Freeport football looks to return to its winning ways
Freeport quarterback D'Angelo Gordon takes a snap during a Nassau Conference I football game against host Syosset on Sept. 25. 2021. Credit: James Escher
The last two seasons haven’t lived up to Freeport's football expectations. The returning players know that. And they look forward to being the core to bring the Red Devils back to their winning ways.
Freeport has a combined 5-9 record over the last two seasons. Before that stretch, Freeport won three of four Long Island Class I championships.
“It was devastating not living up to the standard,” senior linebacker Yvan Neas said. “We had less people at our games. It was terrible."
Neas remembers watching those dominant Freeport teams when his sister was a cheerleader those years. He and his teammates believe this year’s team has the ability to bring Freeport back to that level of success.
“I feel like we all know how good we can be and [how good the previous teams were] and we want to live up to those standards,” said junior quarterback/defensive back D’Angelo Gordon. “We want to be one of the best and have our names on the banners they had.”
Gordon, whose father Eddie Gordon helped Freeport to the LIC in 2000, passed for eight touchdowns and rushed for eight more as a sophomore last season as Freeport went 4-5 and lost to Farmingdale in the Nassau Conference I quarterfinals. The dynamic dual-threat quarterback, who also is a defensive leader, said he wants to be one of the players to set the tone for the rest of the team on a daily occurrence.
“I just want to go out there and win,” Gordon said. “Play as fast as I can, the best I can, just keep my guys up and keep everyone motivated and in sync and play as fast as we can.”
Russ Cellan, in his 37th season as head coach, sees how important it is to continue the Freeport legacy. Massapequa has won the last two conference titles, and although Cellan doesn’t want his players looking too far ahead, he doesn’t shy away from the end-of-season goals.
“Every kid that comes through this program, it doesn’t always happen, but the goal is a Long Island championship,” Cellan said. “We put the LIC on our schedule, it’s one of the dates on our schedule. It means something to them and that’s always the goal.”
