Conant beats Addison Trail in final minute

With just 2:52 left in a tie game Friday, Conant sophomore Malik Frederick wasn't about to let a one-win 2017 campaign cloud his mindset.

Instead, he put that out of his mind and became the catalyst in the Cougars' late drive that defeated a sturdy Addison Trail team 14-7 to kick off the 2018 football season.

After the Blazers put up the tying touchdown on a 3-yard run by senior running back J'Lan Williams, Frederick ran the ball five times in a 9-play drive that culminated in a 9-yard end-zone dash with 27.8 seconds left that set the final score.

"The last run, I saw the great blocks, saw the hole and I just had to hit it," said Frederick, who led the Cougars with 80 yards rushing on 13 carries. "(The win) is just setting a statement for the rest of the season. I mean, people think we're not going to do too much because of last year, but we're showing them what we're here to do."

Senior quarterback Kevin Polaski, who himself rushed for 22 yards on 5 carries and threw for another 55 yards, agreed.

"We've just come out with a whole different mindset," Polaski said. "We're talking about winning one game last year and this year, we're talking about going so much further. We won't take losing for an answer."

But the victory didn't come without plenty of drama, much of it generated by Williams, who rushed for 123 yards on 25 carries, 7 of which came on the Blazers' game-tying drive. His 3-yard plunge with 2:57 left, along with junior kicker Gonzalo Reyes' extra point, tied the contest at 7-7. Suddenly, it looked as if Addison Trail might just have a miracle in its back pocket.

Frederick and Polaski quashed that, however, with Conant's ensuing 9-play drive that covered 67 yards. But that didn't deter Williams, who showed flashes of speed and toughness after not having played last year.

"A loss is a loss, but I want to help my team out and do better for me and for my team," he said. "When I scored that touchdown it made me think, this game's not over, we have another chance to go. It was crazy."

Addison Trail coach Paul Parpet Jr. had plenty of nice things to say about Williams postgame.

"Hey, I'll tell you what, it's nice to have J'Lan back. He was not with us last year as a junior, so it's nice to have him back, and he ran the ball hard," Parpet said. "He ran like a man possessed."

Polaski got the scoring going early with a 45-yard touchdown pass to senior Luke Vanbooven with 1:19 left in the first quarter. Then the teams teeter-tottered back and forth defensively until the late in the fourth quarter, when the Cougars finally pulled ahead for good.

"It's always great to get off on a good foot, but I think our kids realize from last year, winning the first week is great for the confidence, but it's not the end of the season," Conant coach Bryan Stoltz said. "It's just a step you've got to take and continue to get better."