Before the season, Sean Selinger was focused on the team's success as he hoped Freeport would return to the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.
The Yellowjackets rebounded from a 3-7 season in 2023 to finish 8-4 and clinch a WPIAL playoff spot this fall. With the team's success, Selinger reaped the benefits personally as he led Freeport with 131 tackles from his middle linebacker position.
Thanks to his success on the field, Selinger is the Valley News Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year.
Selinger, who finished with two sacks and an interception, returned to the middle linebacker position after playing on the outside in 2023.
At tight end, Selinger had 23 receptions for 418 yards during his senior season.
Selinger played middle linebacker during youth football and in middle school. The position return was seamless, and he said he felt at home.
"It came really natural to me with me being able to find the gaps and make the tackles," Selinger said. "I really appreciate all the guys around me. They made my job easy this year by being able to do my thing and not worry about anything else."
Selinger led a Yellowjackets defense that held opponents to 19.5 points per game. During the regular season, Freeport allowed fewer than 10 points three times, including a shutout of Burrell. The Yellowjackets held Indiana and Highlands to seven points each.
The Yellowjackets' season came to a close after a 35-7 loss to Central Valley in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals Nov. 8. However, Freeport won its first-round matchup at home against Mt. Pleasant, 44-20, a week earlier.
It's easy for someone to take all the credit for individual success. However, Selinger wasn't shy to point in the direction of others to credit them for his personal success, especially Freeport's defensive coordinator, Todd Durand.
"My defensive coordinator, coach Durand, is definitely the best coaching mind I've been around," Selinger said. "He set up game plans every week to confuse the offensive line and make it a lot easier on us linebackers to read and make the plays."
Selinger also plays basketball for the Yellowjackets, but football remains his favorite sport.
"I definitely like to hit people," he said. "I feel like there is no other sport like it. Obviously in basketball there are five guys out there working together, but you could have a 40-point scorer. In football, you need all 11 guys to work together. It brings a brotherhood I don't think any other sport has."
Growing up, Selinger remembers falling in love with the game of football at 4 years old while watching his older brother, Conor, play. The younger Selinger, who was six years younger, would put his older brother's pads on and run the drills he would see them run in practice.
Selinger has an offer from Allegheny and has interest from Westminster, Washington & Jefferson, Juniata and Geneva.
Selinger's best personal performance came in a 17-tackle game the Yellowjackets lost 21-7 to Derry on Aug. 30.
The Yellowjackets got off to a 2-2 start, but Selinger points to halftime of the Deer Lakes game Sept. 13 as the turning point. After a passionate speech by coach John Gaillot, the Yellowjackets scored 21 straight points but lost 28-21.
After that loss, Freeport won five straight games before falling in the regular-season finale against Imani Christian, 44-14, on Oct. 25.
"I can't take all the credit," Selinger said. "I was helped by the other guys that all did their jobs and gave me the ability to go play at my best potential."