Week 6 Football Preview: Bearcats welcome Westfall
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
BAINBRIDGE — The Paint Valley Bearcats will be celebrating their homecoming this Friday night as they welcome the Westfall Mustangs to George Knisley Field.
The Bearcats are coming off a classic win over the Southeastern Panthers last week where the teams were tied at six midway through the fourth quarter, until two late scores from sophomore running back Mark Clifford, along with a strong defensive effort, were enough to put the Panthers away.
This week, the Bearcats will face another Scioto Valley Conference rival, and the Mustangs bring with them an offense built for speed.
"They run a wide-open spread offense," PV head coach Pete Hollon said. "Their quarterback is a true spread offense quarterback. He's a dual threat, and he's run for some very good games this season. He's very good."
The quarterback Hollon is speaking of is junior Trent Williamson.
Last week in a 26-14 win over Unioto, the dual-threat quarterback rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, along with 5-of-11 through the air for 142 yards and one touchdown.
Other threats on the Westfall offense are Tim Stanton, A.J. Gifford and Taylor Salmons, who all have multiple touchdowns this season.
"This is probably the best offense we'll face all year," Hollon said. "Their skill kids possess a lot of speed, and they are big up front. They run the spread as well as anyone I've seen.
"Westfall is faster overall with their quickness. When they complete a pass, with their speed, they are able to break away on teams."
Defensively, the Mustangs (2-0, 3-2) have allowed 171 points scored on this season in five games, an average of 34.2 ppg.
They use a 4-3 look and are aggressive. Two players on defense to watch out for are defensive tackle Elliott Gabriel (6-4, 275) and Seth Sias, a 6-1, 210-pound linebacker.
"They blitz a lot and move their front around … they shade, split and slant with their big guys," Hollon said. "Both are solid and big in the middle. They slant up front with their linemen, and that helps take pressure off their linebackers."
The Bearcats (1-1, 3-2) have momentum this week coming off their win against Southeastern. Last week, sophomore running back Mark Clifford rushed for 113 yards on 17 carries with three touchdowns, two in the final 7:00 of the fourth quarter.
Not only on their offense (which Hollon said is balanced as they have totaled 1,100 rushing and 500 passing yards in five weeks), but defensively the Bearcats controlled the tempo by forcing multiple turnovers and interceptions, along with making big fourth down stops at critical times in the second half.
"It was a solid win last week, but we've spent so much time on defensive assignments … it just gives us a great deal of confidence," Hollon said. "Our defense … we've come light years, and to see how we play against a team like Westfall … we'll have to have trust in the guy next to us."[[In-content Ad]]
The Bearcats are coming off a classic win over the Southeastern Panthers last week where the teams were tied at six midway through the fourth quarter, until two late scores from sophomore running back Mark Clifford, along with a strong defensive effort, were enough to put the Panthers away.
This week, the Bearcats will face another Scioto Valley Conference rival, and the Mustangs bring with them an offense built for speed.
"They run a wide-open spread offense," PV head coach Pete Hollon said. "Their quarterback is a true spread offense quarterback. He's a dual threat, and he's run for some very good games this season. He's very good."
The quarterback Hollon is speaking of is junior Trent Williamson.
Last week in a 26-14 win over Unioto, the dual-threat quarterback rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, along with 5-of-11 through the air for 142 yards and one touchdown.
Other threats on the Westfall offense are Tim Stanton, A.J. Gifford and Taylor Salmons, who all have multiple touchdowns this season.
"This is probably the best offense we'll face all year," Hollon said. "Their skill kids possess a lot of speed, and they are big up front. They run the spread as well as anyone I've seen.
"Westfall is faster overall with their quickness. When they complete a pass, with their speed, they are able to break away on teams."
Defensively, the Mustangs (2-0, 3-2) have allowed 171 points scored on this season in five games, an average of 34.2 ppg.
They use a 4-3 look and are aggressive. Two players on defense to watch out for are defensive tackle Elliott Gabriel (6-4, 275) and Seth Sias, a 6-1, 210-pound linebacker.
"They blitz a lot and move their front around … they shade, split and slant with their big guys," Hollon said. "Both are solid and big in the middle. They slant up front with their linemen, and that helps take pressure off their linebackers."
The Bearcats (1-1, 3-2) have momentum this week coming off their win against Southeastern. Last week, sophomore running back Mark Clifford rushed for 113 yards on 17 carries with three touchdowns, two in the final 7:00 of the fourth quarter.
Not only on their offense (which Hollon said is balanced as they have totaled 1,100 rushing and 500 passing yards in five weeks), but defensively the Bearcats controlled the tempo by forcing multiple turnovers and interceptions, along with making big fourth down stops at critical times in the second half.
"It was a solid win last week, but we've spent so much time on defensive assignments … it just gives us a great deal of confidence," Hollon said. "Our defense … we've come light years, and to see how we play against a team like Westfall … we'll have to have trust in the guy next to us."[[In-content Ad]]