SPENCERVILLE-The Bearcats hope to get back to how they were the first couple of weeks when they host Leipsic on Friday night. To do that they’ll have to do that against a team that remains unbeaten on the season and averages 34 points a game.
“The biggest thing that I noticed and what we worked on this week is being more physical,” said Koenig. “We did not fire off the ball the same as we were the first weeks of season. We need to get back to that this week. We talked with our guys about being the aggressor and going and making the play instead of letting the play come to you.”
Spencerville will look to crack the scoreboard for the first time in the last 10 quarters of action as they were shutout against Columbus Grove and Bluffton last week. Spencerville comes in averaging 14.6 points per game and giving up 30.2 on the season.
Leipsic is fresh off a 55-24 victory against Ada but that’s not all the Vikings have done this season. They defeated Milbury Lake in week 1, Van Buren in week 2 and Pandora Gilboa to conclude their non conference schedule.
Last season was the first time in a long time that the Vikings didn’t make the postseason and that is something head coach Joe Kirkendall has said since the summer.
“This year’s team really used the frustration of last year to motivate us all off season,” said Kirkendall. “Whether it was March or June, the memory of last year was used to keep us on task and motivated to put the work in. As a group it has been a real pleasure to coach this group because of their attitudes and the way they approach practice. They are incredibly coachable and have shown a great response to being challenged.”
Spencerville appears to be getting healthier at the right time as Nate Coulter made his first appearance since week 2 in a limited role and Koenig admits it’s good to see his key players back on the field.
“Having Nate get back last week was nice, but he still has a far way to go until he’s really feeling comfortable out there,” said Koenig. “It is a week-by-week process and hope to see what more he can do this week. We are slowly getting healthier, which has made practices much better, and I am looking forward to seeing how everyone responds to the challenges that were put in front of them this week.”
Kirkendall expects a physical game from the Bearcats on Friday night.
“I have been impressed with Spencerville this year from a fundamental and discipline standpoint on defense,” said Kirkendall. “They appear very well coached and have played solid on that side of the ball. The kids have played very hard. They have been decimated by injuries which makes it really tough to get thing going on the offensive side of the ball. They have a few playmakers who get your attention, but they havent had them all the time because of injury.”
Leipsic comes in giving up just 11.4 points per game and Koenig knows his offensive will have to face a quick defense on Friday.
Both coaches know that they have to do some things right to get the victory come game time on Friday.
“Leipsic is always a well-coached physical team. They have a lot of weapons on offense, and they are capable of doing a lot of different things with them. We are preparing for just about everything when it comes to them,” concluded Koenig. “On defense they know how to use that speed as well. They also have physical, tough, and mean guys up front that we need to be able to move in order for us to be successful. They are a tough team and playing well right now. It is going to take everyone doing their job and being more physical this week if we want to be successful.”
If you can’t make it to the game be sure to tune it to Zsports3 as Nate Stidham and Shane Falke will have all the action with the pregame show at 6:30 followed by kickoff at 7pm.
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