{"id":122996,"date":"2019-09-25T03:34:56","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T08:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=122996"},"modified":"2019-09-25T09:28:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T14:28:32","slug":"preview-3-1-o-g-titans-at-2-2-vw-cougars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2019\/09\/25\/preview-3-1-o-g-titans-at-2-2-vw-cougars\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: 3-1 Titans at 2-2 Cougars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the previous two matchups are any indicator, Friday night\u2019s homecoming game between Van Wert and Ottawa-Glandorf should be a very interesting game, especially toward the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, the Cougars led the Titans 19-3 entering the fourth quarter, then held on for a 19-17 victory. Last season, Van Wert led 34-18 with 7:38 left in the game, only to see Ottawa-Glandorf tie the game late and force overtime, where the Cougars eked a 40-34 win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Linebacker Parker Conrad is Van Wert’s leading tackler with 42<\/strong>. Bob Barnes\/Van Wert independen<\/em>t<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’ve lost two in a row to Van Wert and that stands out,\u201d Ottawa-Glandorf head Ken Schriner said. \u201cBoth games were close and could’ve gone either way, but unfortunately the wrong way for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously every year is a little different but every time we play OG they are very well coached and their players play with great effort and execution,\u201d Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of personnel and offensive style, the two teams are similar. Both run spread offenses and both feature athletic, versatile players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOffensively they are multi-dimensional,\u201d Recker said of the Titans. “The last three weeks we have faced teams that we knew wanted to run the ball. OG is very good at both the run and the pass, so we will have to defend the entire field against them. They do a good job of giving the quarterback a run-pass option and he is very good at making the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Through four games, Ottawa-Glandorf quarterback Jacob Balbaugh has completed 49 of 83 passes for 771 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. His favorite receivers have been Jarrod Beach (10 receptions, 242 yards, three touchdowns) and Brennan Blevens (seven receptions, 209 yards, three touchdowns). In a 28-6 win over Bath, running back Clayton Recker had 124 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a team, the Titans are averaging 31 points per game, while allowing 15 points per outing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur defense continues to improve,\u201d Schriner said. \u201cWe have given up yards but not a lot of points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While looking at Van Wert, Schriner was complementary of the Cougars on offense and on defense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jake Hilleary returned to action last week for the Van Wert Cougars.<\/strong> Bob Barnes photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir athleticism concerns me most,\u201d Schriner said. \u201cTheir quarterback has the ability to run and pass very well and their defense is very multiple. They change coverages and the box very well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through four games, Owen Treece has completed 57 of 100 passes for 719 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions. 23 of his completions have been to Tanner Barnhart for 281 yards, while TJ Reynolds has 17 receptions for 108 yards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treece is the team\u2019s leading rusher with 333 yards and three touchdowns on 70 carries and as a team, Van Wert is averaging 22 points and 319 yards per game, while allowing just 231 yards and 14 points per game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars received a boost with the return of Jake Hilleary, who missed the first three games with an injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJake gives our players a lot of confidence,\u201d Recker said. \u201cHaving a second team all-league running back return is going to help us immensely on offense. He will help our run game, but also teams will be forced to defend the run a bit more, which should open up the passing game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are so happy for Levi (Newell) that he came in and played very well during Jake’s absence. Being his senior year I’m glad he got an opportunity and took advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On defense, Parker Conrad leads the Cougars with 42 tackles, while Keagon Hammons is the team leader with six sacks, five tackles for losses and two fumble recoveries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s homecoming week, Recker said his team has remained focused on the task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery since I’ve been here, our guys have done a great job of enjoying and taking part in all of the activities, but then understanding that when Friday night hits we are locked in mentally and prepared to play the game,\u201d Recker said. \u201cI don’t believe we feel any more pressure than the other big games that we have played up to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHomecoming or not, playing OG at home which a chance to get our record above .500 is going to be a big game,” Recker continued We will prepare and be ready to give all of our alumni something to look forward to Friday night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday\u2019s Ottawa-Glandorf\/Van Wert game will air live on WERT 1220AM\/104.3FM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor If the previous two matchups are any indicator, Friday night\u2019s homecoming game between Van Wert and Ottawa-Glandorf should be a very interesting game, especially toward the end. In 2017, the Cougars led the Titans 19-3 entering the fourth quarter, then held on for a 19-17 victory. Last season, Van Wert led […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-01 02:02:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}