Resilient Bulldogs ready to open football season

“It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.” — former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi

The East Knox football team has been knocked down — hard — this summer with the news of the death of a former teammate and the illness of current senior captain Aidan Riggle, but coach Andy Beatty knows the resilience of his team and knows they will get back up and fight this fall.

“This team has faced an incredible amount of off-season adversity,” Beatty said. “They have dealt with the grief of losing a teammate to suicide and additionally losing a senior captain to a serious illness for the season. This team has drawn close together and found their strength from a true brotherhood. They have no doubt that the young men in that locker room have one another’s back and will be there through thick and thin.

“Some programs talk about selfless play, or choosing ‘we’ over ‘me,’ but these men have truly embraced it and made it an identity on and off the field, not just a slogan on a weight room wall.”

A strong group of senior leaders — Landen Davis, Logan Hercenberg, Jaxon Lester, Hunter Schaelgel, Carver Stephens, Blake Stiner, Alex Anderson and Miles Mitchell — has been the backbone of that brotherhood, helping the others through this difficult time. They also have the talent to help lead the Bulldogs on the football field.

Lester (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) is back for his fourth season as quarterback. Lester threw for 1,294 yards last season after throwing for 1,388 as a sophomore. Davis (5-10, 250), a three-time letterwinner, and Mitchell (5-11, 225) will help anchor the line that protects Lester and the running backs, and Hercenberg (6-2, 160) will be one of Lester’s main receiving threats.

The Bulldogs also return a lot of talent in the younger classes. Junior receiver Logan Clark (6-0, 185) was the team’s leading receiver last fall, catching 16 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Rush Beatty (6-2, 195) will also create some matchup issues for opposing defenses.

The backfield will be young but talented. Sophomore Landon Boyd (5-10, 175) is a small, but physical back with good speed, while freshman Camden Muncie (5-10, 190) is also ready to make his mark at the high school level.

Juniors Caden Ridenour (6-1, 215), Travis Mathes (6-2, 205) and Gavin Warth (5-10, 225), as well as sophomore Ray Arnold (5-10, 175) will create holes for the young running backs and protect Lester.

Defensivley, Davis, Mitchell, Warth, Anderson, Mathes, and juniors Wyatt McDowell (5-9, 175) and Dominic Negron (5-10, 170) will battle in the trenches for EK.

Arnold, Beatty, Boyd, Clark and Ridenour will back them up at linebacker, and Hercenberger and Lester will be the main defensive backs.

“Our strength will be found in our depth. We have many new athletes that have come out and are eager to learn and get better,” coach Beatty said. “This is the most coachable team from top to bottom that I have ever had. This team is literally improving every day.

“Our team is very inexperienced in many areas. We were young last season and remain young this season. Our youth can be a challenge but also poses great opportunities.”

The Bulldogs are looking at improving on last year’s fifth-place finish in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, but Beatty knows it will be a tough row to hoe.

“The KMAC is a tough league. With the addition of coach (Scott) Spitler at Fredericktown, there are several coaches who have won regional titles, competed in state semifinals or competed in state finals,” Beatty said. “The KMAC is a league where anything can happen on any given night. Of course, we want to challenge for the KMAC league title every year, but we must focus on one game at a time.”

The Bulldogs will open the season on Friday by hosting Northridge.