HOWARD — For East Knox coach Andy Beatty, the memories of a disappointing 2022 season are fading fast.
The Bulldogs are back.
East Knox is tied atop the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference standings with archrival Danville heading into Friday’s showdown at Northmor, in a game rife with conference championship and playoff implications.
The Bulldogs and Blue Devils are 3-0 in KMAC action, while the Golden Knights and Centerburg are a game back.
East Knox already has doubled its 2022 win total. The Bulldogs staggered to a 2-8 record last fall, the first losing season since 2015. All eight of last year’s losses came to playoff-qualifying teams.
Another disappointing season seemed like a possibility when the 2023 Bulldogs dropped two of their three non-conference games and were 1-2 heading into the KMAC opener against defending champ Centerburg. A resounding 35-7 win over the Trojans in Week 4 followed and East Knox hasn’t looked back since.
The Bulldogs have outscored their three KMAC opponents by a combined score of 95-7 and have authored back-to-back shutouts for the first time since the historic 2019 campaign. That team won a regional championship and reached the Division VI state semifinals.
“It feels pretty good,” two-way standout Blake Elliott said after a 32-0 win over Cardington in Week 5. “There’s still a lot of season left to play, so we’ll see what happens.”
East Knox (4-2, 3-0) at Northmor (4-2, 2-1): The Bulldogs have allowed just seven points in three Knox Morrow Athletic Conference games after last week’s 28-0 shutout of Mount Gilead. Blake Elliott is tied for the KMAC lead with 72 tackles while Bryar Householder ranks among KMAC leaders with five sacks. Offensively, Elliott has rushed for a team-high 612 yards and nine touchdowns on 79 carries. Aaron White has 307 rushing yards on 56 attempts. Quarterback Jax Lester has completed 51-of-94 passes for 697 yards and six touchdowns.
The Golden Knights bounced back from a Week 5 loss at Danville with a 35-0 win over Fredericktown last week. Quarterback A.J. Bower is the KMAC’s leading passer, completing 65-of-108 passes for 1,145 yards and 17 touchdowns. His favorite targets are Bo Landon and Jax Wenger, who each have 16 receptions. Landon leads the KMAC with eight touchdown grabs and averages 23.9 yards per reception, tops in the KMAC among receivers with at least 10 receptions. Wenger has five TD catches. Carson Campbell has rushed for 496 yards and six TDs on 79 carries. Caleb Schnuerer leads the defense with 37 tackles. Hunter Fulk and Paul Cramer are tied for the KMAC lead with five interceptions apiece. Fulk returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns.
Loudonville (2-4, 1-2) at Fredericktown (2-4, 1-2): The Redbirds have dropped two straight after last week’s 52-15 loss to unbeaten Danville. Dual-threat quarterback Mathew Sprang has completed 63-of-118 passes for 795 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 445 yards and three TDs on a KMAC-high 116 carries. Baylor Weiser ranks among KMAC leaders with 20 receptions for 265 yards and four scores, while Camdyn Beachy has 16 catches for 218 yards and a TD. Weiser is tied for the conference lead with 72 tackles. Dakota Berry has 42 stops and Dilan Wade has 41 tackles and a team-high four sacks.
The Freddies were blanked 35-0 by Northmor last week, Fredericktown’s third shutout loss of the season. Quarterback Blake Sipes has rushed for a team-high 418 yards and three touchdowns on 86 carries while completing 34-of-69 passes for 473 yards and four TDs. Gavin Toombs has a team-high 12 receptions for 149 yards. Grant Hartley has seven catches for a team-best 180 yards. Cirk Parker leads the defense with 61.5 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Lane Warner has made 58.5 stops.
Mount Vernon (1-5, 0-3) at Wooster (2-4, 1-3): The Yellow Jackets have dropped five straight after last week’s 35-10 loss at New Philadelphia. Mavrik Gregory rushed for 67 yards on seven carries, while quarterback Jake Taylor completed 4-of-11 passes for 39 yards. Mason Richards rushed for a TD.
The Generals dropped a 43-40 heart-breaker to West Holmes despite big nights from running back Julian Franklin and receiver Hayden Meese. Franklin rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries, while Meese caught nine passes for 118 yards, including a 28-yard TD grab. Quarterback A.J. Likowski completed 21-of-31 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 110 yards on 11 carries.