Preview: 3-1 Roughriders at 3-1 Cougars

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Call it what you want – night and day, old school vs. modern or any other clinche – it will apply Friday night at Eggerss Stadium when No. 11 Van Wert (3-1, 2-1 WBL) hosts St. Marys Memorial (3-1, 2-1 WBL) in a must-win Western Buckeye League game for both teams.

Both teams suffered a league loss to Wapakoneta, with St. Marys Memorial falling 29-22 in overtime in Week No. 3, followed by Van Wert’s stunning 20-19 loss in Week No. 4. Those losses mean the two teams no longer control their own destiny in the WBL title chase and an ‘L’ on Friday night will almost certainly eliminate the loser from the race.

“I hope this provides us with a great sense of urgency,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. “There are plenty of things that happened during the game that our entire team, myself especially, can learn from and get better from as we move forward. The thing we need to do is stick together and continue to try to be our best every day. If we do that then our team will be fine.”

“The WBL is shaping up to be, at least at the top, about what we thought,” he added. “We knew Wapak and St. Marys would be good and they have proven to be so thus far. We knew we’d be right at the top as well and we need to continue to focus on challenging ourselves to be our best.”

The two teams couldn’t be more opposite on offense. The Cougars rely on a passing game that averages 291 yards per game, while the Roughriders employ a old-style rushing attack that churns out 290 yards per game on the ground.

“Although we are still a work in progress, I like a lot about our football team,” St. Marys Memorial head coach Bo Frye said. “We have 20 seniors that come to work every day and are very physical. They love football and want to win. We’re starting to consistently block, tackle, and hold onto the football. When we do that, we are a pretty good football team.”

Roughrider quarterback Cody Wallace has thrown just 18 passes through four games but has completed 12 for 237 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

However, St. Marys Memorial features a stable of running backs, including Aiden Hinkle (63-379, seven touchdowns), Brayden Sullivan (48-225, two touchdowns), Colton Mabry (31-243) and Keagan Sharpe (25-210, three touchdowns), while the Cougars have mainly used two runners this season, Brylen Parker (37-171, six touchdowns) and Pratt (34-167, one touchdown).

“Anytime you play St. Marys the obvious thing that sticks out is how patient yet aggressive they are on offense,” Recker said. “They are going to be very physical and try to run the ball right down the field, chewing up the clock and not allowing our offense on the field. We need to find ways to create negative plays for them, putting them in second or third and long situations.”

Van Wert quarterback Aidan Pratt enters the game having completed 80-of-110 passes for 1,118 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Garett Gunter has snagged 25 of those passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns, while Maddix Crutchfield has 22 receptions for 360 yards and five touchdowns.

“Coach Recker has done a very good job of building a consistent winner at Van Wert,” Frye said. “That is a testament to him and his staff. We have a lot of respect. They are very skilled. It all starts with Pratt at quarterback. He can throw it all over the stadium.”

“Their line protects him very well and his receivers do a great job catching and blocking, Frye added. “They’re the real deal. Defensively they tackle extremely well and fly to the football. They are extremely well coached.”

When the two teams met in 2021, St. Marys Memorial rushed for 283 yards and handed the Cougars their only regular season defeat, 21-14.

“With both us and St. Marys having some sustained success, our personnel will change but schematically we are pretty similar year to year,” Recker said. “So watching last year’s film is an opportunity to see what worked, what didn’t work, and are there some things we didn’t have in the game plan offensively and defensively last year that would be good to add.”

Friday’s game will air live on WERT 1220AM/104.3FM.