Published on 10/19/2005

By PETE TOBEY
tobey@poststar.com

GLENS FALLS -- The play looked routine until Jimmer Fredette touched the football.

It was a simple out pattern on third-and-10, and Fredette was running his route with his long, loping stride.

Glens Falls quarterback Denny Wilhelm fired a pass to Fredette, who reeled in the ball near midfield, slipped a tackle and sprinted away to a 67-yard touchdown against Queensbury -- a swift answer to the Spartans' opening score.

It's something Fredette has done again and again this season -- make big plays for the Indians, who are 5-2 and riding a five-game winning streak into Friday night's Class A quarterfinal against Bishop Maginn at East Field.

"I'm there to help my team out with the big play if I can," said Fredette, a junior who plays at receiver and outside linebacker for the Indians. "Our coaches had some good drawn-up plays, and our offensive line gives (Wilhelm) enough time to throw. I'm just in the right place at the right time."

"We're always thinking of ways to get him the ball in the open field," Glens Falls head coach Pat Lilac said. "The thing is, he doesn't look like he's running that fast, but he keeps going by people."

Better known as a key member of Glens Falls' boys basketball team, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Fredette emerged this season as one of the most important weapons for the Indians' football team -- on offense, defense and special teams.

Even with playmakers like Wilhelm, Alec Conover and Matt Salem dotting the roster, Fredette has often been the focal point of the Indians' big plays -- even when he's being used as a decoy, by bringing two defenders with him.

"He works so hard in the off-season. He totally transformed his body," Lilac said. "Two years ago, we would have considered his foot speed a liability. Now he's the fastest kid on the team. He's unbelievably competitive, but the best thing about him is with all the success he's had in sports, he's the most unassuming and level-headed kid you'll meet. He's an easy kid to cheer for."

Fredette has scored 12 touchdowns for the Indians this season, seven on plays of 40 yards or more.

"The first two weeks, he had to play fullback, but he didn't get the ball to operate in space," Lilac said. "When Matt Salem came back, we were able to move him back outside."

Even at fullback, Fredette was a threat. He scored the Indians' first three touchdowns of the season.

Over the next few games, he became a home-run threat. A 68-yard reception to set up a TD against Mohonasen. The big scores against Queensbury. Three more against South Glens Falls, including a 45-yard fumble return. Then he had a huge night against Amsterdam -- three touchdowns and more than 300 all-purpose yards in a 33-27 victory.

Against Gloversville on Friday night, Fredette seemed to finally be kept under wraps. He still had 52 receiving yards, but not all at once -- it took five catches. He was double-teamed at wideout, so he was moved to tight end to block for Wilhelm on the option. The double coverage on Fredette forced Gloversville to go man-to-man on Conover, who had a huge game.

"I'm helping the team whether I'm getting yards or not," Fredette said.

He ended up making the second-biggest play of the game. After Conover made the biggest -- a leaping catch at the Gloversville 1-yard line on fourth-and-20 to set up the tying touchdown -- Fredette caught the go-ahead two-point conversion with 44 seconds to play.

"It's definitely comforting to know that I can pretty much put the ball in a big area and he'll catch it," Wilhelm said. "I'm never worried about throwing to him. The two games Alec and Nick (Hildreth) missed, he was my big target. He's our main guy on offense."

"His future's in basketball, but there's no doubt he could play football at a high level, with his speed and size," Lilac said.