HERMAN — Summit Academy had already clinched its first WPIAL playoff berth in school history.

The Knights climbed a notch in the seedings on Saturday.

Summit started strong and pulled away late for a 38-20 Allegheny Conference victory over Freeport in the regular-season finale.

The win gives Summit (5-4, 5-3) the No. 3 seed in the conference, thanks to a win over Valley in the head-to-head tiebreaker. The WPIAL postseason brackets will be announced later today.

“I can't be happier for the kids. I can't be happier for the coaches, the parents,” said Summit Academy coach Steve Sherer. “It was important for us to win.”

The Knights wasted no time taking control on their home field with a seven-play, 60-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown run from Elijah Hardy.

Freeport (2-7, 2-6) fumbled on its first offensive snap and Larry Richardson returned it 29 yards to the Yellowjackets' 9-yard line. On a fourth-and-goal, J'Ron Hill-Phillips found Anthony Mitchell for a 5-yard touchdown pass to give the Knights a 12-0 cushion just four minutes and 27 seconds into the game.

The Summit defense forced five fumbles, recovered three and intercepted two passes.

“Our defense has done wonders for the team,” said Sherer. “Mr. (John) McLoud has put together some packages where we're real aggressive on defense and they've worked very well. It puts the offense on edge.

“That's where I think our biggest achievement has been this year,” he added. “Our defense has played really, really well for us.”

Freeport stiffened up for the remainder of the half and put pressure on the Knights heading into the locker room.

Codey DiGiacobbe returned a punt 17 yards, setting the Yellowjackets up on the Summit 18-yard line. Two plays later, Andrew Romanchak connected with Josh Brestensky for a 16-yard touchdown with 2:03 remaining in the first half.

The Knights responded in the third quarter by forcing a quick three-and-out and marching 86 yards in six plays. Hill-Phillips hit Lemuel McFadden for a 20-yard gain and Hardy added a 39-yard scamper before Nate Cofer finished the drive with a 3-yard plunge.

Freeport made a push in the fourth quarter when Michael Troup, a senior, scored his first touchdown of the season on an 8-yard run. A two-point pass from Romanchak to Troup cut it to 20-14 with 8:04 to go.

“I wanted Michael, who stepped up this year, to get in there and score in the worst way. We all did,” said Freeport coach John Gaillot. “When he scored that was a great cap to the season for us because he ran so hard all year.”

The Knights immediately pushed back.

Hardy busted loose for a 47-yard touchdown jaunt only two plays later.

Freeport answered with a 10-play, 70-yard drive to the Summit 10-yard line, but a Romanchak pass was deflected and Jalen Alexander came down with an interception.

On the very next play, Cofer burst through the middle and outran the defense for an 85-yard score and a 34-14 advantage with 3:52 remaining.

Sherer was impressed with his team's ability to close it out.

“Especially when most of your kids are first-year ballplayers,” said Sherer. “These guys have something to shoot for and they didn't want to let it go. Freeport gave us all we could handle.”

The 'Jackets scored their final touchdown on a 30-yard fumble return from Logan Thimons.

Romanchak played well, completing 23-of-39 passes for 212 yards and his first-career touchdown.

“I'm very proud of the boys. They fought all year,” said Gaillot. “That builds character, so hopefully we can build on that for next year.”

The loss marked the final game for seven Freeport seniors.

“The seniors did an outstanding job,” said Gaillot. “They have two conference titles to be proud of.”

Summit Academy 38, Freeport 20

Freeport 0 6 0 14 — 20

Summit Acad. 12 0 8 18 — 38

F SA

14 First Downs 13

29-60 Rushes-Yards 47-306

212 Passing Yards 35

23-39-2 Comp.-Att.-Int 5-7-0

272 Total Yards 341

5-3 Fumbles-Lost 4-2

1-5 Penalty Yards 5-34

First Quarter

SA — Elijah Hardy 6 run (kick failed), 9:47

SA — Anthony Mitchell 5 pass from J'Ron Hill-Phillips (run failed), 7:33

Second Quarter

F — Josh Brestensky 16 pass from Andrew Romanchak (kick blocked), 2:03

Third Quarter

SA — Nate Cofer 3 run (Cofer run), 7:41

Fourth Quarter

F — Michael Troup 8 run (Troup pass from Romanchak), 8:04

SA — Hardy 47 run (run failed), 7:18

SA — Cofer 85 run (run failed), 3:36

F — Logan Thimons 30 fumble return (pass failed), 2:37

SA — No. 40 16 run (run failed), 1:41

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Freeport, Mitchell O'Shell 7-22, Michael Troup 10-21, Steven Lassinger 8-10, Josh Brestensky 1-8, Andrew Romanchak 3-(-1). Summit Academy, Elijah Hardy 17-128, Nate Cofer 9-113, Larry Richardson 5-78, Unlisted player 2-22, Melvin Gore 1-3, Anthony Mitchell 1-(-1), George Brawner 3-(-4), J'Ron Hill-Phillips 9-(-33).

Passing: Freeport, Andrew Romanchak 23-39-212-2. Summit Academy, J'Ron Hill-Phillips 5-7-35-0.

Receiving: Freeport, Steven Lassinger 8-44, Michael Troup 6-58, Dylan Hochbein 4-64, Brandon Hochbein 3-24, Josh Brestensky 1-16, Mitchell O'Shell 1-6. Summit Academy, Lemuel McFadden 1-20, No. 40 1-6, Anthony Mitchell 1-5, Elijah Hardy 1-(-1).