With a one-score lead after a period of play, a one-point second-quarter deficit, and a tied score with less than a minute to go before halftime, Fredonia needed to fight to get the win it wanted to send its seniors off with in the final game this year.

Fredonia definitely showed up and won that fight.

The Hillbillies defeated the Marauders 47-20 on Senior Night in a nonleague showdown at the Orange Bowl.

“This place is something I’ll never forget. This is the best environment I’ve ever played in. You can’t get much better than the Orange Bowl,” said Fredonia senior quarterback Ethan Fry. “To go out on a win, that’s what the seniors deserved. We’ve put in a lot of work over the summer. We deserved this.”

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Dunkirk running back Quanteer Neallard looks to get around Fredonia’s Micah Davis in Friday’s nonleague game at the Orange Bowl in Fredonia.

Fredonia led 6-0 after a 4-yard touchdown run by Sam Atzrott with 2:59 left in the first quarter. But after Dunkirk took the lead in the second quarter, it was up to the Hillbillies to respond – and they certainly did.

Fredonia (7-1) answered every one of Dunkirk’s touchdowns with a touchdown itself, each within a minute of the Marauders’ score.

“I wasn’t worried about it at all. I trust my team, I know what we can do,” said Fry. “They punched us in our mouth, but we punched them right back, and we won.”

Dunkirk (0-8) took a 7-6 lead on a Noah Sikes 1-yard run and a Siera Jacques extra point with 7:09 left in the first half. But 50 seconds later, a 17-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Fry to Jameson Quinn and a 2-point conversion pass from Fry to Brandon Wronski put Fredonia ahead 14-7.

With 59 seconds left in the first half, Dunkirk evened the score at 14-all with a 5-yard touchdown run by Mike Hanlon and another Jacques extra point.

“We know they have good athletes. Everybody knows that they have good athletes,” said Fredonia head coach Greg Sherlock. ” … Dunkirk came to play, but our kids met that adversity.”

“The bottom line is, we’re young. We’re not physically strong enough to hang with some of these teams,” said Dunkirk head coach Mark Benton. “They were controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides tonight. That was the difference in the game.”

But once again, Fredonia answered right back. The Hillbillies answered Dunkirk’s touchdown with one of their own in just 54 seconds — aided by a long kickoff return by Micah Davis — as Fry connected with Wronski for a 1-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked by Sikes, leaving a 6-point Fredonia advantage at the intermission.

“That’s how our offense is. We’re explosive,” said Fry. “We’ve got the best offense in New York. I’m making that statement right now going into the playoffs. … We can score from anywhere on the field at any time. We’ve got the best line in the state. If we run behind those boys, they are taking us to the promised land.”

Fredonia kept its quick scoring trend rolling in the third quarter, as the Hillbillies took the opening possession down the field in 2:15. Keegan Whitfield capped off the drive with a 16-yard touchdown reception on a tap pass from Fry around the right edge and into the end zone. Atzrott converted the 2-point try on a carry to put the Hillbillies ahead 28-14 with just under 22 minutes left in the game.

“That was definitely a downer. That’s exactly what happened last year,” said Benton. “They scored right before the half and then carried it into the second half.”

“That’s what we want to pride ourselves on. … That comes from when we had Nick Whitfield and Matt Lotter. We always thought we were good enough,” said Sherlock. “We take pride on that next possession.”

Fredonia tacked on three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, a 10-yard run by Micah Davis, an 11-yard shovel pass to Davis from Fry, and a kick return touchdown by Atzrott as Dunkirk tried to recover the kickoff.

“Micah Davis has such great vision. He uses his blockers so well,” said Sherlock. “I’m so happy for him, he deserves everything he gets.”

Dunkirk’s only second-half score came on a screen pass reception by Quanteer Neallard, who broke multiple tackles to get to the edge, and darted down the Dunkirk sideline for a 77-yard touchdown. But once Atzrott returned the ensuing kickoff for the score, the game was all but over.

Despite its winless record, Dunkirk is at Kenmore East on Friday at 6 p.m. for one more chance at a victory.

Fredonia now looks ahead to a playoff matchup next week.

“As a coach, it’s good to get the win for the seniors on Senior Night,” said Sherlock. “It doesn’t matter who we play, it just happens to be Dunkirk, and for them, that’s a big deal. For me, I just want to win, I wanted something special for those seniors to go out on in their last game.”