Freeport dominates all phases against Deer Lakes, improves to 4-0
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Friday, September 12, 2025 | 10:28 PM
Freeport’s Owen Neistein hangs on to a touchdown pass as he’s hit by Deer Lakes’ Colby Borowski on Friday.
Freeport’s Kason Barker celebrates a fumble recovery against Deer Lakes on Friday.
Freeport’s Danny King breaks up a pass intended for Deer Lakes’ Dom Sciubba on Friday.
Freeport’s Amos Glenn breaks the tackle attempt by Deer Lakes’ Roman Smith on Friday.
Freeport quarterback Drew Ross breaks into the open field past Deer Lakes’ Jack Guthrie on Friday.
Freeport’s Bryson Page celebrates with Amos Glenn after Glenn’s first-quarter touchdown against Deer Lakes on Friday.
Freeport’s Wade Potocnak celebrates with Danny King after King returned an interception for a late second-quarter touchdown against Deer Lakes on Friday.
Freeport’s Bryson Page celebrates after sacking Deer Lakes quarterback Dante Mangieri on Friday.
Freeport’s Danny King returns an interception for a touchdown against Deer Lakes on Friday.
Freeport’s Danny King intercepts a pass intended for Deer Lakes’ Dom Sciubba on Friday.
Freeport’s Chase Flynn takes down Deer Lakes’ Ryan Love on Friday.
Freeport’s Amos Glenn cuts through the Deer Lakes defense Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Luca Mangieri beats Freeport’s Owen Neistein to the end in the first quarter Friday.
Freeport’s Cole Troutman (56) and Bryson Page drop Deer Lakes running back Ryan Love for a loss Friday.
Freeport’s Bryson Page sacks Deer Lakes quarterback Dante Mangieri on Friday.
It was another complete win for the Freeport football team.
The Yellowjackets, like they have in games before Friday’s Allegheny 7 Conference opener against Deer Lakes at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, scored in all three phases and put their stamp on the game with a 37-point first half en route to a 58-7 victory over the Lancers.
“As a team, we haven’t meshed like this since I’ve been here,” said junior Danny King, who returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the blowout.
Freeport improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2015 and halted Deer Lakes’ two-game winning streak in the series. The Yellowjackets hope to keep it rolling in conference play next week against Burrell.
“Our mentality is that after tonight, we forget about this game,” King said. “Now, we’re worrying about Burrell. I think that is a big thing for us.”
The Yellowjackets improved to 5-0 against the Lancers since Freeport’s stadium opened in 2016 and lead the overall series 46-8.
“The kids just performed,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said. “They took chances, and they paid off. Someone was making a play everywhere. It was very exciting. I love it.”
The Lancers have lost three straight since a season-opening win over Keystone Oaks.
“Everything that could go wrong, went wrong,” Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said.
“That was a bad performance. We’ve got to be better. We lost in all facets of the game. This is tough right now. It is a gut check for this team. I hope this humbles us. We have to get back to work, show up every day, put forth the effort and get better.”
Senior Amos Glenn returned a Deer Lakes punt 64 yards for a touchdown with 8 minutes, 35 seconds left in the third quarter. Judah Thompson added the extra point to make it 44-7 and put the mercy rule running clock into effect.
Two minutes later, King’s second of his two pick-6s, this one for 42 yards, widened the margin.
Backup tailback Paxton Cene capped the Freeport scoring with 4 minutes, 55 seconds left on a 38-yard run. He finished with four carries for 77 yards. The Yellowjackets reserve running backs ran for 130 yards as part of a 321-yard overall rushing effort.
Freeport broke the game open with three touchdowns in the final 1:07 of the first half, a 27-yard touchdown pass from Drew Ross to Owen Neistein, King’s first interception return for 62 yards and a Bryson Paga 67-yard return of a blocked field goal by Luke Selinger as time expired.
The flurry of points turned a 16-7 lead into a 30-point halftime advantage.
“Somebody almost had to pinch you to wake up because it almost didn’t seem real,” Gaillot said of the point barrage at the end of the half.
“Once we got the second one, we were looking to get one more because (Deer Lakes) got the ball to start the second half. Luke is just like his brothers. He’s tough. I have nothing but positive things to say about him. That was a nice play for us.”
Freeport took the opening kickoff and drove down to the Deer Lakes 2 on the running of Glenn and Ross but was forced to turn the ball over on downs.
However, the Lancers were unable to get a first down and had to punt from their end zone. The punt was blocked, and the ball traveled out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Freeport got the ball back on a free kick, and Glenn was off to the races for 44 yards on the first play of the drive. Judah Thompson’s extra point made it 9-0 at the 2:33 mark of the first quarter.
Deer Lakes responded quickly as wide receiver Dom Sciubba, on a reverse pass, hooked up with a wide-open Luca Mangieri behind the Freeport secondary for 78 yards. The Conner Moore kick drew the Lancers to within 9-7.
Glenn gave the Yellowjackets their nine-point lead back with a 2-yard run with 6:14 left in the second quarter. Glenn finished the half and the game with 18 carries for 126 yards.
Ross added nine carries for 65 yards.
Ryan Love finished with 49 yards on 18 carries for Deer Lakes, which hosts East Allegheny in conference play next Friday.
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: Deer Lakes, Freeport
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