Cougars hope to end season with a ‘W’

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

With the playoffs seemingly out of reach, Van Wert has two goals this Friday night – send the seniors out with a win and play well in front of the school’s 2000 state runner-up team.

The Cougars (4-5, 3-5 WBL) will host Kenton in the regular season finale and in all likelihood, it will be the final game of the season. While Van Wert hasn’t been completely eliminated from playoff contention, there’s just a one percent chance the Cougars will get in, according to the website fantastic50.net. Van Wert is currently 15th in Division IV Region 14 and with the OHSAA’s new playoff format this year, only the top 12 teams per region will qualify for the postseason. A win itself over Kenton 1-8 (1-7 WBL) alone won’t do it, as the Cougars would need a number of other things to happen within the region, some realistic, some not. That doesn’t change this week’s goals though.

“With this being our last game we want to do everything in our power to make it a positive, memorable experience for our seniors,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. “They deserve everyone in our program to have a great week of preparation, continue to change our best, and perform on Friday night.  Seniors will remember their last game, and we want to make sure it’s a great memory.”

13 seniors are on the team – Kaiven Welch, Cam Werts, Finley Dickinson, Colton Richardson, Caine Shobe, Geary Hilleary, Griffin McCracken, Briggs Wallace, Trevor Dotson, Payton Morefield, Javon Smith, Nick Edwards, and Conner Harris.

The Cougars are returning home after last Friday’s 45-24 loss to Shawnee, the WBL’s most improved team this year. Despite the loss, Recker said there were some bright spots.

“I thought our special teams did a good job Friday,” Recker said. “Griff (McCracken) is kicking the ball very consistently on extra points and field goals and Alex Benner at holder and Cohen Bragg at snapper have been executing all season. Griff is also placing the ball very well on his kickoffs, keeping teams guessing on location. We executed a fake punt very well, with Cam (Werts) hitting Cohen for a first down. We also fielded their squib kickoffs very well to give ourselves decent field position.”

Kenton will enter Friday’s game with a six game losing streak and while it’s been a struggle, the Wildcats have given some teams fits, including Defiance in a 43-42 overtime loss. Last week, Kenton have St. Marys Memorial all they could handle before falling 35-26.

“Early on we dealt with a lot of injuries,” Kenton head coach Zach Turner said. “Through the season we had 11 varsity starters of our original 22 impacted due to injuries. These past few weeks we have gotten much healthier, so looking at the past few weeks we have seen a lot of growth and improvement amongst our players.”

The Wildcats enter with the youngest team in the WBL, with a projected starting lineup of just one senior on offense and three on defense. The starting lineup on offense will likely include five sophomores and a pair of freshmen.

“Kenton is a very young team but they have been very competitive this year,” Recker said. The biggest concern is their offense.  They have averaged 28 points a game the last four weeks, their receivers have very good hands and run crisp routes, they have good athleticism at those positions, and their quarterback has exceptional timing on routes.”

The quarterback is one of two freshmen starting on offense – Xavier Gammon. In his debut against Ottawa-Glandorf in Week No. 3, he passed for just over 500 yards and three touchdowns and ran for nearly 100 yards. During last week’s game against the Roughriders, he completed 30-of-45 passes for 360 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, and had 15 carries for 60 yards and another score. Despite not starting until Week No. 3, Gammon leads all WBL passers with just over 2,600 yards. He also tossed 15 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions and rushed for nearly 400 yards.

“Xavier is a great kid, he works hard and is a great leader for us,” Turner said.

Kenton is second among all WBL schools in terms of total offense (386 yards per game), including 315 yards passing per outing, which is first among league schools. Van Wert is third in total offense (366 yards per game but has a much more balanced attack (253 passing, 153 rushing per game). On defense, both teams have struggled against the run and are No. 9-10 vs. the rush. Van Wert defensive lineman Nick Edwards leads the league with seven sacks.

“Van Wert is a very good football team,” Turner said. “They are extremely athletic and they do a great job of making plays. Our biggest concern is containing their playmakers. Offensively we have to protect our quarterback and do our best to not allow their defense to make plays.”

Last year’s game went right down to the final seconds. Van Wert rallied from a 38-17 fourth quarter deficit and won 45-44, then Xavier Kelly intercepted a Kenton pass at the 1-yard line in the closing seconds to preserve the win.

Along with the season finale, the 2000 Van Wert football team will be recognized Friday night. The team grabbed the final playoff spot in Division III that saeson and went on an improbable playoff run all the way to the state championship game, where the Cougars finished as the state runner-up after falling in double overtime to Canton Central Catholic, 27-26.

“I have heard the stories about that run and how special it was from friends and colleagues in the community,” said Recker, who was a junior at Delphos St. John’s during that season. “From thinking they weren’t going to make the playoffs initially after week 10, to not only making the playoffs but having some big upsets and making a run all the way to the state championship game, what a special run that was.  We discussed the 2000 team during our Monday team meeting and the pride they have for not only their accomplishments that season but for the program as a whole. They took great care of the program during their time and we have to continue what the players before us accomplished.” 

“We are excited to get the chance to honor them and play our best in front of them, continuing the long tradition of Cougar Pride,” he added.

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