Freeport rolls in home opener

Coming off a perfect 12-0 season, Freeport’s picked up where it left off.

The defending Long Island Class I champion Red Devils ran over a solid Massapequa squad last Friday afternoon before a jam-packed home crowd, 49-13, to stretch their winning streak to 14 games.

Senior quarterback Terrance Edmond terrorized the Chiefs in the first half with four touchdown runs and an interception on defense, and senior Makhai Jinks added a pair of touchdown runs in the second half. Freeport’s starting defense lost its shutout bid midway through the third quarter when the only thing in doubt was the final margin.

“We brought back a lot of guys and our chemistry carried over,” Freeport senior lineman Myles Norris said. “We were looking forward to starting over and setting new goals. We want to be LIC champs again. If we work hard and treat each week the same, we’ll be alright.”

With the offensive line of Norris, Anthony Gentile, Josh Grubbs, Jaidan Jackson and Troy Saraldi creating openings, Edmond’s legs did the rest as the hosts scored on four of their first five possessions. “He can break one any time,” Norris said of Edmond, who had 181 yards on 14 carries and went 6-for-8 passing for 86 yards. “He’s so elusive and so fast.”

A leaping 33-yard reception over the middle by senior Dakari Stevenson set up Edmond’s first touchdown, a 1-yard run two plays later. It was still 7-0 late in the first quarter when Edmond picked off a pass by Massapequa quarterback John Giller and put the offense back in business.

The Red Devils moved into Chiefs territory on junior Jayvian Allen’s 15-yard catch on third-and-10. Edmond eventually capped the drive early in the second quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run. Senior kicker Chayse Gordon, who was a perfect 7 of 7 on extra points and drilled several kickoffs deep, made it 14-0.

“Chayse worked hard in camp and he’s looking like a real weapon, not only putting points on the board but giving our defense better field position than we had last year,” Freeport head coach Russ Cellan said. “I’ve reminded our kids how big an extra point can be. We beat Floyd 20-19 in the Long Island championship game.”

Edmond, who said he relishes the pressure of trying to repeat, broke the game wide open by halftime with two dynamic touchdown runs. His longest jaunt of the afternoon covered 70 yards and came with 6:05 remaining in the second quarter. He then added a 59-yard score with 3:38 left and Freeport held a 28-0 halftime lead.

“Coach Cellan said the only team that can beat us is ourselves,” Edmond said. “We embrace the pressure of being the team everyone is targeting. We don’t want to lose and we’re going to work as hard as we can.”

Jinks had touchdown runs of 18 and 47 yards. Junior Ausani Allen capped the scoring with a 51-yard run. Defensively, Norris and Tristan Sabb had sacks and junior Dan Murphy had three tackles for loss.

The Red Devils are back in action this Saturday when they take on Syosset at 2 p.m. The game will be played at Cold Spring Harbor due to new field construction at Syosset.