Preview: 0-1 Defiance at 1-0 VW Cougars

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

After trailing 7-6 to Elida in the first quarter of the season opener, Van Wert scored five unanswered touchdowns to take a commanding 41-6 halftime lead, then went on to defeat the Bulldogs 55-20.

Now, the Cougars (1-0) hope to keep the momentum going into this Friday’s game against Defiance (0-1), while the Bulldogs from Defiance County are hoping to shake off a 48-13 loss to Ottawa-Glandorf.

Looking back, Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said he was pleased with a couple of different areas.

“I thought our defensive line really did a good job of fighting off blocks and taking care of the inside run,” Recker said. “I also thought our receivers did a great job of getting yards after they caught the ball. Dru Johnson (three receptions, 44 yards) stands out on a screen we threw and he was violent in his refusal to go the ground. I love seeing that type of effort on a given play.”

Still, Recker said he wants more consistency in one particular area – the offensive line. While he threw for 234 yards and five touchdowns, Owen Treece was under pressure on multiple occasions. As a team, the Cougars rushed for 113 yards, with 50 of those yards coming on a first quarter touchdown run by Nate Jackson.

“We have five guys who are all vying for time at our two offensive tackle spots,” Recker explained. “While it is good to have competition at the spots, it would be good for two guys to really step up and take the position. We also have three guys playing both ways on the offensive and defensive line and need to make sure we have a good rotation that helps keep them as fresh as possible, but also gives us consistency from drive to drive on offense and defense.”

Meanwhile, Defiance head coach Kevin Kline admitted the start to the 2020 season wasn’t the one he had hoped for. The Bulldogs trailed 10-0 after the first quarter, 31-0 at halftime and 38-0 in the third quarter. There were a couple of bright spots – Drew Davis completed 6-of-12 passes for 135 yards, Drew Kellermyer had three receptions for 104 yards, and Jaiden Haynes had a 67-yard touchdown run.

“There is a lot of room for improvement and I believe that our kids and our coaches will work hard this week to fix things that we are not doing well,” Kline said. “We did have a couple of flashes of what we are capable of doing but we lacked the consistency needed to establish anything. We will need to find that consistency this week to compete with Van Wert.”

“The focus this week is getting better,” Kline added. “We have to clean-up our execution. We had five turnovers and that cannot continue to happen if we expect to win.”

While Defiance struggled in the season opener, Recker noted he has several concerns about the Bulldogs.

“Defensively they have have a decent mix of size and strength in their front seven,” Recker said. “They have a defensive tackle who weighs 305, and we we struggled with Crestview’s size in the scrimmage. Offensively they run so many formations and motions that it forces us to be very simple and sound in our game plan. We have to do a great job of keeping receives in front of us so to not give up big plays.”

After seeing Van Wert on film, Kline expressed concern about slowing the Cougars offensively and defensively.

“Van Wert continues to impress me,” Kline said. “Their offense is explosive and Treece looks great running the show. They hit you with a lot of ways to move the ball and they are able to capitalize on mistakes with big plays. Defensively, they attack and they get a lot of bodies to the football. This is a very good Cougar team.”

Van Wert has won five of the previous six games against Defiance, including 32-7 last season.

Friday’s Defiance at Van Wert game will air live on WERT 1220AM/104.3FM.