The words “seniors” and “leaders” are usually intertwined.

Through the natural progression of student-athletes in high school and college, it goes to figure that seniors would serve as the leaders of their respective teams.

But some senior groups go above and beyond.

Count the three Freeport softball seniors among them.

The 12th-seeded Yellowjackets ended their season Thursday night with a 2-1 loss to Mohawk in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals. The team had won three straight games before that defeat — including an upset of No. 5 seed Southmoreland in the first round of the playoffs.

Freeport fell just short of knocking off No. 4 seed Mohawk in the quarterfinal round.

The Yellowjackets finished this season with an 11-7 record. Seniors on the squad are pitcher Sydney Selker, shortstop Abby DeJidas and center fielder Megan Grolemund. Besides those three, the rest of the team consisted of freshmen and sophomores.

If these three seniors didn’t genuinely show the way for those younger players, Freeport doesn’t even have a winning season this year, let alone get to the playoffs and win a postseason game.

Freeport coach Ron DeJidas described how Selker’s pitching helped keep the team in games, how Abby was the leader of the infield and Grolemund helped the young outfielders along.

Yellowjacket outfielders helped throw out two Mohawk runners on the bases Thursday night. Coach DeJidas said “that’s because they knew what to do with the ball right away. Megan is a big part of that.”

Abby DeJidas and Selker bat in positions 1 and 2 in Freeport’s lineup. Both had huge seasons at the plate.

“All of these girls enjoyed playing ball together and I’ve enjoyed spending time with them,” Coach DeJidas said.

Again, a direct reflection on those three seniors.

It could have been awkward for that trio playing on a team with girls two or three years younger than they are. Instead of making the most of it, they made a team of it.

And they deserve to be commended.

Any NFL team can find fault with its schedule once the league releases it.

The Steelers have a legitimate beef, however.

Playing the Baltimore Ravens on a Saturday in late December, then turning around four days later to play the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day is simply ridiculous.

If the Steelers are in the playoff hunt by that point in the year, both of those games will be critical. Their chances of winning both games in that scenario are almost nil.

The league has teams playing a ton of division games over the final few weeks as well.

I know the NFL caters to the networks and wants to generate as much money as it can, but the schedule makers can do a better job than this.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle