HOWARD — The East Knox Bulldogs entered Friday’s home game against Loudonville as if it was a playoff game.
That was the mindset second-year head coach Andy Beatty sought.
“We know there’s a lot on the line,” Beatty said, after the Bulldogs’ 42-28 win. “We don’t want to look ahead, but we’re well aware of what we’re playing for.”
It didn’t look like the Bulldogs were looking ahead Friday night, scoring touchdowns on their opening drive of each half.
Junior running back Black Elliott set the tone in the first quarter with a 27-yard touchdown run. Elliott rushed for 166 yards on the night and tacked on another TD in the second half.
“As we moved him (Elliott) from tight end to fullback, we had to learn or he had to learn to slow down a little bit, which feels contrary when you’re a running back with the ball and everybody’s trying to get you,” Beatty said.
“But he’s such a coachable kid. He’s such a respectful kid that he’s going to do what he’s coached. He leaned into that, bought into that idea of letting it set up and then knowing when to hit. And the results have shown for themselves there.”
Elliott wasn’t the only playmaker, with Bulldogs quarterback Jaxon Lester and wide receiver Bracen Davis in lockstep. Lester threw for 175 yards, 103 of them went to Davis.
In East Knox’s second-half opening drive, Lester hit Davis in stride for a 42-yard touchdown and a 35-6 gap.
“He’s (Davis) very dynamic,” Beatty said. “He’s one of our smaller players but he commands so much attention and respect because of those yards after catch.
“There’s almost like a magnet to him wherever he goes, you’re going to see defenders around him.”
Beatty said the two are so connected they frequently freelance.
“(Where) we let them kind of communicate how if they’re reading the same thing, how it’s going to look,” Beatty said. “So that’s a lot of it is we have some automatics built in for them that he’s hitting.
“He’s on the same page as (Lester.) It’s a lot of fun to watch.”
The bulge reached 29-0 when Loudonville scored its first touchdown with Baylor Weiser rushing in from 52 yards. The extra point was blocked by Bulldogs Will Jensen.
In the second half, Loudonville scored three touchdowns, two off of turnovers.
Looking ahead at next week’s Devil Dog matchup, Beatty said the message for his team is “we will take care of business.”
“We will do the things that nobody else sees that nobody else is paying attention to that matters,” he said. “It’s all been building up to this point.
“We are singularly focused on our Week 10 opponent, throwing everything that we have at them to get that game.”