East Knox players put up flashy numbers worth plenty of mention, but in such a team effort the mentions need to be spread out all over the field.
The Bulldogs (1-1) got their first win of the season 25-12 over Wynford at home Friday night thanks in part to monster nights from quarterback Jaxon Lester and running back Blake Elliot.
"You know there is the obvious, Blake Elliot running the ball like a madman, Jaxon [Lester] throwing like a madman," said East Knox coach Andy Beaty. "But sometimes what people don't see is some of the linemen inside. We had a junior lineman, Landon Davis, stepped in for his first-ever start on the O line and did phenomenal."
Beaty continued to spread the mentions to players stepping successfully into new roles.
"We played five freshmen pretty significant minutes," said Beaty, whose team lost a heart-breaking 8-7 against Northridge in the season's opening week. That's kind of what gets me really excited, seeing like Ray Arnold, Cash Cook, Brandon Dawson, Rush Beatty hopping in—Liam Davis, Miles Mitchell. I felt like we were so deep."
But back to some of the monster statistics amassed by the offense.
Elliott led the rushing attack with a key 10-yard touchdown to seal the win in the fourth quarter, and added a staggering 208 yards on 28 carries. He added five solo tackles and eight assists on defense.
"I'd say [our plan] was just running down their throat and I think it worked perfectly," said sophomore Logan Clark, who caught two balls for 24 yards. "I say we played great and the line did perfect, did everything that we were supposed to to run the ball. And Dakota Cooper caught the ball great, too."
Lester opened scoring with a two-yard run and found Cooper for a 61-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 12-6 lead at the break.
"I had a big touchdown in the first half," said the sophomore Cooper, who had nine catches for 127 yards. "And after that, I had a few good catches and we just played great defense. We just wanted to keep our eyes in the right spot and not get lazy and let them beat us on anything deep."
Lester was 16-of-24 passing for 225 yards and a lone interception. The interception was negated, however, when Lester picked off a Wynford pass and returned it for a touchdown to give East Knox an 18-6 advantage in the third quarter.
