Cougars to face undefeated Titans

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

The Western Buckeye League has been full of surprises this football season. Among them – Celina and Ottawa-Glandorf. While the Bulldogs were expected to move up in the standings this season, an undefeated record after seven weeks didn’t appear to be in the cards. Then there’s Ottawa-Glandorf, a team that went 0-10 last season and had lost 11 straight games, but now is 7-0 (6-0 WBL) and ranked among the top 10 teams in Division IV.

Longtime O-G head coach Ken Schriner (30 seasons, 204 wins) retired after last season and assistant coach Ben Kaufman was hired to replace him – no easy task. However, under Kaufman’s guidance, the Titans steamrolled their first three opponents – Liberty-Benton, Defiance and Kenton, then snapped Wapakoneta’s long home winning streak in Week No. 4 with a 27-24 victory. Since then, O-G has topped Elida, St. Marys Memorial and Bath. The Titans and Wildcats were tied 0-0 at halftime last Friday, but Ottawa-Glandorf went on to post a 23-7 win.

“The big reason for the turnaround is that the players and coaches have bought in to the vision that I had in mind,” Kaufman said. “Our staff is doing an amazing job of coaching up our guys and instilling the mentality in them that is needed to overcome tough situations. The players are the main reason for this turnaround. They work their tails off every day and hold each other accountable.”

“Coach Kaufman has obviously injected excitement into their football program,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. “To take them from 0-10 to undefeated this far is impressive and they are playing with a ton of confidence. I think our league, maybe even more than usual, is so competitive each and every week.” 

“O-G is obviously one of the best teams in the league and they were tied with Bath at halftime last week. So each and every week is going to be a competition that very well could come down to one or two plays that we have to make to get wins.”

Offensively, the Titans have been remarkably balanced this season and Kaufman credited offensive coordinator Darrin Fox. O-G averages 197 yards passing and 188 yards rushing per game. Running back Oscar Salsburey leads the team in rushing with 67 carries for 561 yards and seven touchdowns, while quarterback Tanner Vogt has 66 carries for 351 yards and eight scores. Vogt also has completed 103-of-145 passes for 1,340 yards, 15 touchdowns and just one interception. Deegan Miller has 30 receptions for 471 yards and four touchdowns, while Gage Bellman has grabbed 21 passes for 297 yards and four scores.

Another reason for the big turnaround – Ottawa-Glandorf rarely turns the ball over. The Titans have been intercepted just twice all season and have not lost a fumble. Meanwhile, the defense has forced a dozen turnovers.

The Titans and Cougars enter Friday’s game averaging 37 points per game. However, O-G allows just 14 points per game, compared to 29 points per game allowed by Van Wert. In addition, the Titans are the top defensive team in terms of total yards allowed per game, yielding just 201 yards per outing.

“Defensively we like to throw different looks at our opponents,” Kaufman said. “Coach (Darrin) Fox and Coach (Brian) Heebsh are doing a great job.”

“O-G is a very athletic team, has good size and no glaring weaknesses,” Recker stated. “They make you play assignment sound football and will make you pay for any missed assignments. We need to win explosive plays, the turnover battle, and do a great job of tackling their skill players to be able to win Friday.”

The Cougars are trying to bounce back from last Friday’s 43-42 homecoming heartbreaker to St. Marys Memorial. The Roughriders scored with no time left on the clock then converted a two-point conversion run for the win.

“Our team believes and knows that little things make a big difference,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. “We need to continue to focus on little things to give ourselves a chance each Friday. Against St. Marys there were some little things we didn’t control but needed to.” 

“Offensively, Coach (Bryce) Crea is doing an excellent job of finding what works on offense and using it to put our guys in a great position to make plays and our players are executing the game plan very well,” he added. “We need to do the same thing defensively, and once we do, we will be a complete team.”

Van Wert is the WBL’s No. 1 passing team, averaging 293 yards per game. Through seven games, quarterback Zach Crummey has completed 152-of-223 passes for 2,020 yards, 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Keaten Welch leads the receiving corp with 695 yards and seven touchdowns on 38 catches, while Micah Cowan leads the team in receptions, with 46 for 604 yards and two touchdowns. He’s also the program’s all-time leader in receiving yards, with 2,464 yards. Xavier Kelly has 32 catches for 411 yards and five touchdowns and he appears to be on the way to a 1,000 yard rushing season, with 105 carries for 824 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“Van Wert is a dangerous and explosive team,” Kaufman said. “There are no secrets about them. Everybody knows who their studs are, what their strengths are, and they are still not being slowed down by their opponents.  That will be the challenge for us.”

While a Western Buckeye League championship or share of the championship is most likely off the table for Van Wert, the Cougars can use the final three regular season games to prepare for the playoffs. According to the website fantastic50.net, Van Wert has an 89 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason. What’s not clear is if the Cougars will host an opening round game, but a win Friday would go a long way toward a Week No. 11 game at Eggerss Stadium. It would also give the Titans their first WBL loss of the season and put them a game back in the league standings. With that in mind, Recker was asked if there’s a different emphasis placed on Friday’s game.

“I think our players can look at it both ways, business as usual or play the spoiler,” Recker said. “For myself and what we preach daily, we want to do our best because this is the next opportunity to compete, no matter the opponent.  We believe there is still a good amount of football ahead of us and we need to push ourselves to improve each and every week.”

Friday’s game will air live on WERT 1220AM/104.3FM, with the radio broadcast also streaming at thevwindependent.com.