miles, so the destination is nearly the same.

This time, however, they’ll play a Mustangs team that defeated New Castle in the Class 5A championship last season before moving down to 4A.

They are led by the dynamic duo of Rodney Gallagher, a West Virginia football recruit, and Keondre Deshields, a St. Francis (Pa.) football recruit. Both have shined on the hardwood since they were freshmen, leading the Mustangs to two WPIAL titles in the last three years.

“It’s a tough challenge,” Devinney said. “A lot of coaches have tried to slow them down and, obviously, based on (Laurel Highlands’) record, they’ve failed. It’s going to take an extraordinary effort from our guys. It’s got to be a team defense approach. It’s not going to be one or two guys. It’s going to take all five guys on the floor communicating, knowing where each other are at and locating Gallagher and Deshields. If they beat one of our guys, another guy has to be able to step up. We’ll try to put some tricks up our sleeves, but we know it’s going to be a tall task.”

Freeport was seeded 11th last year and grinded their way through the Uniontown win. They trailed by six at halftime but got within two points after three quarters. They carried the momentum over into the fourth and walked away with a 56-49 win. It’ll take a similar approach to repeat the feat against Laurel Highlands.

“We’re going to break it down as far as we can,” Devinney said. “You have to go possession by possession. It’s the small battles really, when it comes down to it. If you can win enough of those small battles, hopefully you’ll have a fighter’s chance with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter. That’s what we’re looking to do. We know we can’t win this game in the 80s or 90s. We’re going to need some patience, be strong with the ball and are taking high-quality shot attempts. Then we have to do our best to limit them on the other side of the floor.”

Freeport has nine seniors: Payton Westendorf, Brady Stivenson, Garrett Risch, Dean Furer, Parker Lucas, Ben Lane, Gavin Croney, Zach Clark and Jacksen Riser. They accomplished a goal of qualifying for the playoffs for a third consecutive season and now will look to shock the WPIAL again.

“Any time you play that last game on the regular-season schedule, and you have another game that appears and you’re in the tournament, you should be proud regardless of the seed,” Devinney said. “It’s always great to be playing this time of the year. You watch the pairings show and see your team made it. They feel good, and they earned it, but I don’t think they’re satisfied. That’s the most important thing. That’s what impressed me about last year’s team. They weren’t satisfied and went down to Uniontown and got a victory. I feel like this team has the same mindset.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

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