Freeport finding its footing
After a tough start to its opening game at defending Long Island champion Massapequa, the Freeport football team is starting to find its rhythm under first-year head coach Jimmy Jones.
The Red Devils surrendered the first 38 points in the Massapequa game before ending the game strong with two second half touchdowns in a 38-14 defeat. The strong end to the Massapequa game spilled over the next two weeks in commanding shutout wins by scores of 40-0 at Valley Stream Central and 47-0 at Hicksville last Friday.
“We want to get the standards for the program in place and be able to compete with the better teams in the conference,” said Jones, a longtime assistant coach and former running back at Freeport who took over the program from Russ Cellan after he retired following 38 seasons leading the sidelines. “We're trying to get better week by week and if we can get better week by week we have a shot.”
The Valley Stream Central victory featured a big connection between starting quarterback Kelvin Abreau and standout senior wide receiver Jayden Gordon, who hauled in eight catches for 114 yards. Abreau, a senior in his first season as the starting signal caller completed 13-of- 17 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns in a game Freeport led 27-0 at halftime.
Junior running back Glen Person III stepped up as well with 96 yards rushing and a touchdown on just seven carries.
Gordon, who has been on varsity since ninth grade, also had a monster game in the Hicksville blowout on all three phases of the football game with a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown, 90-yard interception return touchdown and 14-yard touchdown pass from Abreau.
“He had a great offseason and works his butt off,” said Jones of Gordon, who caught and threw a touchdown pass in the Massapequa game. “That translates to the other guys.”
Jones also credits his offensive line led by seniors Curtis Ealy and Tobias Fitzsimmons with propelling the team’s success the last two games. Ealy and Fitzsimmons have also keyed the defensive line and brought plenty of pressure up the middle.
Freeport next faces a challenging home game against unbeaten Oceanside at home Saturday for a 3 p.m. kickoff. The Red Devils then travel to Westbury for a late Thursday afternoon game on Oct. 10 at 4:30 p.m. before hosting Farmingdale on Oct. 19 at 2 p.m.
The Red Devils entered the season seeded seventh in Conference I after a 4-4 season that ended with a 48-8 quarterfinal loss to Farmingdale. Jones is hoping to ultimately earn one of the top seeds for the Conference I playoffs and be playing at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium in November for the first time since 2019, but for now is seeking progress on a week-to-week basis.
“We can't look too far ahead in the schedule and it is all about who we are we playing this week and how can we get better today,” Jones said. “Once you get into the playoffs the whole thing is wide open.”
