VAN WERT – It is no secret that Van Wert’s Owen Treece is a major component to the Cougars’ success this year.
The senior signal caller is a dual threat quarterback that has rushed for more than 719 yards and 14 touchdowns and passed for 2,183 yards and 26 touchdowns.
But as great as Treece is both as a player and team leader he is just one cog in the Cougar team that is ready to face state ranked Bellevue in the Division VI regional semifinal Saturday night.
Van Wert head coach Keith Recker remembers the first time he met Owen Treece and said he knew he was special even back at 9-years-old.
“When I got here in 2012 I got a chance to meet him and his parents and he was a young kid then but even at that time and he was 9 or 10 and he knew that he wanted to be the quarterback for the Cougars,” Recker said. “Every day he worked towards that and finally got his chance last year and showed what he is capable of.
“He is just such a good competitor both during games and during practices and during the off season. He competes in everything he does. He is a winner in football, baseball and basketball and the biggest thing is he just gives our team so much confidence back there where he can make plays and keep plays alive and just get us going when we need it.”
The Treece effect has been a season-long thing after the Cougars went 5-1 during Western Buckeye League play with the lone 35-34 loss coming to Ottawa-Glandorf, another team still alive in the playoffs.
In the playoffs, the Cougars won their first game, 46-20, over Port Clinton and then followed it up with a 38-27 victory over Keystone. In the game against Keystone, Treece rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns and was 21 of 29 for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
And while Treece was impressive he had plenty of help from his teammates on both sides of the ball.
“We have about three classes that have come together and it sounds kind of cliche to say but they have put in the work,” Recker said. “The guys aren’t afraid to stay after practice. You see like a Connor Pratt who is a receiver and corner for us stay after practice and do some extra ladder drills.”
Along with Dru Johnson, who has 37 receptions for 859 yards and 12 touchdowns and is averaging 23.2 yards a catch, Pratt is one of the team’s leading receiver with 36 catches for 719 yards and one touchdown.
“I think we have a group like that pushes each other,” Recker said. “There have been years here where our best players have not been our hardest workers and we weren’t very good as a team and that hasn’t been true for the last few years, especially true this year. Our hardest players are hardest workers.”
Perhaps having to put in some extra hard work was the unsung heroes in the trenches. Recker admits coming into the season, there were some question marks on both the offensive and defensive lines, but the Cougar head coach said the big boys up front have developed as the year has gone along.
“That was a group that was very unknown heading into the season and one or two games in we were still trying to figure out what the best lineup is and not only the best lineup but the best position was and we were kind of shuffling around.”
Recker added that once they settled in they have really improved from week to week and it continues even to last week where he points out that the line was picking up blitzes that the team had not even worked on and it showed that not only can they can communicate but understand the scheme well enough to make those adjustments.
On the other side of the ball the same holds true. Coming into the season the Cougars had to replace Keegan Hammons, an two-time all-WBL performer .
Calling the defensive line one of the team’s strong points, Recker added that two returners, Turner Witten and Cullen Dunn, were joined by Aiden Pratt and Ty Jackson at the defensive end positions to manufacture a formidable front four.
“They have played well against St. Marys in the season and in the playoffs against Port Clinton and Keystone which are two very good running teams. We were able to own our own against them.”
Backing them up is the same skill players, Trey Laudick Treece, Johnson and Pratt making up the secondary to round out the defense.
“There isn’t one guy that stand’s out on defense but they know there responsibilities and they do it to make sure we are as sound as we can be defensively,” Recker added.
The defense, especially the line, will have its hand’s full when they face a Bellevue team that is coming off a 56-13 over Kenton. Like Van Wert, Bellevue relies heavily on their quarterback.
As an assistant coach at Oak Harbor, Recker said he remembers scrimmaging against Bellevue and their style of play which was a wing-T offense that has evolved with the same principles of misdirection and confusion.
“Their offensive line is athletic,” Recker said. “They move their feet well and then they just get so many guys at the point of attack. They check their plays so you just can’t overload on side or the other and they can go both ways which way they are running ball. Their quarterback is the main threat. He is a very smooth runner who is deceptive with his speed.”
Bellevue quarterback Keegan Ray, prior to the Kenton game, had rushed for 966 yards and 12 touchdowns and passed for 1,030 yards. In their first playoff game against Galion the Redmen quarterback ran 35 times for 216 yards. Against Kenton, Ray rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries and passed for 95 yards and two scores.
As a team they rushed for 406 yards on the ground.
Recker said for the team to be successful the defense will have to limit the yards by their quarterback and try to limit the big plays while at the same time have their own big plays.
“We will have our hand’s full against them but hopefully our guys are up to the challenge and they were up to it last week when a kid the previous week had 300 yards we held them to just under 100 so they are up for the challenge.”
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