The East Knox football team is coming off a solid 10-3 season in which the team went 5-1 in KMAC play, going to the regional semifinals before losing to state finalist Newark Christian, and coach Andy Beatty hopes this success will continue in the 2022 season.
“Our program motto is 'Bring your best.' In every single thing that these athletes are involved in, the expectation is the same – that they will bring their best,” said Beatty. “When students bring their best every single day, they soon discover that it is a moving target and that their threshold for excellence is increasing. The 2022 East Knox football team has been challenged to bring their best on the practice field, in the weight room, in the classroom, the community as well as Friday nights.”
Beatty is in his eighth season coaching, all at East Knox, but this is his first year as a head coach with the Bulldogs. Previously, he was the team’s defensive line and running backs coach.
The Bulldogs run a spread offense, and the focus is to use the entire field and remain balanced in their attack.
“We want to set the tone, dictate the alignments and attack areas of vulnerability,” said Beatty. “I like the spread offense because it allows you to get athletes on the field, and athletes in space ... and it is a lot of fun to play in.”
Defensively, the team runs a 3-3 stack, which allows the Bulldogs to attack from different angles and use their athletes to make them most successful.
“Our best 11 players will be on the field and will need to be versatile and intelligent enough to line up against everything from under center wing-T to 5-wide,” he said.
At the end of the 2021 season, East Knox voted as a team to have Carson Steinmetz and Dustin Springer as captains. He said they have done an incredible job to earn this, and are constantly doing the little things behind the scenes. He added that seniors Luke Hornsby, Jacob Neighbarger and Ryan Morton have stepped up to lead as well.
“I expect that their leadership will continue into the grind of the season, but they have all earned that right to be leaders of this football team. I expect one of the most improved players from last year to be [junior] Alex Dolby,” Beatty said. “Alex has taken major strides this offseason in his conditioning, strength and mental toughness. We will rely heavily on him on the offensive line, as he is versatile and tough and can play multiple positions. Junior Derek Field has also taken major steps forward this offseason and through camp has been a force to be reckoned with.”
He added that sophomore Shane Gardner has shown improvement this year in camp. He is coming off a successful freshman year that ended with injury, but this season he has worked hard to come back to form.
Beatty has high hopes entering this season. The Bulldogs kick off the season against Northridge on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.
“This team has won at least one playoff game each of the last three years,” Beatty said. “They understand the hard work it takes to get to the that level and sustain that success. I expect that they will play hard, bring their best to every situation and make Bulldog country very proud.”
