Knights trample Eagles in 56-8 season-opening victory

    TABOR - You can tell a coach has high expectations for his football team when a 56-8 win gets you an A-minus grade.
    But that’s exactly the marks Fremont-Mills football coach Jeremy Christiansen gave his team after Friday’s non-conference victory over East Union.
    “I think just for the fact we didn’t get our No. 1’s in for long and we still have a few things to work on,” the coach said of his team’s grade.

    The Knights, 12-1 a year ago, looked like they had very little to work on from the opening kick. Fremont-Mills needed just three plays to march down the field for its first score and added two more quick touchdowns on one-play drives following a pair of East Union three-and-outs.
    On the Eagles’ next possession, the Knight’s defensive line forced a fumble by running back Bryson Kinyon, who was attempting a half-back pass, which Seth Phillips scooped up and returned 12 yards for a touchdown.
    East Union turned the ball over again on its next possession. Four plays later Nate Meier marched in for his second touchdown of the game.
    In nine offensive snaps, the Knights scored four touchdowns and led 34-0 with more than four minutes to go in the first quarter.
    “We had a game play of scripted plays we followed and they worked to a ‘T’,” Christiansen said.      
  On defense, the Knights dominated the line of scrimmage. Until their final drive the Eagles had netted minus-23 yards rushing and just over 30 yards of total offense.
    In all Fremont-Mills  recorded 17 tackles for loss, two sacks and forced four turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
    “We still have a few things to work on but our defense gets an A or an A-plus. We played fundamentally sound there,” Christiansen said. “Offensively, we need to work on the blitz pick up and the penalties but that’s to be expected for a first game.”
    Meier led the Knights’ offense with 76 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
    The Eagles didn’t score until their final drive of the game on a Michael Weinkoetz touchdown catch and finished with 42 total yards.
    The Knights head to Adair-Casey on Friday for its next game.