Frederick Tops Century in Season Football Opener

Century compiled over 200 yards rushing the ball, but couldn’t overcome three second half fumbles to drop their opener 42-30.

Nick Schaffer picked up 106 yards in 20 rushing attempts to lead the Knights. His running mate Zach Green added 81 yards on the ground.

"We came out strong, just missed three or four turnovers that did us in," said Century coach Jim Holzman. "They took advantage of a couple things we didn’t account for."

Frederick scored first with 8:59 left in the first quarter. Century received the kick-off and marched down the field and Mike Ashwell scored on a reverse with 4:10 left in the quarter. The extra point was stopped and the Cadets led 8-6.

The Knights came back with 6:42 left in the first half to take their only lead of the game 14-8. Schaffer took the ball in from one-yard out for the touchdown. Quarterback Brad MacFee hit Logan Ryder with a pass for the two-point conversion.

"I thought our offense looked very good, I mean minus the turnovers, you take three or four plays out of what happened I think we had five or six yards a carry," said Holzman.

Century got the ball to start the second half and moved the ball down to the Frederick 21 yard line before the first fumble of the second half.

The Knights held and forced a punt. On the first play after the exchange, Green broke off a 31-yard run, but fumbled the ball, which the Cadets recovered.

Frederick wasted little time getting the lead back as they scored on a 42 yard run and tacked on the two-point conversion for a 16-14 lead and the game stayed that way going into the final quarter.

Frederick scored with 10:33 left in the game to take a 22-14 lead. The Cadets recovered another fumble at the 47-yard line and used two plays to score again for a 30-14 lead.

Schaffer scored his second touchdown with 5:06 to play and Century pulled within 30-22. The Cadets recovered an onside kick and three plays later with up 36-22. Century turned the ball over on downs and Frederick scored four plays later with 1:46 left for a 42-22 lead.

Century drove down the field and Luke Bell scored on a one-yard run and Ryder scored two points for the 42-30 margin. The Knights recovered an onside kick, but didn’t score as the clock ran out.

"I was proud of our kids. Proud of the way we played. We didn’t quit and played all the way to the end. We got some guys banged up and some second team guys stepped in and did a nice job," said Holzman.

The Knights are on the road next week as the travel to Oakdale in Frederick County.