INLAND FIELDHOUSE

Take a closer look at San Bernardino Cajon senior Freddy Fletcher and you’ll see one of the quickest in-between-the-tackles runners in the Inland Area.

Fletcher is a darting scatback who finds ways to move the chains and get extra yardage, and he was electric again as the Cowboys (6-0 overall, 1-0 Citrus Belt League) defeated Redlands Citrus Valley for the eighth consecutive time in eight tries.

The 5-foot-6 Fletcher gained a season-high 188 yards on a career-high 31 carries and had two receptions for 20 yards to give him more than 200 total yards from scrimmage for the second time this season.

Fletcher is currently 33rd in CIF-Southern Section with 708 rushing yards, ranks 36th with 10 rushing touchdowns and just outside the top-50 in yards per game (101.1).

We caught up with him after Cajon’s 31-21 victory over Citrus Valley. He currently is third among area backs with 130 carries, trailing only Yucaipa’s Emmanuel Barajas (178) and Heritage’s Angelo Serena (134).

InlandFieldhouse.com: You carried the rock a ton tonight. How you feel right now?
Freddy Fletcher: “I feel like we had a great team win tonight. We played as a unit. We played as a moving train. A train can’t be stopped. There’s still things we need to pick up on, and little tweaks we need to make, but overall we had a great game.”

IF: Turnovers were big in this game. You had a fumble that went for a touchback. What’s the key to holding on to the ball as a team?
FF: “We just need to limit the turnovers (and) know our jobs a little more. Sometimes it can be a little confusing on the field for younger players, but we drove, we scored and there were a couple of time we should’ve scored but hey, we just have to capitalize. If we did the score would be much different than what it is.”

IF: Does the up-tempo offense play into the mistakes?
FF: “We’re in a high-tempo offense and there could be multiple complications. And sometimes even being a little fatigued could make you have mistakes so for sure we’re going to get in some more conditioning. We’re going to be running after practice and putting in more work than we been doing.”

IF: You ran out of Wildcat formations in the second half. What do like about running that offense?
FF: “I feel great running the Wildcat. I believe in my O-line. I believe they’re going to protect me. I believe they’re going to open holes for me. It’s a way for us to show the defense a little something different besides our two wings and our spread.”

IF: Tell us something about sophomore QB Martinez Miles?
FF: “Martinez… he’s a young guy. He’s great but he’s a little inexperienced because he’s young but overall he’s a great player. By the time he gets to his senior year he’s going to be be balling out and damn near unstoppable.”