You never would’ve guessed if you saw them play lately.

The Hillbillies improved to 6-1 on Friday night with a 35-8 victory over the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton Thunderbirds in a Class C South football game at Chautauqua Lake Central School.

The Hillbillies (6-1, 4-1) led the whole way, after a blistering 8-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Fry to Jay Hawk over the middle just more than four minutes into the contest. Fry added to his highlight reel with a 52-yard rushing touchdown later in the first quarter, where he weaved through the Thunderbirds defense on his way to the end zone. Fry added another rushing touchdown from 1 yard out with 20 seconds left in the first half.

Fry connected with Jameson Quinn midway through the third quarter for a 7-yard touchdown, then hit Tim Field for a 1-yard score in the fourth quarter to bring Fry’s total to five touchdowns on the night — three through the air and two on the ground.

Fredonia wide receiver Jay Hawk, one of the newcomers to the Hillbillies this season, caught a touchdown pass for the first score of Friday’s game. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

“It brought my confidence up a little bit, but we should’ve executed a lot better tonight,” Fry said after the win.

The Thunderbirds (2-5, 0-5) were held scoreless until the fourth quarter of the contest, when Fredonia pulled its starters leading 35-0. Jack Bourgeois punched in the Thunderbirds’ touchdown from 2 yards out.

This season, Fry has seen an increased role as a leader now that he has taken over as Fredonia’s starting quarterback as a senior.

“I’ve been with the coaches every day working on my craft, trying to get better for this team,” Fry said. “I’m the leader now, I’ve got to support my boys. If I’m not clicking, no one is clicking. I’ve got to set the example for us.”

Fredonia head coach Greg Sherlock is pleased with the growth Fry has shown, both on the field and as a leader off the field.

“He was one of the best wide receivers in Western New York, and we asked him to change positions, to have the ball in his hands each and every play on offense,” said Sherlock. “He put in a lot of time.”

While it’s all running smoothly now, Fredonia’s season began with questions on both sides of the ball — especially at the most scrutinized positions on offense. Three major starters last season — quarterback Nick Whitfield, running back Matt Lotter, and left tackle Shawn Farnham — all went on to play football at the collegiate level. Whitfield is at Saint Francis University, Lotter is at SUNY Cortland and Farnham is at Bethel University in Tennessee.

“Hats off to those kids previously who saw the difference the work makes. Matt Lotter, Nick Whitfield … before that, Jake Skinner, Dalton Gardner … they know getting in the weight room means a lot,” Sherlock said.

But it wasn’t just those three players who represented major losses from last season’s Section VI runnerup in Class C. Ismael Martinez, Fredonia’s starting right tackle bookending the offensive line with Farnham, also departed. Fredonia also needed to replace its top three receivers. Fry, the leading receiver from last season, took over as the starting quarterback this season. The next two receivers statistically from a year ago, Simon Davis and Davon McCall, both are no longer with the team, as well. On the other side of the ball, sacks leader Alex Paluch was one of five of the top eight leading tacklers from last season that Fredonia had to replace.

“The losses from last year … they laid the foundation for us,” said Fry. “Even though they are not here now, they are here in spirit. They may not be on the field, but they are still here.”

Somehow, Fredonia seems to have filled every hole it had coming into the season. Fredonia fell 40-30 to Salamanca on Sept. 23 at the Orange Bowl in Fredonia, but the Hillbillies responded with a 41-7 blowout of Silver Creek/Forestville the next week and then a thrilling overtime victory over Southwestern on the road 28-21. The win over Southwestern moved Fredonia to No. 17 in the New York State Sportwriters Association’s Class C rankings.

Sherlock credits the leadership of the linemen and the improvement of the defense as a whole as major reasons why his team is back in the playoffs again.

“Overall, our defense has gotten better this year compared to last year. I can honestly say the kids on the defensive side of the ball have stepped up,” said Sherlock.

Sherlock also credited the individual improvements of Ian Storey and Quinn on the season.

Now, after Friday’s victory over the Thunderbirds, only winless Dunkirk is standing in its way before a playoff matchup begins the quest for another sectional championship appearance.

“Dunkirk is a lot better team than everybody says,” said Sherlock. “It’s a Dunkirk-Fredonia game. It’s going to be hard-hitting, it doesn’t matter what the records are. … They have always come to play against us.”