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Page A14
September 26, 2013
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Football
Football
By SCOTT HENNEN THISWEEKSPORTS.COM
ByAARON BLANKENSHIP ning, so we have to be sound and physical defensively.” THISWEEKSPORTS.COM Jerome, which lost to Hilliard Hilliard Darby High School Bradley 20-0 on Sept. 20 in its football coach John Santagata league opener to drop to 2-2 said it will be important for overall, was averaging 27 points members of his defense to stick through three games but turned with their assignments when the ball over four times against facing host Dublin Jerome in the Jaguars on a rainy night. Jerome had 201 total yards an OCC-Cardinal Division against Bradley, with running game Friday, Sept. 27. The Panthers’ 4-4 defense, back Steve Kidwell rushing for which is led by linebacker 75 yards on eight carries, runTrevor Parker (30 tackles), ning back Louis Torchio gaindefensive back Ben Radcliff (27 ing 60 yards on seven carries tackles) and linemen Brian andAlex Cline completing three Casey and Josh Humbert, forced of 17 passes for 47 yards. Kidwell, however, was on five turnovers and allowed only 116 total yards in a 37-6 vic- crutches in the second half and tory over Westerville North on his status for this week's game Sept. 20. But Santagata is was uncertain as of press time. “We'll be doing a lot of wetexpects a different and more difficult challenge from ball drills (this) week and from Jerome’s double-wing offense. here on out,” Jerome coach “We’ll have to read our keys Mark Hundley said. “We have and react quickly because to learn how to throw a wet ball, Jerome uses a lot of misdirec- we have to learn how to hand tion and they put a lot of bod- off a wet ball and how to run ies, sometimes as many as four, with a wet ball.” Darby’s spread option offense at the point of attack,” said Santagata, whose team improved is led by quarterback Nate to 3-1 overall with a 37-6 win Green, fullback Lorenzo over Westerville North on Sept. McLaurin and slotbacks Jacob 20 in its OCC-Cardinal opener. CELTICS >> A17 “They do a lot of power run-
Darby wary of Jerome’s ground game
Coffman looking to end skid The gauntlet continues for the Dublin Coffman High School football team with another unbeaten opponent ahead in Marysville. The Monarchs enter their OCC-Central Division game Friday, Sept. 27, at Coffman at 4-0 for the first time since 2000. That season, they were 10-0 in the regular season and finished 13-1 after losing to Piqua 18-7 in a Division II state semifinal. “(Marysville) coach (Morgan Cotter) has a second year under his belt with them,” Coffman coach Mark Crabtree said. “(The Monarchs) know the system a lot better, and they’re (4-0). “They have to be a lot better team because obviously Scioto is a pretty decent team, and (the Monarchs) came back and beat (the Irish 30-28 on Sept. 13). I’m sure they’re much improved from last year’s team.” Coffman beat Marysville 4910 last season. The Shamrocks are 1-3 overall, having lost their last three games – all against teams that were unbeaten at the time. Coffman defeated Jerome 16-14 on Aug. 30 before losing to Scioto (30-17 on Sept. 6), Canton McKinley (26-17 on Sept. 13) and Hilliard Davidson (28-7 on Sept. 20). McKinley and Davidson are both 4-0. “We’ve played some really high-quality teams the past couple of weeks,” Crabtree said. “I’m hoping that that pays off for us at some point on our
Jerome’s Justin Stroup finds running room against Coffman on Aug. 30. The 2-2 Celtics will play host to 3-1 Hilliard Darby on Friday, Sept. 27. LAURIE STEVENSON/THISWEEKSPORTS
Football
Scioto focuses on eliminating mistakes By SCOTT GERFEN THISWEEKSPORTS.COM
Following back-to-back road losses, the Westerville North High School football team hopes its first home game since opening week will help it get back on the winning track. The Warriors play host to Dublin Scioto on Friday, Sept. 27, in an OCCSHAMROCKS >> A19 Cardinal Division contest. Both teams
are 2-2 overall and have lost their last two games, including their league openers last week. “It’s going to be nice to have a home game again,” said Warriors coach Roger Elander, whose team lost to defending league champion Hilliard Darby 37-6 on Sept. 20. “It feels like it’s been a very long time since we played at home and the kids will enjoy feeding off the energy of our fans in
our stadium.” Scioto has been plagued by turnovers in its past two games, totaling eight in losses to Marysville (3028 on Sept. 13) and Westerville Central (41-38 on Sept. 20). The Irish had three turnovers against Central, helping the Warhawks erase a 13-point, third-quarter deficit. Scioto turned the ball over five times against Marysville, which overcame a 14-
point, second-quarter deficit. “I think with our kids, they have to take away from these games that we can play with anybody,” Irish coach Karl Johnson said. “But we’ve got to eliminate some of the mistakes that have been costing us late in the game and find a way to get it done.” North ended its 45-game losing
IRISH >> A18