Freeport pulls away from Burrell, moves to 5-0 for 1st time in 35 years

By: Michael Love
Friday, September 19, 2025 | 11:34 PM

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Freeport is 5-0 for the first time since 1990.

But Burrell didn’t make it easy for the visiting Yellowjackets on Friday in an Allegheny 7 Conference clash of rivals at Buccaneers Stadium.

The Bucs were within striking distance in the fourth quarter, but the Yellowjackets made the plays they needed on both sides of the ball to come away with a 34-7 victory.

Freeport coach John Gaillot was happy his team got the win but was not as happy with the way things transpired at times.

“Burrell played extremely well, and I think they outworked us at times,” said Gaillot, who will guide his team to another Allegheny 7 matchup Friday at Valley. “It was disappointing because we take pride in that. It is my fault. I didn’t prepare the kids well enough. I have to do a better job.”

Burrell coach Dom Girardi said he was proud of his players for not giving up when down 20 points in the fourth quarter.

“Freeport is 5-0 for a reason,” he said. “They are well-coached, talented, and their kids fight hard and play hard. For anybody at the game versus anyone who wasn’t and just saw the score after, it was a lot closer of a game than the score indicates.

“I am proud of our kids. They never gave up and never stopped looking across the line at Freeport and giving it everything they had on every play. There is something to build on from this game, for sure. We have to make sure we do that moving forward.”

The Bucs (1-4) hope to get back into the win column Friday at conference foe East Allegheny.

Freeport was without senior starting quarterback Drew Ross, who missed the game because of injury.

Junior Danny King got the call in place of Ross, and he delivered yardage with his legs and arm. He finished with 11 carries for 71 yards and added 44 yards through the air.

“He did a really nice job for us,” Gaillot said. “It was just a thing with the humidity catching up to him at the end. He was feeling it. He also is coming off that ankle injury, and that was his first big payload to endure. He was out there the whole time, offense and defense. He’s a little sore. But his maturity and leadership showed through.”

Senior Amos Glenn had a monster game and complemented King in the Freeport offense with 194 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries.

Ahead by two scores at halftime, Freeport needed just four plays from the opening kick of the third quarter to extend its lead to 20-0. Glenn took it in from 24 yards.

Burrell punted five times and had two passes intercepted to end drives before it got on the board with 11:02 left in the fourth quarter.

The Bucs drove from the Freeport 47 to inside the 10. Perkins called his own number on fourth-and-1 from the 7 and scored. Trey Coury added the point after to cut the Burrell deficit to 20-7.

Perkins surpassed the century mark in rushing and passing. He completed 12 of 26 passes for 135 yards and added 26 carries for 130 yards and the touchdown.

The Bucs got the ball back with 9:22 left in regulation and moved to the Freeport 27. But this time, the Yellowjackets defense forced a turnover on downs. A Dawson Gaillot sack on fourth-and-16 ended the Burrell scoring attempt.

From there, Freeport put the game away. Glenn scored on a 15-yard run with 3:07 left. Then, after recovering a Bucs fumble, Glenn scampered 39 yards with 2:48 to go.

“Amos just continues to do what he does for us with some hard runs,” Gaillot said.

Freeport punted from midfield on its first possession of the game but got points on its second. Taking over on the Bucs 41 after a strong punt return from Glenn, the Yellowjackets moved the ball to the Burrell 1 to set up a first-and-goal.

A bad snap on first down pushed Freeport back to the 14, and Judah Thompson eventually came on to boot a 31-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the first quarter.

Freeport got the ball back early in the second on an interception by Luke Selinger, who took the ball to the Burrell 34.

On second down, Glenn rambled 24 yards for a touchdown with 10:07 left until halftime.

The Yellowjackets were unable to capitalize on Perkins’ second interception of the first half, this one by Braydon Pomaybo. But they added points after forcing a Bucs punt with 3:20 left in the first half.

The Freeport offense moved the ball from the Burrell 39 to the 8 in three plays, but the drive stalled, and Thompson converted his second field goal, this time from 25 yards, with 1:37 to go until the break.

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: Burrell, Freeport