Freeport puts it all together in victory over Burrell

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 13, 2018 | 12:18 AM

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John Gaillot smiled when told of Freeport’s rushing and defensive dominance Friday night.

It’s the formula the Yellowjackets like to follow, and they did it to perfection in maybe their most complete performance of the season.

The senior tandem of Austin Romanchak and Conor Selinger powered a rushing attack that piled up 350 yards, and a stingy defense held Burrell under 100 total yards as Freeport overcame a slow start to pull away for a 48-3 victory over Burrell in a Class 3A Big East game at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium.

“That’s what I want to hear,” Gaillot said. “That’s old-school football. That’s our tradition. That’s what we are.”

Romanchak, Freeport’s quarterback, rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns and added a momentum-swinging score on a kickoff return in the second half, and running back Selinger added 151 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Junior backup Ricky Hunter put the Yellowjackets’ total to 350 with a late 57-yard score as they won their fourth straight game and moved into fourth place in the Big East, with a chance to secure a WPIAL playoff berth with a win next week over Mt. Pleasant.

Freeport (4-3, 4-3) also held Burrell’s high-powered offense to 99 yards and five first downs, including just 15 yards and one first down in the first half. Junior Isiah Bauman and Romanchak intercepted passes.

Only a 33-yard field goal by Burrell’s R.J. Beach on the opening possession of the third quarter kept Freeport from posting its second shutout in three weeks.

“It feels a lot better to be back on that roll that we wanted to get to,” Romanchak said. “We got off to a slow start, but we recouped and got everything together. Now we’re on a roll, and we’re not planning on stopping.”

Romanchak rushed for touchdowns of 11 and 29 yards in the first half, but Freeport turned the ball over twice and took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

Burrell (2-6, 2-5) looked as though it might make a game of it when it went 56 yards on 13 plays to open the second half, getting on the scoreboard when Beach kicked a field goal. But Romanchak returned the ensuing kick 84 yards for a touchdown and added a 2-yard rushing score later in the quarter to effectively put the game away.

“It’s a momentum game,” Burrell coach Shawn Liotta said. “We got a little momentum to start the second half, and then they took it right back. That’s a credit to them. They’re a tough team. Defensively, they’re right up there with anybody in the conference.”

Selinger rushed for touchdowns of 33 and 3 yards in the fourth quarter, and Hunter added his 57-yard score with under two minutes remaining.

“We executed perfectly in the second half,” Romanchak said.

Mike Scherer led Burrell with 50 yards rushing on 11 carries. The Bucs, who play nonconference opponent Waynesburg next week, dressed 21 players.

“I’ll say this: I love my team. I love my kids. They play hard as can be. They give you everything they’ve got,” Liotta said. “They maybe have a little bit more than we do in terms of numbers, and maybe wore our kids down a little bit, maybe, but our kids are going to play hard and play with tremendous effort. I’m not going to use that as an excuse.”

A month ago, Freeport was 0-3 and in danger of falling out of the playoff race before the calendar turned to October. With two weeks remaining, the Yellowjackets have a chance for their second consecutive postseason appearance.

“We’re healthy for once,” Gaillot said. “After we watch the game film, we’ve got to focus on next week.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Freeport