Badin vs. Fredericktown
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Friday, August 21, 2009
Training Camp Insider: Northeastern
Northeastern has had only two losing seasons in the last 10, and maybe that’s one reason coach Scott Rolf is so optimistic heading into the 2009 campaign.
He and the Jets know that last year’s 2-8 finish was more an aberration than a trend. While the program hasn’t won the OHC title or made the playoffs since 2003, it had gone 20-20 from 2004-07 before last season.
Rolf, entering his fourth season, hopes the returning players learned how to deal with adversity last year. The Jets dealt with numerous injuries in 2008.
Rolf also sees hope in the that the JV team has gone 15-5 the last two seasons, including 8-2 last year when it lost two games by one score each. Many of those players will be playing varsity year.
If the Jets improve this year, it might be because of their defense.
“We’re going to run a 3-5-3 this year,” Rolf said. “We ran that a couple years ago against Mechanicsburg and won a big game. Two years ago, we ran that defense primarily. So we’re going to go back to that, and we’re going to use that as more of a base defense. We’ll still have 4-3 look at times, but we’re going to have that 3-5-3 a little more.”
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Football preview: WLS has a stingy defense
It’s going to be hard to top what West Liberty-Salem did on defense in 2008 — 47 points allowed in the regular season was by far the lowest in the area.
That defense was reason the Tigers went 9-2 and advanced to the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.
Returning for 2009 includes leading rusher Zac Culley (951 yards, 10 TDs) and receiver Austin Wilson (450 yards, 4 TDs).
On defense, top tackler Collin Link is back with his 114 tackles (56 solo). Jake Anderson had three interceptions.
WLS head coach Toby Smith said he’s pleased with the team’s progress, but they are thin at certain positions. Staying healthy will be an important part of the Tigers’ success.
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Wagner earns starting nod at Akron
Catholic Central High School graduate Brian Wagner will be getting his first taste of Division I college football this fall.
Wagner, the 2007 Division VI defensive player of the year in Ohio, has earned a starting spot at linebacker at Akron University, according to Tom Gaffney of the Akron Beacon Journal:
Brian Wagner spent the 2008 football season observing Kevin Grant and apparently will spend the 2009 season replacing him. Wagner, a redshirt freshman at the University of Akron, has earned a starting spot at middle linebacker, a position that Grant held with distinction for four years. ”It’s exciting to follow him. It would be an honor to play as well as he did,” Wagner said. ”I want to work hard the rest of camp and hopefully do well this year myself.”
The Zips open the season at Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Noon. The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Catholic Central High School, College Football, Mid-American Conference
Football preview: Northwestern has a new direction
Brian Stevens wants to run the football. Northwestern’s new head football coach has made no secret that the Warriors’ success, with Stevens guiding the team, will be through a ground game.
That, and strong defense and good special teams. Easier said than done, but Stevens has been a part of this kind of turnaround before. The plan sounds a lot like the reinvention at Greenon, where Stevens was a successful assistant.
Northwestern’s changes will be most felt on the offense. The Warriors ran a spread formation in the past seasons, but now will have to learn how to run block instead of pass block.
The Warriors will run the same 3-5 defense as years past, but with some twists brought in by Stevens. Northwestern finished 1-9 in 2008, scored an area-low 79 points and allowed 271.
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