{"id":79487,"date":"2016-09-01T07:22:24","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T12:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=79487"},"modified":"2016-09-01T07:22:24","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T12:22:24","slug":"cougs-hope-to-get-win-knights-seek-2nd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2016\/09\/01\/cougs-hope-to-get-win-knights-seek-2nd\/","title":{"rendered":"Cougs hope to get win, Knights seek 2nd"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

It doesn\u2019t get any easier.<\/p>\n

After a 28-19 season-opening loss to Bryan, the Van Wert Cougars will open Western Buckeye League competition Friday night, hosting the St. Marys Memorial Roughriders.<\/p>\n

While watching last Friday\u2019s game film, Van Wert Head Football Coach Keith Recker saw some good things, and some areas that need work.<\/p>\n

\"Cougar
Cougar Evan Williams (17) looks for running room against Bryan during both teams’ opener this past\u00a0Friday<\/strong>.\u00a0VW independent file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe played better offensively than I initially thought after the game,\u201d Recker said. \u201cWe were typically one or two guys away up front from having a big play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to continue to get push (up front) and give our skill guys holes to get through so they can use their speed,\u201d Recker added.<\/p>\n

The Cougars rolled up 399 yards of total offense, but were plagued by five turnovers. In his first start, sophomore quarterback Lawson Blackmore threw for 286 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.<\/p>\n

The focus in practice this week has been St. Marys Memorial. The Roughriders opened their season with a wild 43-39 victory over Sidney.\u00a0The game featured several lead changes and a 90-minute lightning delay.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir physicality is a bit concerning,\u201d Recker said. \u201cWe are going to have to be ready to stick our nose in and not back down at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. Marys, especially offensively, comes off the ball with reckless abandon,\u201d Recker added.\u00a0\u201cWe are going to have to match that willingness to throw our body into people and really play a physically and mentally tough football game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s game can be heard live on WERT, 1220 AM.<\/p>\n

On the west side of the county, the Crestview Knights opened their season with a 40-27 win over non-conference rival Parkway, a victory that pleased Head Coach Jared Owens.<\/p>\n

\"Crestview's
Crestview’s Wade Sheets (3) makes an athletic catch over a Parkway defender for at touchdown in last Friday’s opener won by Crestview 40-27.<\/strong> Bob Barnes\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe executed fairly well up front, and were able to play physical and smart on the offensive line,\u201d Owens said.<\/p>\n

Thanks in part to the play of the offensive line, Knights quarterback Drew Kline enjoyed a big night.\u00a0The sophomore finished with 116 yards passing and two scores through the air, along with 80 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns, with the second one being a 43-yard run that sealed the victory.<\/p>\n

However, Owens believes there is room for improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to cut down on penalties and turnovers, and execute in the red zone,\u201d Owens said.<\/p>\n

The Knights will hit the road Friday night for a non-conference matchup against Hicksville. The Aces dropped their season opener, 17-6, to Archbold.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey run an offense similar to ours,\u201d Owens said. \u201cThey look to use the option to gain a numbers advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aces run a 43 defense, featuring four down linemen and three linebackers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey play very hard and are extremely well coached like they are every year,\u201d Owens added.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s Crestview-Hicksville game can be heard live on WKSD, 99.7 FM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/VW independent sports It doesn\u2019t get any easier. After a 28-19 season-opening loss to Bryan, the Van Wert Cougars will open Western Buckeye League competition Friday night, hosting the St. Marys Memorial Roughriders. While watching last Friday\u2019s game film, Van Wert Head Football Coach Keith Recker saw some good things, and some areas that […]<\/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-79487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 10:53:21","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\/79487","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=79487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}