FREDERICKTOWN — Sometimes, winning can get ugly.
The Freddies and their fans have talked about that for weeks. It all came to a head Friday, in one of the ugliest games anyone in attendance at Fredericktown’s home stadium could remember.
There were 11 turnovers, 7 personal foul penalties, 5 fumbles and one mascot scuffle. When the smoke cleared, Fredericktown downed East Knox, 41-12.
If it weren’t for the turnovers and penalties, the score could have been more lopsided.
“We’ve got to take care of what we can control, and that’s turnovers and penalties, and we didn’t do that,” Fredericktown head coach Brian Baum said.
The Freddies (6-0, 3-0) racked up 105 yards in penalties. By contrast, the defense allowed 147. Take away the two scoring plays, and the Bulldogs’ total yardage dips to minus-3.
The tone was set early. Following a stop by the Fredericktown defense, Matt Smith took the brunt of the workload on the first drive. Smith accounted for most of the 57-yard drive that ended when he busted through a hole in the defense for a 6-yard touchdown.