Shady Side Academy falls short against Freeport

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 24, 2017 | 11:30 PM

Freeport scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out a 24-17 Class 3A Allegheny Conference win over Shady Side Academy (2-2, 2-2) on Friday.

The Indians led 17-10 entering the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of touchdown strikes of 89 and 24 yards from Skyy Moore to Dino Tomlin.

Connor Lemmhuis had a 30-yard field goal and a pair of PATs. Tomlin finished with six catches for 167 yards, and Moore rushed for 129 yards.

Freeport improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

“It was a tough one to swallow,” SSA coach Chuck DiNardo said. “Our guys played extremely hard, and I am very proud of them. Freeport was able to hang around and dig away at the lead we had built. We had some opportunities that we weren't able to grasp late in the game and we have to improve on our execution.”

There were plenty of things DiNardo said need to be improved.

“We had a number of penalties that provided Freeport with field position and they were able to take advantage. From that standpoint, we have to clean up our play. We will look at the tape and find areas that we can improve in.”

DiNardo was impressed with the play of his skill players, notably Tomlin.

“Dino Tomlin did a great job for us,” he said. “He exemplifies what it means to be a student-athlete here. He's a competitor in the classroom, as well as the field. He's an outstanding teammate and provides a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. He has big-play capability every time he touches the ball. He's a great playmaker on both sides of the ball.”

Shady Side Academy will take on Keystone Oaks at 7 p.m. Friday at Dormont Stadium.

“We have a tough opponent ahead of us in Keystone Oaks,” DiNardo said.

“They're a well-coached group that is always prepared. They're undefeated and the defending conference champs for a reason. We will need to play mistake-free football and come prepared to play for four quarters.”

Marty Stewart is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shady Side Academy