Back-to-back wins for Freeport

In what’s likely to go down as a playoff-clinching victory, Freeport dodged a pair of missed Syosset field goals late in the fourth quarter to hold on for a thrilling 22-21 win on a picture-perfect Homecoming day game Oct. 15.

The Red Devils, who enter this Friday’s Nassau Conference I football regular-season finale against Oceanside, stand 3-4 after blanking red-hot Baldwin last Saturday and moved up considerably in the power rankings.

“It’s the best we played defensively the entire year,” Freeport head coach Russ Cellan said after the 12-0 victory over the Bruins in one of Long Island’s longest-running rivalries. “We’re in the playoffs, it’s just a matter of what seed we get and who we’ll play,” he added. “We may end up seeing Baldwin again.

Freeport and Syosset traded touchdowns throughout the Week 6 game. The Braves led 7-0 after one quarter and 14-6 at halftime. Junior quarterback D’Angelo Gordon, who got the Red Devils on the board in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run, hooked up with his younger brother Jayden, a sophomore wideout, for a 38-yard score in the third and ran the ensuing 2-point conversion for a 14-14 tie.

“D’Angelo has been tremendous for us and has nice chemistry with Jayden,” Cellan said. “They’ve hit for some long completions and touchdowns. D’Angelo stirs the pot on both sides of the ball. We’re using him at linebacker this season after he played safety in the past. It’s not ideal to have your quarterback part of so much contact, but we need him there and he loves it.”

The Braves regained a 21-14 lead early in the fourth on Michael Ricciuto’s second touchdown run of the day. Freeport responded quickly, however, on the ensuing possession and reached paydirt on a 1-yard run by senior Martese Davenport. Then came a little razzle-dazzle for the eventual winning points — senior Nazir Jean-Lubin found senior Javon Edwards on a 2-point conversion pass with 9:23 remaining. Junior Jason Pennix led the defense with two sacks.

“Martese had the big touchdown and we used a gadget play to get the two points,” Cellan said of Davenport. “He’s been solid. He’s doing everything we ask. He’s running the ball hard and blocking well without the ball.”

The offensive front has looked a little different in October after senior center Jonathan Maza suffered a season-ending injury Sept. 23 at Massapequa and required surgery. Junior Danny Cruz moved from guard to center, and senior Austin Patience took over at guard. “We definitely miss Maza and had to rearrange the whole line, but Cruz is doing a nice job,” Cellan said.

The Red Devils lost hard-fought battles to Hempstead (14-8) and still undefeated Farmingdale (41-32) before getting back in the win column on Homecoming.

“Beating Syosset after those two losses was huge,” Cellan said. “It was a back-and-forth game and both teams played well. We got lucky because they have a talented kicker who missed twice, including one from 42 yards that hit off the very top of the goalpost.”