Freeport senior Reiser vows to help team after injury

By: Michael Love
Thursday, September 1, 2022 | 7:57 PM

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Jacksen Reiser was hoping to have a big senior season with the Freeport football team.

The 6-foot, 190-pound inside linebacker had drawn interest from several area colleges. Programs at the next level started to take notice last year when he recorded 114 tackles, including five sacks, to help the Yellowjackets to a 6-5 overall record, a 4-1 mark in the Allegheny Seven Conference and a spot in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals.

But high hopes quickly turned to high emotions Aug. 20 in a scrimmage against Slippery Rock.

“They were running a lot of screen passes,” Reiser said. “I normally play on the right side of the defense, but I knew a screen pass was coming to left side. I asked Sean Sellinger to switch places so I could get closer to the play. I went out to go tackle the guy who caught the screen. I caught up to him, cut back and planted my left leg, and my knee just gave out.

“As soon as it happened, it hurt a good amount for 20 seconds. I thought it wasn’t anything too serious, and I actually jogged off the field. I got to sideline and thought it was better to save myself for another game.”

Reiser hoped for a quick recovery, but the next day, the knee swelled.

He went for an MRI last Friday and then joined his Freeport teammates for the Week Zero home matchup against Indiana.

On Monday, the test results came back. They confirmed a full ACL tear and a meniscus tear in the left knee. Suddenly, his season was over, and he quickly was greeted with another perspective.

“I was hoping for a partial ACL tear, something I could still play on after a little time off,” he said. “That ended up not being the case.”

Reiser said many thoughts went through his head including his goals for college. He said those goals remain the same.

“It just is an obstacle that I have to get past,” Reiser said.

The immediate goal, Reiser said, is to still be on the field for his teammates who hope to go 2-0 on Friday at South Allegheny. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“I am just trying to help my teammates any way I can and bring energy on the field, whether it’s a practice or a game,” he said. “I will be here as much as I would be if I was still playing. That side of it won’t change. There is still a lot of games, and I know we have the talent to win a lot of them.”

Reiser’s season-ending injury was emotional for all of his teammates, especially fellow senior and stepbrother Zach Clark.

Clark dedicated his play on the field last Friday against Indiana to Reiser and wore Reiser’s No. 22 jersey.

“Monday or Tuesday after the scrimmage, I was thinking about what I could do to honor him for the first game,” Clark said.

“I asked him if I could wear his jersey, and he was totally cool with it. It meant a lot to him and meant a lot to me and to the team to have No. 22 still be on the field.

“Wearing his jersey gave me such an adrenaline boost. I was playing for myself and the team but also playing for him. It was hard to explain the feeling. I just knew that everything I was doing on that field was for him. I wanted to do as much as I could.”

Clark finished with two touchdowns, one on a 9-yard reception in the first quarter and another on a punt return later in the game as Freeport moved to 1-0 with a 28-8 victory over the Little Indians.

Reiser was at practice Tuesday under the late summer sun, and with a brace supporting his damaged knee, he moved all throughout the field giving advice and instruction just as much as the regular Freeport coaches.

“He is such a great leader on and off the field,” junior linebacker Brady Sullivan said.

“He’s always looking out for everyone else. He’s the most unselfish kid I’ve ever met. I miss having him out on the field.”

Coach John Gaillot said his heart hurts for Reiser to have to experience an injury like this, but he’s also heartened to know that he is dedicated to his team while working through the recovery process.

“It was a punch to the gut,” Gaillot said. “He played four or five games last year with a torn rotator cuff. He showed incredible toughness to finish out the season. It’s so tough to know that he won’t be able to come back and play this season. But you know he’s still going to give 100 percent of everything he has. That is who he is as a teammate and as a human being.”

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