Preview: Van Wert (8-1) at Bath (0-9)

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

One of the highest scoring teams in all of Ohio will wrap up the regular season on the road this Friday night, as No. 5 Van Wert takes on Bath at Bath Stadium.

The Cougars (9-1, 8-1 WBL), who average 47.2 points per game, still have Western Buckeye League title share hopes, but it will take a win over the Wildcats and a Defiance win over Wapakoneta. Of course Bath (0-9, 0-8 WBL) would love to play the role of spoiler.

While looking at this year’s success to this point, Van Wert head coach Keith Recker had nothing but praise for his senior class.

“Our senior group deserves a lot of credit for leading this team the way they have and being a big reason we have a chance to end the regular season at 9-1 if we are able to win this Friday,” Recker said. “It wasn’t long ago that nine wins was a wish rather than a reality and this senior class has done a great job raising the standard of play at Van Wert. The best thing I can say about this senior class, though, is that they made coming to meetings, practice, and games so much fun.”

“The senior class is full of high character guys that have done a great job teaching our younger players the type of effort we play with and how to pay attention to the little things that make a big difference,” Recker added.

Among those seniors: quarterback Aidan Pratt, who has completed 181-of-248 passes for 2,668 yards, 29 touchdowns and just three interceptions, while rushing for 464 yards and seven scores on 90 carries. Three of his top four receivers are seniors – Maddix Crutchfield (46-773, nine touchdowns), Garett Gunter (49-709, five touchdowns), and Nate Phillips (26-373, four touchdowns). Logan Dotson, Jackson Jones and Jacob Geething have been strong up front.

Eight of the top ten tacklers are seniors, with Carson Smith leading the way (65), followed by Damon McCracken (63), Ashton Baer (58), Luke Wessell and Reese Krugh (44 each), Jacob Fuerst (33), Jones (31) and Crutchfield (31).

“Coach Recker and staff have done a great job building a winning culture,” Bath head coach Ryan Reindel said. “Offensively, Van Wert is very explosive. They force you to defend sideline to sideline as well as they press you vertical down the field. They have three of the top four receivers in the league, so you can’t focus on one guy.”

“Defensively, with nine seniors starting, they seem to always put themselves in the right place,” Reindel continued. “The defensive line and linebackers are physical and control the line of scrimmage. We will have to do a good job staying on our blocks.”

It’s been a rough year for Bath. The Wildcats have scored just 30 points all season and broke a string of four consecutive scoreless games during last week’s 35-7 loss to St. Marys Memorial. Entering the finale, Bath is averaging 3.3 points per game while allowing 28.6 per outing. The offense averages 159 total yards per game, while the defense gives up 342 yards per game.

Freshman quarterback Zach Welsch has completed 54-of-118 passes for 407 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions. Blaine Albright is the team’s leading receiver with 19 catches for 199 yards and a score, and freshman Mikey Hale leads the team in rushing (61-341, one touchdown).

“We are a very young team,” Reindel said. “We are covering many starting positions with freshman and sophomores. There have been a lot of growing pains throughout the season.”

“What I have been most proud of our kids is their approach each week. Our seniors have continued to lead and stay positive. The entire team comes to practice each day ready to work and enjoy playing the game of football. Our players are still working hard and improving each week. The thing that I love the most about this team is they do not quit. They continue to battle the entire game. As a coach, that is the best thing you can ask of your team, to continue to battle every play, every week.”

While Bath has struggled this season, Recker has some concerns about the Wildcats.

“Bath has very good size on both sides of the line,” Recker said. “Stopping the run and running the ball are definitely the strengths of their team. They were only down seven to St. Marys in the second quarter with first and goal at the one, they lost to OG by 14, so they’ve shown the ability to be competitive in their games. We need to come into the game with the mindset of setting our standard of play higher than we have the previous weeks.”

Also on the radar for Van Wert – the postseason in perhaps the toughest region in Division IV, Region 14.

“As far as playoffs, as we get later in the week and our preparation for Bath is coming to a close, we will start to look at who we may play and study their opponents so we will be ready to request and trade film Friday night/Saturday morning when we know for sure who our opponent will be,” Recker said. “Other than that, our coaches and players have done a great job of focusing on the only team we know we are playing, which is Bath.”

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