FREDERICKTOWN – Growing up in Knox County, Beau Wolford was always in tune with the local high school football scene.
Fredericktown stood out, though.
“Fredericktown has always kind of been on my radar,” said Wolford, a 2007 graduate of Mount Vernon High School. “They just have a lot of tradition, a lot of culture.”
So when former Fredericktown head coach Will Hartley announced his resignation last winter, Wolford jumped at the chance to step in. Wolford had spent the last four seasons coaching at conference foe Cardington-Lincoln, including one year as head coach. The Pirates accumulated a 21-19 record over those four years, including two 7-3 seasons that nearly pushed them into the playoffs.
“It was just kind of a natural swing for me, wanting to get back into the county and come here to Fredericktown,” Wolford said.
And since his hiring in May, things have seemed noticeably different under Wolford’s control.
A mix of cross-generational hip hop hits blare from speakers during practice – everything from the newest Drake and Travis Scott to Montell Jordan’s 1995 classic ‘This is How We Do It’ – and on the field, things are up-tempo. Wolford is infusing elements of a spread offense into what has traditionally been a Power-I, ground-and-pound program, allowing players to make decisions on the fly and getting receivers involved in the action.
“Line it up, let’s go!” Wolford boomed in between plays at practice on Tuesday afternoon, pushing a fast-paced style of offense that most of Fredericktown’s veterans are still adjusting to.
“Last year was more power football, but this year’s it’s more of reading the defense. So we have to be more coachable,” senior lineman Tanner Ruhl said. “It’s definitely different because it changes all our blocking schemes and the wide receivers have to be more involved this year. It’s a lot different (of a) mindset.”
Looking around during a break in action, senior lineman Owen Bump began to smile.
“It’s a lot more fun, I guess,” he said.
Wolford believes that despite the difficulties that come with implementing a new offensive system, the team has taken the change in stride.
“You know, any time you implement any kind of new scheme, you’re going to have its ups and its downs and its bumps along the way,” Wolford said. “I think that primarily, they’re kind of used to that ground-and-pound style or method, and we’re a little bit more spread-it-out-and-finesse type offense. So we’ve had our lumps, but I think overall the kids are embracing what we’re doing and working to make all of those parts and pieces click.”
According to 2017 season statistics, Fredericktown passed the ball just 21 percent of the time last year, or about 10 times per game. No Fredericktown receiver recorded more than 300 receiving yards last season, and the team’s two leading receivers – Zayde Zolman and Xavier Stallard – have both graduated.
Senior quarterback Jack Fitzpatrick believes the new offense will fit well with the team’s current personnel, however, as it will highlight athletic playmakers such as senior wideout Jake Partington and senior tailback John Robbins.
“I think we match more with a spread team to begin with anyways,” Fitzpatrick said. “So I think once we got everything with the patterns down and just knowing what guys to block and who to block on screen passes and what not, that’s just really helped us come together with it.”
The Freddies are coming off a 2017 season where they went 5-5, finishing tied with East Knox for fourth place in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference. After starting the season 2-5, the Freddies won their last three games, including blowout wins over Centerburg and Wolford’s Pirates.
Fredericktown will be missing some key pieces to last year’s team on both sides of the ball due to graduation. Starting quarterback Jimmy Nussbaum, who led the team in rushing yards (697) and passing yards (872), and was a first-team All-KMAC defensive back, is gone.
So is Stallard, who hauled in 300 receiving yards and six touchdowns last year at tight end, earning second-team all-conference honors. Stallard, who also led the team in sacks last season, will play football this fall at Siena Heights University. Zolman led the team in receptions last fall with 16 and has also since graduated.
On defense, the Freddies will be without inside linebacker Anthony Caputo, who led the team with 77 tackles last year, placing him seventh in the KMAC. They will also lose defensive lineman Christian Kopina, who was second on the team with 48 tackles and was named second-team All-KMAC. In the trenches, first-team All-KMAC lineman Mitch Hurlbut is gone and will be playing football at Indiana Wesleyan University this fall.
“I feel like the leadership is definitely a piece that we lost,” Fitzpatrick said. “But I think we reeled in enough guys to be able to step into their place and make some plays where we lost them.”
Fredericktown will bring back Fitzpatrick, who is currently in a quarterback battle with junior Terry Fearn. Fitzpatrick will also play linebacker for the Freddies, where he notched 46 tackles last year and earned second-team All-KMAC honors. Partington, who recorded 38 solo tackles at defensive back and was used sparingly at receiver, will also play a much bigger role on this year’s team.
Robbins, who was the team’s second-leading rusher last year with 554 yards and 12 touchdowns, will start in the backfield again this season. Wolford also spoke highly of junior Corey Webb, who did not play last year but will play tailback and safety this fall.
Along with learning a new offense, Fredericktown will be tasked with the challenge of having a relatively slim roster this year – only 29 players are listed. Wolford said that depth (or a lack thereof) is the team’s biggest weakness right now.
“They have said that this has kind of been a trend in the last five years,” said Wolford, who noted that very few players quit during the coaching transition. “So hopefully, as things get going going here in the next couple of years, we’re able to swing those numbers back up. But I think just participation in football everywhere is kind of down a little bit.
“Just about every county school is probably saying the same thing, their numbers are down. I don’t know if it’s a concussion-scare type deal or what.”
Fitzpatrick did not seem concerned with the team’s thin roster this season.
“We’ve just gotta be smart with it. I mean the guys that we have, we have some dogs out there,” he said. “We have some guys that are going to hit you in the mouth and they’re not going to come out (or) take a play off because they have a stinger. So I think it’s honestly no big deal at all, we’ve just gotta really grind it out and tough it out.”
Robbins said that due to the low roster turnout, the team has had to get in better shape this offseason to prepare for a more strenuous workload on Friday nights.
“We do a lot more sprints than we did last year,” he said, smiling. “But then again, it’s just making us better. There’s a reason for it.”
Fredericktown’s first two opponents will certainly test the new-look program, as the Freddies go on the road to face Clear Fork and Pleasant in back-to-back weeks. Clear Fork went 11-1 last year and Pleasant finished 10-2; both beat Fredericktown by 20-plus in 2017.
“Our kids know that our first two games are probably going to be two of the toughest games we’re going to play all year,” Wolford said. “So they know in the offseason, ‘Hey, we really gotta put in the effort to make sure that week one and two we’re stellar’ and that we put together an offense and defense that will work to put us on top on Friday night. Our kids are itching, they’re ready to get against somebody that’s in a different-colored jersey.”
Fredericktown will also face Danville and Highland, reigning KMAC co-champions, on the road this year. Despite a daunting schedule, Fitzpatrick and the Freddies feel confident that they will defy expectations this season.
“There’s been a lot of talk – people talking about, you know, ‘We can’t make the playoffs’ or ‘We’re too short,’” Fitzpatrick said. “We just kind of sweep that under the rug and put a chip on our shoulder for that because we definitely know we’re a playoff team and can beat playoff teams.”
After making a playoff run in 2015, when the Freddies went 10-3, they have gone 9-11 in the two years since. With a new playing style and a new attitude, Robbins believes that this could be the year the program gets back on track.
“We don’t have kids to come rotate in for us, so we’ve just gotta give it our all and keep pushing, don’t give up,” Robbins said. “Like, I’m not. This is my last year, I want to make it the best I can. Not only for the seniors, for everybody.”
Fredericktown will kick off the 2018 season at Clear Fork on August 24. The Freddies will host Utica in their home opener on September 7.
