The Fredonia Yellowjackets opened the 2026 season Friday night with a 36-16 loss to Cherryvale, giving head coach Lucus Lanning his first game at the helm against his former team.
Lanning served as an assistant for Cherryvale in 2025 before taking over as Fredonia’s head coach this season, giving him a unique matchup in his head-coaching debut.
The Yellowjackets fell behind early after Cherryvale opened with a touchdown drive, while a combination of turnovers and penalties hurt Fredonia in the first half. After spending the offseason learning a new playbook, Lanning says he liked how well his players grasped the majority of the offense once they finally got to put the new schemes into action.
Lanning also highlighted two players who had strong games on both sides of the ball and says conditioning will be important as Fredonia’s players take on heavy workloads while playing both ways.
The Yellowjackets will face Caney Valley this Friday, with the Bullpups coming off a 58-0 win over Eureka. Lanning will look for his first win as Fredonia’s head coach on the road against another tough opponent.
