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WPIAL football: Scoring spurt helps Imani Christian power past Freeport

Freeport’s Dawson Gaillot tackles an Imani Christian player during Friday night’s game at Freeport High School. Imani Christian won 44-14. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle

BUFFALO TWP — John Gaillot is well aware of Imani Christian’s ability to score from anywhere on the field.

For the first 13 minutes of Friday’s Allegheny 7 Conference clash, his Freeport football team kept the Saints off the scoreboard. Then, like a pressure cooker that has been held in check, Imani exploded.

Three touchdowns in the span of just over three minutes of the second quarter put the Saints up 22-0. It was a hole the Yellowjackets could not afford to fall into and the team saw its five-game winning streak snapped with a 44-14 loss in the final game of the regular season.

A win would have placed Freeport (7-3, 4-2) in second place in the conference standings and the ‘Jackets would have been eligible for a first-round bye. At the very least, they would have hosted a playoff game next week. But Friday’s result means they will most likely be hitting the road.

“We have nothing to hang our heads about,” said Gaillot. “We are a young team, but we grow every day and I’m proud of our guys.”

An 82-yard run to pay dirt by Gabe Jenkins opened the scoring. Imani’s next possession almost never happened, but Freeport failed to recover a muffed punt and quarterback Stephen Vandiver made the ‘Jackets pay when he hit Dayshaun Burnett with a 65-yard scoring pass.

Dejuan Craighead then returned an interception of a Drew Ross pass 32 yards for another score. Just like that, a scoreless game had turned into a three-score lead for the Saints (10-0, 6-0).

“We started the game with some nerves, but we can get on teams in a hurry,” said Imani coach LaRoi Johnson. “Once we got up 22-0, we felt good with where we were at.”

On their second drive of the game, the Saints drove 51 yards in just six plays, but quarterback Stephen Vandiver fumbled just short of the goal line and the Yellowjackets recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

“I thought that was a sign of good things to come, but Imani has so many good athletes,” said Gaillot. “They’re extremely talented.”

Freeport’s scores came in the second half. Late in the third quarter, Ross hit Sean Selinger with a 1-yard scoring toss and the Saints’ lead was cut to 29-7.

Ross connected with Owen Neistein on a 10-yard touchdown in the final quarter.

Jenkins rushed for 233 yards in the win.

Freeport’s Amos Glenn tallied 123 yards from scrimmage, 82 on the ground and 41 receiving.

Freeport’s Sean Selinger catches a touchdown pass from Drew Ross during the third quarter of Friday night’s game against Imani Christian at Freeport High School. Imani Christian won 44-14. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle

Imani Christian 0 22 7 15 — 44

Freeport 0 0 7 7 — 14

Second Quarter

IC — Gabe Jenkins 82 run (run failed), 10:47

IC — Dayshaun Burnett 65 pass from Stephen Vandiver (Jenkins run), 8:04

IC — Dajuan Craighead 32 interception return (Jenkins run), 7:40

Third Quarter

IC — Burnett 66 pass from Vandiver (Darius Clark kick), 3:53

F — Sean Selinger 1 pass from Drew Ross (Judah Thompson kick), :31

Fourth Quarter

IC — Vandiver 27 run (Clark kick), 10:49

F — Owen Neistein 10 pass from Ross (Thompson kick), 2:48

IC — Jenkins 52 run (Burnett pass from Jenkins), 2:38

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Imani Christian, Stephen Vandiver 8-48, Gabe Jenkins 15-233, Robert Torres-Johnson 1-7, Dayshaun Burnett 2-8. Freeport, Amos Glenn 24-82, Drew Ross 12-(-30), Sean Selinger 1-14, Braydon Pomaybo 2-1, Danny King 1-2.

Passing: Imani Christian, Stephen Vandiver 7-12-162-0. Freeport, Drew Ross 17-26-159-2, Danny King 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: Imani Christian, Darius Clark 3-18, Dayshaun Burnett 4-144. Freeport, Madden Wisniewski 2-(-1), Amos Glenn 4-41, Danny King 2-30, Sean Selinger 5-39, Owen Neistein 4-50.

Related Article: PIAA high school football Week 10: Scoreboard, schedule and more from Butler County games Related Article: High school football Week 10 photos: Scenes from Butler, Freeport, Karns City, Knoch games Related Article: Meet the top football recruits and commits playing for Butler County schools this season

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