Drew Ross accounts for 5 TDs as Freeport returns to playoffs by beating Mt. Pleasant
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Friday, November 1, 2024 | 10:30 PM
Freeport’s Drew Ross avoids the Mt. Pleasant rush during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport’s Drew Ross gets past Mt. Pleasant’s Jonah Townsend for his third touchdown on the night during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Mt. Pleasant’s Jarett Garn gets into the end zone past Freeport’s Bryson Paga during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport’s Danny King defends on a pass intended for Mt. Pleasant’s Jarett Garn during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport’s Drew Ross plows into the end over Mt. Pleasant’s Jonah Townsend for a touchdown during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Mt. Pleasant’s color guard performs at halftime during a first-round WPIAL playoff game Friday at Freeport.
Freeport’s Drew Ross cuts upfield against Mt. Pleasant during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport’s Sean Selinger and Wade Potocnak (77) take down Mt. Pleasant’s Rage Suchar during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Mt. Pleasant’s Jarett Garn defends on a pass intended for Freeport’s Madden Wisniewski during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Mt. Pleasant’s Jarett Garn looks back as he scores a touchdown against Freeport during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport’s Amos Glenn breaks into the secondary past Mt. Pleasant’s Jonah Townsend during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport’s Amos Glenn cuts upfield against Mt. Pleasant’s during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport’s Owen Neistein celebrates with Drew Ross (left) after Ross’s third touchdown on the night against Mt. Pleasant’s during first-round WPIAL playoff action Friday.
Freeport made an impactful return to the WPIAL playoffs Friday.
After a one-year postseason hiatus, the Yellowjackets returned to the WPIAL quarterfinals by rolling past Mt. Pleasant, 44-20, in a Class 3A first-round matchup at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium.
“I am really proud of the kids, especially from where we came from last year winning only three games,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said.
“Everyone was counting us out, thinking we would win four, maybe five games. Now, we’re two wins away from the big dance. The kids are still young, but we really have grown this season. I am very thankful for all the hard work these kids have put in. I am very excited for them moving forward.”
Forward for Freeport, now 8-3, is a game next Friday at No. 2 Central Valley.
The Warriors earned a first-round bye.
“This was a big win for us tonight,” junior quarterback Drew Ross said. “Every game is a big game in our eyes, but when the playoffs come around, things get even more serious. This means a lot to everyone in that school and on this team. We’re just going to refocus and come ready to work next week.
“Central Valley is a great team, but nothing is better than playing great teams. That is what makes you better. We’re definitely going to come ready to play.”
Mt. Pleasant, which came in having won the last three games in the series with Freeport, finished its season 5-6.
“Freeport is a really good team. I said that all week,” Vikings coach Jason Fazekas said. “Their film says it, and their history says it. They played really well tonight. I have to give them credit.
“We weren’t able to get our running game going like we wanted. We were trying to find some plays we could make, and we missed a few. And the penalties hurt us. The guys were witness to what it takes to win in the playoffs.”
Mt. Pleasant rushed 33 times for 117 yards.
Ross accounted for five total touchdowns — three rushing, one passing and one on the defensive side.
His interception of Vikings quarterback Cole Chatfield and 42-yard return for a touchdown put momentum back on the side of the Yellowjackets.
Mt. Pleasant scored late in the first half and had the ball hoping to cut into a 10-point deficit, but the pick-6 and Judah Thompson point-after kick made it 31-14 with just 1:11 gone in the second half.
“That was huge for us,” Gaillot said. “It was probably the most critical part of the whole game. If that doesn’t happen, who knows what Mt. Pleasant does with the ball. But I am glad it did happen.”
Freeport all but put the game away early in the fourth as Ross tallied the third of his three rushing scores.
He then threw a 20-yard TD pass to Bryson Paga to close out the Yellowjackets’ scoring effort.
Ross finished with 11 carries for 65 yards and completed 7 of 11 passes for 83 yards.
“He plays with so much composure,” Gaillot said. “He has everyone’s attention in the huddle. He’s such a leader for us.”
Junior Amos Glenn, the other part of the 1-2 punch in the Freeport offense, finished with 21 carries for 190 yards.
Mt. Pleasant’s Jarett Garn, a dual-threat runner and receiver, capped the scoring for the Vikings with a 10-yard run with 3:30 remaining.
Garn caught four passes for 75 yards and added 39 yards on nine carries.
Freeport struck first early in the first quarter on a 10-yard Ross keeper.
Glenn tallied the big run of the drive with a 52-yard scamper to the Vikings 29.
The Yellowjackets defense forced a punt on Mt. Pleasant’s first drive and took over on its 17.
Freeport moved to the Vikings 24 before the drive stalled. But Thompson came on to boot a 41-yard field goal that made it over the crossbar by just a couple of feet.
The Vikings answered the field goal with their first points of the game. Chatfield found Garn in stride at the Freeport 40, and he took it the rest of the way for a 58-yard touchdown to help cut the Yellowjackets lead to 10-7.
Chatfield completed 9 of 17 passes for 160 yards.
However, Freeport was not done scoring in the first quarter as Ross capped a seven-play, 65-yard drive with a 5-yard keeper. Thompson’s point-after made it 17-7.
The teams traded scores in the second quarter. Glenn, who finished the first half with 17 carries for 167 yards, broke free for 37 yards to the end zone with 7:20 on the clock.
A Mt. Pleasant punt with 3:30 to go until the break pinned the Yellowjackets offense inside its 5.
Freeport was forced to punt from its 5, and the kick was partially blocked, setting up the Vikings at the Yellowjackets 18.
“We should’ve just taken a safety there with how far we were back up to the goal line. That’s on me,” Gaillot said.
Three plays later, Garn recorded his second TD, this time an 11-yard run with 33 seconds to go until halftime to close the Freeport lead to 10 at 24-14.
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, Mt. Pleasant
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