Hutter brothers lead Mt. Pleasant in big 2nd-half rally to beat Freeport

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, September 22, 2023 | 11:37 PM

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Things didn’t look good for the Mt. Pleasant football team late in the third quarter of their nonconference game against Freeport.

The Vikings were down two touchdowns and needed a spark.

Senior Jackson Hutter provided it.

Mt. Pleasant (4-1) scored on five consecutive possessions in the final 16 minutes, 33 seconds and rallied to defeat Freeport, 45-23, at Mt. Pleasant Stadium.

Hutter and his brother, Brody, scored two touchdowns each, and the Vikings used their misdirection running game to perfection.

“This loss is on me,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said. “We didn’t work on their misdirection enough. We should have won this game.”

Freeport, which led 17-10 at halftime, grabbed a 23-10 lead with 4:33 left in the third quarter after stopping the Vikings on fourth down near midfield.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Ross tossed a 9-yard touchdown to Brady Sullivan to cap the drive. Ross 15 of 29 passes for 150 yards. He also scored a touchdown in a 17-point second quarter.

But Mt. Pleasant wasted no time seizing back the momentum.

Three plays after Freeport’s touchdown, the Vikings answered. Jackson Hutter went for 20 yards on the first play. Garret Eicher then went 32 and Jackson Hutter capped the drive by racing the final 20 to make it 23-17 with 3:35 left in the quarter.

After a three-and-out, the Vikings got the ball back at the Freeport 45 following a punt. Two plays later, Brody Hutter broke free down the sideline on a 45-yard run, and Jarret Garn’s extra point gave the Vikings the lead for good, 24-23, with 40 seconds left in the quarter.

“We made some adjustments and corrections at halftime,” Mt. Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas said. “It came down to us putting kids in position to make plays, and we made the plays. Jackson had a great second half.”

Jackson Hutter wasn’t just an offensive threat. He was making plays on defense.

Mt. Pleasant was clinging to a one-point lead when quarterback Cole Chatfield found Jackson Hutter down the middle for 35 yards on third-and-5 from the Vikings 23.

Two plays later, Jackson Hutter broke through the line, ran through a tackle at the Freeport 30, and raced 44 yards to give the Vikings a 31-23 lead.

Jackson Hutter finished with 102 yards on seven carries.

“Freeport is a good team, and they are well coached,” Fazekas said. “Their quarterback is a tough kid. It took us awhile to figure out what they were doing.”

Freeport then drove into Mt. Pleasant territory, but Ross’ pass was intercepted by Dante Giallonardo off a tip to end the threat.

Giallonardo then ripped off a 58-yard run to setup a 20-yard score by Brody Hutter to extend the lead to 38-23.

Brady Poole capped the scoring for the Vikings with a 32-yard run with 1:52 left.

Chatfield completed 5 of 9 passes for 107 yards and a 36-yard touchdown to Luke Nicotera in the second quarter. Garn added a 33-yard field goal for the Vikings.

Mt. Pleasant outrushed Freeport, 340-139.

Colton Otterman rushed for 90 yards for Freeport (2-3) and scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter.

“I thought the kids played well enough,” Gaillot said. “We just didn’t react well enough to what they were doing.”

Both teams open conference play next week.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Freeport, Mt. Pleasant