ROCKFORD, Wash. – Freeman quarterback Logan Schultz and Tyce Gilbert have a psychic bond.
“Him and I, we’ve been best friends since kindergarten,” Schultz said. “We were brothers from another mother, we were always at each other’s house every summer, spending multiple nights in a row at each other’s houses, throwing the ball, playing around, him and I have just had… I don’t know, we’ve always had that connection since we were younger.”
“Literally any moment we get, still even to this day, we just play pass all the time,” Gilbert said. “I guess it’s kinda like, we just kinda have a connection there.”
That senior connection led to an eight-score and team-high 800+ yard season for Gilbert, plus a career-best season in quarterback rating and yards-per-game for Schultz.
“I can remember when these guys were freshmen, we’d have to kick them off the field at night because they’d stay extra, throw,” Freeman head coach Michael McKeown said. “I know they’ve been best friends since they were younger; it’s just been awesome to see.”
The pair led their Scotties to an 8-2 overall record, second in Northwest 2B North, flying into the postseason as the No. 4 seed.
“We have an amazing senior class that has been a part of this and know what it takes to be successful and feel confident in the leaders on the team to be able to hold our guys to the high standard we got,” Coach McKeown said.
It’s not just the offense that’s impressed, but all-league returning defensive captain Levi Wellner anchors a young D that’s allowed four touchdowns across the last four weeks.
“A lot of kids have had to step up into some spots that they haven’t really done a whole lot, so, they’ve been just making big plays and big impacts for us,” Wellner said.
So now begins the road to Freeman’s second-ever state ring, their first in 12 years.
“In the weight room and out on the field, and getting routes, 7-on-7s, I mean everything,” Schultz said. “Everybody just, I think everybody on the team wants to win, and we want nothing more than that chipper.”
“We start playing when we’re young, and just to be able to give back to all the community that has given so much to us to be successful, like we don’t have everything out here if it wasn’t for them either,” Wellner said. “So, that would just mean the world to able to give back what they’ve given to us.”
Freeman hosts No. 13 seed Cle Elum-Roslyn under the Friday night lights at 6:00 p.m. for a spot in the 2B quarterfinals.
COPYRIGHT 2025 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
