After giving up points on the opening drive to Fredonia, the Trojans scored 41 unanswered to win 41-6 in Class C South action at the Orange Bowl in Fredonia on Friday night.

“Starting the season off on the right foot is always important,” Southwestern/Frewsburg head coach Jake Burkholder stated. “Getting the win over Fredonia is always important, there’s always been that rivalry. We’ve got two awesome football communities with two groups of people coming together and we have the opportunity to do something special.”

Fredonia (1-1, 0-1) started the game with a quick drive jump started by a catch and run from Ayden Wronski and then finished by a 23-yard touchdown pass to Lavonce Donaldson.

“We saw things we thought we could attack early and we did,” Fredonia head coach Greg Sherlock stated. “Give Southwestern credit, they adjusted pretty well to it. Although, we had a lot of big plays in the first half, but a lot of penalties.”

Southwestern/Frewsburg’s Trent Lewis looks for room to run during Friday’s Class C South football game against Fredonia at the Orange Bowl in Fredonia. OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

However, just like last week after Cleveland Hill’s tally in the first quarter, Southwestern/Frewsburg (2-0, 1-0) kept its opponents off the scoreboard the rest of the game.

“I think it’s just settling in and getting into the flow of the game,” Burkholder said about his defense. “Not a long bus ride or anything like that, but it’s an environment that’s definitely a home-field advantage for them. I think our kids were pretty hyped up and ready to go, but just needed to settle in and get into the flow of the game.”

While the defense took a drive to lock in, the Southwestern/Frewsburg offense didn’t miss a beat from last week.

The Trojans responded by marching down the field with big runs from Bradyn Fuller, who was rewarded with a 5-yard touchdown and gained the lead with an Oscar Harris kick.

Then a couple of possessions later, Adrian Torres returned an interception for the Trojans to the 2-yard line which set up the first Trent Lewis touchdown — a long run to the pilon after seeing the snap go over his head.

Fuller broke free for a huge gain in the second quarter, rushing 52 yards to give Southwestern/Frewsburg a 21-6 lead and full command of the game early on.

Fredonia needed a spark and it nearly got it on the following drive, making its way into Southwestern/Frewsburg territory. On a third and 3 at the Trojans’ 37, Fredonia quarterback Donovan Dowdy connected with Donaldson again for a big touchdown.

However, the penalty flag flew and a hold took the points off the board for the Hillbillies. Making for a longer third down, Fredonia was unable to convert and punted away a scoring chance and some momentum that was desperately needed.

“When you’re talking about a score at that time it would have been 21-12, that’s a big part,” Sherlock stated. “You’ve got a lot of young guys and heads go down, saying here we go again. Especially when that was a great play by the quarterback and receiver on that. Kids can get dejected and it shows when they go back on defense that’s what they’re thinking of rather than moving forward.”

Instead of making it a one-score game again, Southwestern/Frewsburg marched down the field and Lewis powered in a 20-yard touchdown run that gave the Trojans a 28-6 lead before the half.

The Trojans then began the second half with the ball and essentially put the game away as Lewis reached paydirt again, this time from 21 yards out and the 34-6 lead after a failed 2-point conversion.

It was Lewis again in the fourth quarter putting the final points on the board, rewarding his own highlight-reel one-handed interception with an 8-yard touchdown run that he powered through several defenders to earn.

“It’s just a mindset for him,” Burkholder said about Lewis. “He’s a physical player, I mean he is 100 miles an hour all the time. It’s great to have somebody on the field that wants to create contact and go make a play. That mentality he’s got is awesome.”

Lewis finished the game with four touchdowns, rushing for 159 yards on 16 carries and adding 26 more yards in the passing game. Fuller nearly edged out Lewis in yardage, amassing 164 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns.

“They’re both great players,” Burkholder said about Fuller and Lewis. “It’s awesome to be able to rely on both of them and know that they’re going to give you everything they got as long with every other kid. We dressed 31 tonight and every single kid helped us get this win in one way or another.”

Fredonia kept fighting to get back on the board, but instead the Trojans forced another turnover as Jacob Grey reeled in the third interception.

“We work on that stuff,” Burkholder said about the turnovers. “Just reading our keys and getting to the right spot. When you pay attention, you work on those things, it comes to fruition.”

The Southwestern/Frewsburg defensive front made it difficult for the Fredonia offense to get anything done as it provided relentless pressure. The top Southwestern/Frewsburg tacklers were Brayden Potter with seven and Zach Markham with six.

“We start a lot of underclassmen and these are learning steps,” Sherlock said about his team. “I know that a lot of people see a 41-6 score and say, ‘Boy, that’s awful,’ but we’re getting better. I think we are much better than we were last year and that gives a lot of credit to these guys that are on the team.”

Southwestern/Frewsburg 14 14 6 7 — 41

Fredonia 6 0 0 0 — 6

F — Donaldson 23 pass from Dowdy (kick failed)

S/F — Fuller 5 run (Harris kick)

S/F — Lewis 2 run (Harris kick)

S/F — Fuller 52 run (Harris kick)

S/F — Lewis 20 run (Harris kick)

S/F — Lewis 21 run (Pass failed)

S/F — Lewis 8 run (Harris kick)