Vince Ahearn wasn't three sentences into his postgame remarks to his team Friday night before he interrupted himself."Hey, check that out," the Frederick football coach said, pointing back toward his team's sideline where a group of cheerleaders and fans had unfurled a banner declaring the Cadets the 2007 MVAL Piedmont Division champions.
Frederick had just earned the honor for the first time since 2004, making enough good plays among all the bad to turn back North Hagerstown, 18-10.
"The 2004 team is all everybody's been talking about, trying to compare us with them," said senior running back Kevin Fisher, who ran for a 125 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
"It's all about 2007 for us right now. We earned it."
The Cadets raised their record to 8-1, but will have plenty to clean up before next Saturday's home showdown with Thomas Johnson.
They were penalized 10 times for 80 yards and turned the ball over four times.
Quarterback Andre April played the worst game of his superb senior season, completing just 3 of 14 passes and committing three turnovers.
But, April was sharp in key moments, helping Frederick answer a pair North Hagerstown scoring drives in the second half.
After Chase Worthington sliced the Cadets' lead to 6-3 with a 39-yard field goal, April needed four plays to increase the advantage.
On a first down from the Cadets' 47, April took the snap in the shotgun and raced around the right side of his line.
The play was blocked perfectly and April took off down the sideline for a 53-yard touchdown with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
Then, after the Hubs pulled within 12-10 on a 33-yard pass from Bryan Calendine to Mike McMillan, April went back to work.
On third-and-10 from the Frederick 44, he found Hank Adams over the middle for a 31-yard strike. It was his only completion of the second half.
"That was a big play," Ahearn said.
Josh Jackson capped the nine-play drive with a 6-yard run, extending the Cadets lead to 18-10 after the two-point conversion failed with 6:34 to go.
North Hagerstown drove to the Frederick 34 on the ensuing drive before turning the ball over on downs.
But April gave the Hubs one last gasp when he lost a fumble on an option pitch with 1:20 to go.
The Frederick defense rose to the occasion, sacking Calendine twice for minus-12 yards and forcing a pair of incompletions.
The Hubs' three-game winning streak was over.
"The defense has been doing it week in and week out, allowing us to make mistakes," Ahearn said. "The defense has really kept us in games."
