Freeport 3-0 after topping Oceanside

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For the third time in as many weeks, Freeport flexed its muscle on both sides of the ball and blanked its opponent in the first half on the way to an impressive Nassau Conference I victory.

Last Friday night, junior quarterback Terrance Edmond set the tone as the Red Devils took down defending county champion Oceanside, 38-0, before a standing-room-only crowd. Edmond capped Freeport’s opening drive with an 18-yard touchdown toss to senior Jordan Jackson and the hosts never looked back in a rematch of last year’s championship game that saw the Sailors post a shutout to claim their first title in 40 years.

“We’re only three games in, but we’ve got a special group of kids and they work hard,” Freeport head coach Russ Cellan said. “At this point, things are falling into place.”

A first-team defensive unit that’s yet to allow a point prior to halftime not only held Oceanside (2-1) to less than 75 yards but produced a pair of scores with junior linebacker Makhai Jinks (61 yards) and junior lineman Shamel Howard (40) returning interceptions for touchdowns in the first and third quarters, respectively. “I don’t think we’ve ever had two of those in a game,” Cellan said of the pick-6s.

The Sailors, who scored 32 points in each of their first two games behind sharp efforts from freshman signal-caller Charlie McKee (596 yards, 7 touchdowns, 1 interception in wins over Westbury and Uniondale) and senior playmaker Jake Lazzaro, moved inside the red zone late in the second quarter but missed a field-goal try on the final snap of the half.

“We faced the cream of the crop tonight,” Oceanside head coach Rob Blount said. “Freeport looks like the team to beat and we didn’t help our cause with a lot of young mistakes. Hopefully we’ll be fortunate enough to see them again in the playoffs.

“Obviously next Saturday’s game against Long Beach is big,” he added. “It’s Homecoming and if we can end the first half at 3-1, it’ll be a great place to be.”

Lazzaro (10 catches, 177 yards this season) became the school’s all-time receiving yards leader on the game-opening series, but the Sailors were forced to punt and Freeport needed just seven plays to reach the end zone. Edmond dodged three defenders and avoided what appeared to be a sure sack and threw a short jump pass to Jackson, who took it to the house. Senior kicker Giovanni Martini, who was perfect on the night, hit his first of five straight extra points — he also had a 33-yard field goal into a stiff breeze in the third quarter — for a 7-0 lead.

Edmond had a dynamic 33-yard touchdown run on the next possession to make it 14-0, and the defense did the rest. The Red Devils led 28-0 at halftime for a third consecutive game. Junior Dakarai Stevenson recorded two sacks and Howard had one.

“We’ve got a long way to go, but I couldn’t be happier with the kids’ effort and their will to get better each week,” Cellan said.

Freeport visits Hempstead on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff.