The rivalry.
The streak.
The Western Buckeye League title.
The tradition.
The coaches.
These are all big factors in the upcoming clash between Wapakoneta (8-0, 7-0) and St. Marys (8-0, 7-0) this Friday, but for the two coaches it is week nine on the schedule and Roughrider head coach Doug Frye and Redskin head coach Travis Moyer are treating this as the next game up.
That is not to say they do not understand the magnitude of the game.
“This is an important game for both communities,” Moyer said. “We respect and recognize and appreciate the history of the game. It is a game where we’ve had grandfathers, fathers and now their kids who have played in this game in terms of generation after generation and it makes this game special.“We understand that this is step number eight towards goal number one of getting the WBL championship for us.”
Frye expressed the same sentiment.
“This is our biggest challenge of the year,” Frye said. “We understand what is at stake. They are a very well coached team that executes well and is a confident team.” They have a number of weapons and are similar to our football team.”
As Frye points out both teams are similar in that they rely on the run but will also pass when they can or need to and not miss a beat.
It is no surprise the two teams are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Western Buckeye League in team rushing. St. Marys comes in averaging an impressive 353 yards per game and Wapakoneta is averaging almost 100 yards less at 256.3 yards a game.
“I am excited about the progress,” Frye said. “Our number one goal is improve and get better. One area that has really helped us is we have stayed healthy. That wasn’t the case last year. We are trying to get better each week.”
St. Marys’ Eric Spicer is the league leader in rushing with 968 yards and 11 touchdowns and Wapakoneta’s Landon Hall is third in the league with 893 yards and nine trips to the end zone.
“From an offensive stand point they are a physical, run football team.,” Moyer said. “They are physical at the point of attack. The line of scrimmage is going to be real important in this football game. We are going to have to do a good job on first and second down and get off the field after third down.”
While the Roughriders appear to have the advantage in the running game, Wapakoneta has done slightly better in the passing department. The Redskins are eighth in the league in passing, averaging 100.8 yards a game and St. Marys is ninth, averaging just 53.3 yards per game.
However, against Celina last week, Roughrider signal caller Dustin Howell was 11 of 14 for 79 yards and although the St. Marys aerial attack is no Kenton, it remains a weapon. For the year, Howell is 33 of 53 for 422 yards and 6 touchdowns.
“We really hang our hat on the run like Kenton does with the pass but we use the pass to change things up,” Frye said. “We haven’t asked a lot of Dustin as far as the passing game but he can be a factor.”
The same holds true for Wapakoneta’s passing attack. While it may not strike fears in the heart of its opponent, teams cannot just focus on the running game or they might get burned by Redskin quarterback Manny Vorhees who has thrown for 806 yards and four touchdowns.
On the defensive side, St. Marys is tops in the league in team rushing defense, allowing teams just 74.8 yards a game. The Redskins come in third in the league, allowing 139.1 yards per game.
“Defensively, they are an attacking type of defense and they are very physical,” Moyer said. “They do a great job of tackling and getting to the football and when we have an opportunity to make a big play we have to take advantage of that.”
Frye credits his offensive coordinator and the coaching staff for the way the defense has played
With the two teams pretty much evenly matched, the two coaches agree it will come down to execution, turnovers and desire.
“I think it is the same agenda that we all must have and it will come down to field position and the plus/minus turnover and both teams have done a good job of that this year.”
Moyer also said on the flip side the Redskin defense needs to create turnovers and hopefully get some short fields for the offense.
In the rest of the Western Buckeye League, Elida (5-3, 4-3) travels to Ottawa-Glandorf (7-1, 6-1). The Bulldogs are coming off a big win over Kenton and the Titans are coming off their first loss of the season. Kenton (3-5, 3-4) travels to Bath (3-5, 2-5) who also picked up a thrilling win over Shawnee last week. The Indians will head to Celina (4-4, 4-3).
Northwest Conference
With Ada a game out of first, the Bulldogs will try to hand Delphos Jefferson its first NWC loss and remain in the hunt for a share of the league title. Ada is coming off a big 38-14 win over Bluffton. The Wildcats are coming off a hard fought win over Crestview, 20-12. Spencerville (7-1, 5-0 ) will try to avoid the pitfall of a trap game when it plays host to Allen East (6-2, 3-2). The Mustangs defeated Columbus Grove 41-7 last week. Columbus Grove (2-6, 0-5) will seek to capture its first league game when it faces Paulding (1-7, 0-5) that is also looking to notch its first league victory. Bluffton (3-5, 1-4) will travel to Crestview (2-3, 5-3)
Northwest Central Conference
With a 64—20 win over Hardin Northern and a 20-0 Sidney Lehman loss to Fort Loramie, Upper Scioto Valley (5-3, 4-1) finds itself in a three-way tie with Lehman and Fort Loramie. Upper Scioto Valley and Fort Loramie (4-4, 4-1) square off this week to see who remains in the hunt for the NWCC title. The Rams are also fighting for a playoff spot. USV is 10th in their region. In other games, Hardin Northern (2-6, 2-3) will face Perry (3-5, 2-3) and Ridgemont (3-5, 1-4) battles Lehman Catholic. Waynesfield-Goshen (0-8, 0-5) will play host to Riverside.
Lima Senior (5-3, 3-2)
The Spartans’ hopes for a league title and a berth in the playoffs took a big hit after Lima Senior fell to Toledo St. John’s, 42-35. Despite 434 yards of total offense, the Spartans defense gave up 427 yards in the loss. This week, Lima Senior battles Oregon Clay (2-6, 1-3) at home. Clay is coming off a 20-13 win over Fremont Ross. Currently, the Spartans are 11th in Division II, Region 8.
Lima Central Catholic (2-6)
The T-Birds collected their second win of the season Friday with a convincing 52-6 win over Bluffton, Indiana. LCC will try to keep its winning ways going when they battle state ranked Bishop Hartley (6-2) Saturday. Bishop Hartley is ranked eighth in Division IV and the Hawks are coming off a 42-7 win over Bishop Watterson, 42-7.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
