Warren storms on to War Memorial Field before its homecoming game against Girard two weeks ago. File photo by Mark Evans

At 0-7, the goal for Warren’s football team of nearly all underclassmen is to show growth week in and week out.

“It’s a unique opportunity to play some Saturday night football in Warren, Pa.,” head coach Cody Bupp said of today’s 7 p.m. game against Region 6 4A Oil City at War Memorial Field.

At 3-4 overall, the Oilers no longer have the District 10’s all-time leading high school rusher in Ethen Knox, who had six touchdowns on just 11 carries in Oil City’s 76-0 victory over Warren a season ago.

They do have a 1,000-yard passer in junior quarterback Cole Findlay, who has thrown 11 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions on the season. Seniors De’Vaughn Griffin and Gavin Stephens have combined for 45 of Findlay’s 53 completions, including 10 touchdowns. Griffin leads with 574 receiving yards and 68 of Oilers City’s 737 rushing yards over seven games.

Junior Steven Heise leads in rushing yards (248) and attempts (45).

“They have size up front, experience, and still open up holes for whoever is carrying the ball,” said Bupp. “They mix in the pass more than we’ve seen in the last couple years. They have a big roster and rotate lots of faces.”

A week after Warren led Girard at halftime — before falling 21-7, the Dragons lost 48-6 to unbeaten-in-region General McLane. Warren has had six days to prepare for visiting Oil City (7-1 against Warren since 2016).

“We are looking to take steps from last week, and need to play four quarters of assignment football,” said Bupp. “We challenged the kids this week to play all three phases for 48 minutes. We have to answer the call physically. This is another region matchup that we need to show growth in. We are looking at some of the guys that need to make the jump. It comes down to being consistent and bringing it every play now.”