Before the year began, it would have been hard to believe that this kind of success would be sustained by these two programs at the same time. But here we are.

Dunkirk and Fredonia/Brocton have each raced out to 4-0 starts this season. Some of the wins were close, some not so close, but nonetheless, each team is giving the community something to follow along with.

“I can only speak for Dunkirk, but I know the last five years this community has backed our football team,” said Dunkirk head coach Mike Sarratori. “They’ve been so supportive since we turned the program around and winning is bringing the excitement to the community.”

“I hope this gives our community a sense of pride,” said Fredonia/Brocton head coach Greg Sherlock. “I know the kids and coaches talk like ‘oh did you see the student section.’ Focusing on the games, I kind of miss that part. I hope we can continue to give them that sense of pride.”

OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot Dunkirk Marauders running back Rocky Radcliffe rushes against Eden/North Collins during Week 1 in Dunkirk.

The season started with a re-shuffling of conferences, linking both teams to Class B3. Coming into the season, neither team knew much about what their conference play would entail, set to face new teams that they haven’t played before. The only thing they knew is what they had in each other.

Before the season started, Sarratori said they were “scurrying” to find information on other teams. Sherlock had similar comments, saying the only team he knew a whole lot about was Dunkirk.

“We’ve just tried to prepare ourselves for what we do on offense and defense,” said Sarratori. “We study our opponents that week, but we make sure we know our stuff and worry about making our adjustments.”

Then each team started their season with league games against new opponents. The Hillbillies scored 20 unanswered points to top Newfane 20-7 and Dunkirk steamrolled Eden/North Collins 58-14, officially solidifying themselves within their new conference.

Look at them now. Four weeks later, they both sit atop of the Class B3 division in first and second place as the only teams with undefeated records to date.

“We have a lot of experienced kids that have had a lot of playing time before,” said Sherlock. “They’re used to the system now. We also know these last few games are going to be a lot tougher.”

Each team is powered by a workhorse, with Dunkirk featuring Quantavis Kleckley and Fredonia/Brocton showing off Joell Colon. Even though they are the focal point of their respective offense, the teams have been held together by much more than just a vaunted rushing attack.

For Fredonia/Brocton, senior signal caller Trey Swartz has done his own part to contribute to the team, including finding Jake Skinner for a 41 yard touchdown to beat Cassadaga Valley/Falconer last week when Colon went down with an injury. Aside from the offense, the defense has played outstanding, creating turnovers and stopping opponents rushing attacks on a weekly basis. Skinner and Keith Piper have done a good job in the middle at linebacker, while Lucas Green is creating turnovers in the secondary.

“We’re a long way off from where we want to be,” said Sherlock. “I think it’s going to be consistency from our offensive line and adjusting on the fly that will help us. The kids will get more and more comfortable as weeks go on so when teams throw stuff at us we’ll be able to adjust accordingly.”

For Dunkirk, Kleckley has stepped up in the wake of last year’s All-State player in Tywon Wright’s injury. Aside from Kleckley, Rocky Radcliffe and Phil Messina at quarterback have provided sparks at times to help the Marauder’s offense. As we saw last week against Newfane, the defense can show out too, pitching shutout while the only points were scored against them on special teams.

“We definitely need to remain disciplined on defense and focus on our technique,” said Sarratori. “Offensively we need to improve run blocking and continue to add variety to our offense to keep people a little bit more off-balanced then we have been. But I think we’ll get there.”

It remains to be seen if the two teams can keep this pace up, but altogether, it’s going to make for a fun October.