Cougars to host much improved Bath

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

It hasn’t necessarily been pretty, but Van Wert enters the first home game of the 2025 season 2-0 (1-0 WBL).

The Cougars struggled offensively for the better part of the first half but picked up the pace in a 42-7 win over Bryan in Week No. 1, then shook off miscues against Elida for a hard fought 19-14 win last Friday. Now, Van Wert is poised to host Bath (2-0, 1-0 WBL), a team considered to rapidly on the rise.

Under third year head coach Frank Russell’s watch, Bath has shown vast improvement. The Wildcats were 4-7 in his first season, 6-6 last season and are off to a 2-0 start, with wins over Indian Lake (50-21) and St. Marys Memorial (56-36). In 2022, a year prior to Russell’s arrival, Bath finished 0-10.

“The rebuilding process has been easy because of our senior class,” Russell said. “We have 15 seniors and all we have asked them to do is get better everyday. The most important part of our improvement has been our improvement in the weight room, we have over 23 players in the 1,000 pound club (bench/squat/deadlift).”

“I have been pleased with how our guys have competed,” he added. “One of the primary goals of our program is to get better everyday and our players have embraced that mentality.”

In Bath’s high flying offense, senior quarterback Zach Welsch has completed 42-of-59 passes for 714 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions. The aerial attack has featured a pair of big play receivers – Josiah Clark (15-309, six touchdowns) and Logan Markley (10-193, two touchdowns). Mikey Hale has paced the ground game with 28 carries for 247 yards and five touchdowns, and he’s added 13 receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown. Welsch has 22 carries for 109 yards and a score.

“They both are very competitive and very smart football players,” Russell said. “Mikey has great vision and has worked really hard in the off season to get stronger. They both have been playing since their freshman year and they want to build a tradition for others to follow.”

“Bath’s offense is explosive and can score quickly,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. “They were up 12-7 with one minute left in the first half vs Indian Lake and it was 34-7 within the first couple minutes of the third quarter. They have playmakers at all skill spots and they do a great job getting them the ball.  We have to do a great job of limiting big plays this week.”

For the most part, the Cougars have kept big plays to a minimum through two games.

“Our defensive secondary is doing a great job of taking away big plays,” Recker said. “We really struggled with that last year and that has been a big improvement and we will need to continue that this week. Caine (Shobe), Finley (Dickinson), Micah (Cowan), Cohen (Bragg), and Keaten (Welch) are doing a very nice job in the secondary.”

“Micah is doing a great job on both sides of the ball,” Recker added. “He understands the game so well, is super athletic, and has a knack for getting to the ball on defense and making plays on offense. Keaten is a very smart player who has a lot of athleticism.  We can count on him to be in the right spot in all phases of the game. Both Micah and Keaten played a lot of football as sophomores last year and the game has slowed down for them now.”

Van Wert’s offense has been explosive and balanced in the first two games, as the Cougars are averaging 216 yards passing and 208 yards rushing per game. Zach Crummey has completed 24-of-34 passes for 432 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Cowan has 13 receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns and Welch has five catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Kelly leads the Cougars in rushing with 33 carries for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while Crummey has 22 carries for 107 yards and three scores.

“Van Wert is very athletic and forces teams to defend the entire field,” Russell said. “They will be a big challenge for us to defend. Obviously, their athletic ability and speed are concerning.”

When the two teams met last year, Bath posted a 43-37 victory, after Hale scored on a short touchdown run with under a minute left in the game.

There will be one notable difference during Friday’s game. Instead using the locker room at the Goedde Building, the Cougars will utilize and emerge from the newly refurbished locker room under the home side of the stadium. It’s part of the ongoing renovation project at Eggerss Stadium.

“We are very fortunate to have such a great locker room and we appreciate our community and everyone that made it possible,” Recker said. “We have been in there since July and I know our guys are very excited about walking under the stadium towards the “Cougar Pride Wall” to go out on the field before the game. This is how we used to go out on the field for a long time and we are excited to have our fans under there getting our guys pumped up on the way out to the field.”

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