FREDERICKTOWN — It’s the Freddies versus ... the Freddies?
When you look at practice as Fredericktown prepares for this week’s playoff matchup with Woodsfield Monroe Central, you could see some uncharacteristic plays. You might see quarterback Tyler Hathaway line up in a wildcat formation. You could see the offense run out of the spread, with five wideouts on one side. You might even see a junior varsity running back line up under center.
It’s not unusual for members of the scout team to be asked to do the unusual.
“We run unconventional plays as scouts,” sophomore Matt Smith said. “We’ll go from different formations, we’ll run the plays in slow motion.”
Since the plays are those of the opponents, they take some time to learn, and more time to execute properly.
“It’s definitely more of a challenge. The young guys don’t block as well. It becomes our job to help them, to coach them up,” sophomore quarterback Ryan Logan said.
Sophomore Chris Carpenter is one of those young guys. He plays for the junior varsity team and on Fridays he plays on special teams. As a member of the scout team, he fills in for key Fredericktown opponent seniors.
“It’s our job to help the first team, particularly the linemen. We give them what they need to see, so they know what to expect (during the game),” Carpenter said.
The learning starts on Monday. That’s when select players meet with coaches to look over game film of their opponents.
