Thursday, October 1, 2026
Freeport football will see the return of a familiar face on the sidelines.
Jimmy Jones, who took over as Freeport head coach in 2024 following the retirement of legendary Russ Cellan, will lead the program for his second season this fall after a one-year absence. Prior to taking over the Red Devils after Cellan spent 38 seasons as head coach, Jones was an assistant coach for 17 years.
“I’m excited to be back,” said Jones, who was a standout running back at Freeport in the mid-1990s. “I missed the kids and doing and it’s been a smooth transition back into the day-to-day operations thanks to the assistant coaches and the support of the community and my family.”
Jones got a unique opportunity prior to the start of preseason practices when he took part in a weeklong NFL coaching internship program at the Washington Commanders training camp. The experience gave Jones a chance to get back into the coaching mode and reconnect with Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn, who was an assistant coach at Hofstra in the late 90s when Jones was in the backfield for the then Flying Dutchmen.
“Quinn does a great job down there fostering a family environment with very open conversations with the coaches and I went in on day one and was treated like a coach,” Jones said. “Having been away for a year it also showed me the little discipline things that you need to do in practice organization with everybody being on the same page as coaches and players and being a family.”
Jones inherits a team that graduated 13 seniors during a 3-6 2025 campaign in which the Red Devils were forced to play a nomadic schedule with multiple home game sites due to renovations at Freeport’s turf field at the high school.
On offense, Freeport returns senior running back Kahli Shaw, who rushed for two touchdowns as a junior last year including a clutch decisive 11-yard score in the Red Devils’ 22-18 win at Westbury. Shaw will get more carries as the primary running back this fall after playing behind experienced seniors last year.
The offense also features versatile receivers in junior Christian Mccravey and senior Dylan Pigott, who both could also see time in the backfield. Junior Jasaya Curtis is another receiving weapon who shined on junior varsity last year.
Junior Jaren Reeder is expected to play a big part in leading the offensive line and also may play a key role in the passing game as a tight end.
“Right now we are trying to figure out if he is going to be a tight end or a tackle,” Jones said of Reeder, a third-year varsity player. “He’s got the athletic ability to play a skill position, but he’s just a physical, physical kid so if we need the help on the line he may end up there.”
After graduating the bulk of last year’s starting offensive line, seniors Darius Brooks and junior Mason Bowen will be counted on to anchor the trenches.
Junior Judah Murchison is slated to start at quarterback after starting some games under under center last year as a sophomore. Murchison, who is also starting middle linebacker, threw for 101 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-23 homecoming victory against Herricks/Wheatley held at Long Beach Middle School.
Murchison and senior linebacker Jason Sandy will help anchor the defense along with Reeder at defensive end. Jones said he plans to mix up the defensive schemes utilizing both three and four linemen.
On special teams, Freeport returns senior place kicker and punter Cristian Martinez. Murchison can also punt if needed.
Freeport enters the season seeded 10th in Conference I. Last year the Red Devils earned the seven seed for the county playoffs and fell to Farmingdale in the quarterfinals, 48-12.
“We’re looking to prove that we can rebound and get back to where we normally are,” said Jones, who was an assistant coach under Cellan for four Long Island titles. “We want to measure ourselves against those great Freeport teams.”
To read more from the Herald's 2026 High School Football Preview, click here.
