FREDERICKTOWN HUNGRY FOR SECONDS

The 1999 season was one of many firsts for Fredericktown.

Now the Black Cats are hungry for seconds.

Fredericktown, which went 6-4, had its first winning season in 16 years in 1999, is looking to start the millennium with its first back-to-back winning seasons in 37 years.

"I think there's some excitement among the guys returning," said coach Kent Gibbs. "They saw last year what they could accomplish if they worked at it. We have a lot of small goals like to play hard every game and get better, but a big goal for us is to have a winning season."

Among last year's milestones for Fredericktown was its first win over Ste. Genevieve in 16 years and its first win over Valle of Ste. Genevieve in 20 years.

But that was last year.

The Black Cats lost some key players, most notably running back Derek Smith and four starters on the offensive line.

But Gibbs thinks this year's group has the potential of being every bit as good as last year's.

"We're not to that level yet," said Gibbs. "But can we get there? Yes. We've got a couple of first-year players and starters and a lot depends on their progress. We've got to be in shape to play and we've got to get a football mentality going. If we do that we'll be competitive.

"A lot of good things happened last year, one being we worked as a team and no one was selfish -- they played different positions wherever we needed them. These kids are smart enough to know that we won't win just because we did last year."

Fredericktown has four returning starters on offense and five on defense.

Clay Hendrix and Steve Francis will be right in the middle of both units.

Francis, a 6-foot, 215 pound fullback, had a particularly strong second half a year ago and Gibbs admitted that he should have let Francis carry the ball more in the first half of the season. Francis is the strongest player on the team as he often places high in amateur lifting competitions.

Francis will also be called upon to double up as an interior defensive lineman. He will be asked to play nearly every snap of every game.

Hendrix, meanwhile, is 160 pounds "soaking wet," Gibbs said. Hendrix quarterbacked the team last year while being asked to play linebacker as well. Gibbs described Hendrix as a linebacker who happens to play quarterback. Hendrix is a sure tackler and the vocal leader on the team.

"They're different leaders," Gibbs said of Francis and Hendrix. "Francis is a more quiet kid who leads by the way he works. He's a fullback who'll get a lot of carries and make a lot of blocks and a nose guard who will play every snap. Clay works hard on the practice field, too, but he's more of a vocal leader. If his teammates aren't working hard, he takes care of it."

Gibbs feels optimistic about his defense going into this season. Defense was the team's strength last year, particularly in the first few games when the offense was stagnant.

"Right now our defense looks good," Gibbs said. "I'll be disappointed if we look at the end of the season and our defense wasn't better than last year."

Francis, with his strength and speed, will anchor a defensive line along with returning starter Paul Knepper (6-0, 225, sr.). Rusty Leonard (6-0, 210, sr.) and either Luke Nickelson (5-10, 210, so.) or Dusty Merrill (6-3, 200, sr.) will bookend the line.

Hendrix, returning starter Cody Harper (6-0, 215, sr.), Jarrod McClellan (5-10, 180, sr) and Aaron Proffer (5-6, 145, jr.) will make up the linebacking crew, while safety Jon Page (6-1, 175, sr.) and cornerbacks Steve Dulaney (5-9, 150, sr.) and Jay Klein (5-10, 165, sr.) will round out the defensive backfield.

On offense, the question mark will be the offensive line. Fredericktown has excellent size as its average lineman is 236 pounds. But along with that weight is a lot of inexperience.

"Size-wise, we're okay," said Gibbs. "But if we are thin and inexperienced at a position, it's the offensive line."

Knepper is the only returning starter up front. Josh Baudendistel may be the biggest lineman in the region at 6-0, 310 pounds. He'll play center. At guards will be Jon Clauser (5-10, 170, sr.), and Nickleson. The tackles will be Shawn Swain (6-0, 260, sr.) and Knepper.

The offensive backfield should be solid for the Black Cats.

Hendrix and Francis will obviously get their fair share of carries in Gibbs' run-happy offense. But Gibbs is counting on Leonard and Chris Wood (5-10, 170, sr.) to contribute as well.

If Gibbs is correct in his assumption that this year's team can be as good as last year's, then Fredericktown should have no problem in winning at least six games again for no other reason than that the Black Cats' schedule has gotten easier.

The Jefferson County Conference and the Mineral Area Activities Association merged into the Mississippi Area Football Conference.

The conference was divided into three divisions to promote fairer matchups, thus Fredericktown dropped larger schools Farmington and North County. Fredericktown joins Park Hills Central, Festus, Herculaneum, Potosi and Ste. Genevieve in the White Division and will play Crystal City, Chaffee, Kennett, Dexter and New Madrid out of conference.

"We still play schools bigger than us, but they're closer to our size," Gibbs said.

Fredericktown starts the season Friday night at home against Crystal City.

FREDERICKTOWN

Mascot: Black Cats

Enrollment: 537

Coach: Kent Gibbs

Conference: Mississippi Area Football Conference

District: Class 3A, District 1

Last year's record: 6-4

Key losses: Derek Smith, RB

Key returners: Steve Francis, FB/DL; Clay Hendrix, QB/LB