Countdown to kickoff: Freeport football looking to build off veteran defense
The Pretzels are looking to snap a 14-year playoff drought.
FREEPORT, Ill. (WIFR) - It’s a different vibe in Stephenson County’s largest city this fall. The Pretzels will be the only football team in town as Aquin will pass on the 2023 season and the team is hoping to unite the city’s undivided support this season.
“It just makes you want to work harder every single day to just make the town come together,” Freeport wide receiver Dedric Macon said. “Because that’s what I think the biggest reason why is just us making the playoffs though so seeing everybody hop on board.”
“We know they’re hungry,” Freeport head coach Anthony Dedmond said. “We’ve come up short the past couple of years and they take self-accountability so as a team, we know we have to get better.”
On the defensive side, the team returns nine starters in what’s expected to be a grand finale for a group that’s graduating most of those players next year. Meanwhile, on offense, all eyes are on junior Payton Woker as he steps in at QB as Xzaveon Segner begins his college career at Quincy University.
“He (Woker) has everybody’s eyes raised right now,” Dedmond said. “So we’re excited about all the possibilities.”
Freeport opens the year at home against Belvidere North at noon on Saturday, August 26.
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