Dragons, Knights looking for bounce back wins
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The high school football season rolls on Friday, with Eisenhower at home for a Region 3 contest against unbeaten Seneca, Warren traveling to Fairview for a non-region contest and Sheffiled hosting Otto-Eldred on Saturday on Wolverine Mountain.
The Dragons and Knights are both looking for their second wins, while the Wolverines are still seeking their first.
Here's a look at each game.
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WARREN (1-4 Overall) at
FAIRVIEW (2-3 Overall)
The Dragons felt like they let an opportunity slip through their hands against DuBois last week, and they look to make amends on Friday against Fairview.
The Tigers two wins this season have come against Titusville and Girard, who are a combined 0-10.
Nevertheless, they will present a big challenge, most notably their running game.
Chris Mohra leads the team with 617 yards on the ground (6.0 yards per carry), while quarterback Mason Bender has 245 yards on the ground and 281 through the air.
"I think it comes down to how we approach the game and decide if we want to play physical football in the trenches," Warren coach Mark Morelli said of stopping the Tigers' rushing attack. "We played better up front against Meadville then what we did last week vs. DuBois. Not only do we have to slow down Chris Mohra but the QB Mason Bender is pretty elusive as well. Our linebackers have to play much better as well."
The injury bug has bitten the Dragons, as it does to most teams this time of year. As such, there are a few starters that are either questionable or won't suit up tonight. But that's just life in football, according to Morelli.
"Everyone has injuries this time of season," he said. "We are fortunate to have 60 players, our younger kids are starting see an increase in playing time, so they are gaining valuable experience. We also have players on our team such as Ryan Munksgard who have adjusted to the culture change, have become unselfish for the good of the team and will play wherever we need them. That makes things so much easier."
Warren's offense has put up good rushing numbers, led by Noah Myers (645 yards, 7.5 ypc) and Marvin Bryant (350 yards, 7.4 ypc).
DuBois bottled up the Dragons' running game, but quarterback Jake Kupchella (41-of-85, 593 yards, 6 touchdowns, 3 interceptions), as well as receivers Kohl Nosel (11 receptions, 20.3 ypc, 3 touchdowns) and Ryan Arnold (12 receptions, 14.3 ypc) found some success through the air.
That figures to continue with the return of junior Devin McMeans, who makes his season debut after missing the first five games due to an injury sustained at the Corry 7-on-7 tournament in late July.
"Devin and Andrew Egger were our two leaders in the weight room, they never missed a workout and lead by example," Morelli said. "You could not keep him down even with his injury, Devin was running his patterns and catching passes during his rehab. He is going to be a big lift for our offense because he has the best hands on the team and is a smart, heady player."
He also knows that the success starts up front, where the Dragons have had both good and bad moments this season.
"When we play well up front, we played well - it all starts with those five guys," Morelli said. "It's something we have preached and preached all season long. They know they are the engine that makes our running game go."
That being said, what will be the key to the Dragons picking up their second win of the season?
"Two things have to happen - we need to see improvement from our special teams, we totally revamped two of our teams, we want players who will hustle hit, and catch the ball, not take plays off. Two, our defensive effort has to be like we had against DuBois in the first half last week, for the entire game," Morelli said. "We pitched a shutout in the first half then got gutted in the second half. We have to find a way to seal the deal in these close games going into the fourth quarter. That comes with raising up the intensity level and playing with some urgency."
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SENECA (5-0, 2-0 Region 3) at EISENHOWER (1-4, 1-2)
Through five games this season, Eisenhower has seen a combined 66 pass attempts. More than 1/3 (23) have been thrown by Knights quarterback Spencer Head.
The Knights' defense is defending an average of less than 10 passes per game.
That should change tonight when Eisenhower (1-4, 1-2 Region 3) welcomes Region 3 leader Seneca (5-0, 2-0) to the Pasture of Pain.
Bobcats quarterback Joe Scarabino is throwing 20 passes per game and is completing them at a 60 percent rate. Through five games, the senior has 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns against just two interceptions. Even if the Knights are able to stifle the air attack, Scarabino can burn them on the ground as he's rushed 72 times for 422 yards and 10 touchdowns.
"We're trying to do some of the things we did last year," Eisenhower coach Jim Penley said.
"We were really effective against him. We held him under 100 yards passing. We've just got to play sound defense."
Indeed, the Eisenhower defense stepped up a season ago, as Scarabino was held to 9-11 passing for 93 yards and an interception with 13 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in a 28-21 comeback win for the Knights.
"We had a really strong d-line game," Penley said. "Justin Hagberg had a good game. He had a number of tackles and tackles for loss."
Penley said he's trying to pattern what the Knights did in 2016 for 2017, but three key contributors (Hagberg, Jonah Samuelson and Joey Bauer) were all banged up in last week's loss to Iroquois. Penley said all three will play this week, though Hagberg may not be able to play both offense and defense.
Offensively, the Knights will continue using the ground attack to open the occasional play-action pass. Jaydon Hayes comes into the week averaging seven yards per carry and approaching 500 rushing yards for the season (472) with four touchdowns. He's also the team's leading receiver with seven grabs for 153 yards. Jonah Samuelson has been a nice compliment to Hayes with 32 carries for 311 yards and three touchdowns and Ethan Chambers has ground out the tough yards up the middle, turning 38 attempts into 132 yards and three scores.
"We just want to keep playing the way we do," Penley said. "We want to focus on those plays we've done well."
The Knights know they have a chance to shake up Region 3 with a second straight upset of the Bobcats.
"I told the guys (Thursday) this was a great opportunity," Penley said. "Every game is a great opportunity, but games against high-caliber opponents bring a great opportunity and a great challenge."
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OTTO-ELDRED (2-3, 1-0 AML North) at SHEFFIELD (0-5, 0-1)
Coming into the season, Sheffield coach Dave Fitch hoped his team would be able to avenge a pair of Allegany Mountain League North Division losses decided by fourth-and-inches plays the Wolverines were unable to convert.
Last week, Sheffield (0-5, 0-1 AML North) had its first opportunity to do so against Coudersport (2-3, 1-0). The Falcons instead put on a rushing clinic, running 57 times for 331 yards, on their way to a 44-13 win.
This week, the Wolverines host Otto-Eldred. The Terrors are coming off a 45-6 drubbing of Port Allegany. Quarterback Sawyer Drummond threw for 299 yards and five touchdowns in the rout. His favorite targets were Cameron Magee (7 receptions, 150 yards) and Dylan Close (six catches for 136 yards) as both hauled in two touchdown grabs.
"Drummond likes to throw deep," Fitch said. "They like the big play availability and we have to know where (Magee) and (Close) are at all times."
Fitch is hoping having a few players return this week can spark a Wolverine offense that has struggled to score in recent weeks. Getting running back Kevin Evans more than a handful of touches will allow Josh Agudio to move back to his natural receiver position. Elmont Legget will line up opposite Agudio in his return from injury. Fitch said the speed he provides will pull defenders out of the box, opening the running game.
"We have to get our running game going," Fitch said. "We haven't been healthy on the outside and teams know we don't have deep pass threats."
Getting the running game going will also keep Drummond off the field. Fitch is familiar with the third year starter and knows he's a threat.
"We've gone against Drummond the last two years and we've shut them down a bit," Fitch said. "He's a good quarterback, one of the better ones we've seen all year. We need to get pressure on him."
The Wolverines will need to limit big plays if they want to shut him down for a third time.
"They've not been methodical when driving," Fitch said. "We've got to avoid the big plays. When they have to drive, they tend to make mistakes."