Freeport cruises past Quaker Valley, 61-7

By: Michael Love
Friday, September 9, 2022 | 10:45 PM

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Freeport wasted no time taking control of its nonconference game against Quaker Valley on Friday at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium.

After the Yellowjackets defense forced a turnover on downs at the Quakers 34, the Freeport offense needed just one play to find the end zone.

Gavin Croney connected with Brady Stivenson just 1 minute, 37 seconds into the first quarter to jumpstart Freeport in a 61-7 victory.

Isaac Wetzel added the point after, and Freeport was off and running to its third win in as many games this season.

The Yellowjackets added seven more touchdowns in the first half.

“We had three starters out, and this week we lost three more,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said.

“We shuffled things around. These kids, we just told them to be physical. They take great pride in that. The kids that stepped in and played did a tremendous job. They were all relentless. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”

Freeport is 3-0 for the first time since 2015, when it was 4-0 before falling to Steel Valley.

The Yellowjackets will make the trip to Armstrong next Friday.

Freeport’s 55-0 lead at halftime put the mercy running clock into effect. The third and fourth quarters were 10 minutes as agreed upon by the head coaches. The Yellowjackets began subbing to start the second half, and the Quakers did the same.

Quaker Valley got on the board in the third quarter as backup quarterback Logan Benedict ran it in from 3 yards out. Freeport’s Madden Wisniewski scored late in the fourth on a 36-yard run.

“Freeport is a very good team,” Quaker Valley coach Jason Cappa said.

“We’re very inexperienced. We’re very young. We’re going to go through some growing pains. We had some penalties with guys misaligned, guys not being out there, and some delay of game penalties. That’s on me. I’ve got to get better, number one. I can’t ask my team to get better until I look at myself first.”

Freeport senior Ben Lane finished with six carries for 113 yards, and he scored four times in the first half three different ways.

Lane tallied TD runs of 3 and 24 yards, he caught a 5-yard pass from Croney and he returned a punt 60 yards.

It was the third time in as many games a Freeport player scored a touchdown on special teams.

“I am very proud of that,” Gaillot said. “We work very hard on it. The kids take great pride in that.”

Croney added touchdowns strikes of 15 yards to Colton Otterman and 16 yards to Stivenson.

He finished the game 6 of 10 for 110 yards.

Stivenson caught three passes for 77 yards.

In addition to his four touchdowns through the air, Croney capped the first half with a 29-yard scoring scamper.

He lost the ball at the 2, but he was able to recover it in the end zone.

The Yellowjackets gave Wetzel, also a standout on the boys soccer team, a chance to boot a 58-yard field goal early in the second quarter. His kick had enough leg, but it sailed just left of the left upright.

“I said to him, ‘What do you think?’” Gaillot said. “He goes, ‘I’ll try it.’ That’s all I needed to hear.”

It wasn’t all good fortunes for Freeport in the first half, however, as Otterman, one of three returning starting linebackers for the Yellowjackets and a key running back, was helped off the field in the second quarter after a 9-yard run.

Freeport already was without the other two starting linebackers – Jacksen Reiser and Parker Lucas – because of injury.

Also, senior Zach Clark was not able to play against the Quakers because of injury.

Quaker Valley quarterback Troy Kozar finished 8 of 23 passing for 125 yards. He was intercepted four times – one each by Otterman, Brady Sullivan, Jaxson Ford and Cyprian Selinger.

Fourth-year Quakers starter Jakub Pickett, a 6-foot-2 receiver, finished with six catches for 103 yards.

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, Quaker Valley