Bearcats look to snap skid against Allen East

SPENCERVILLE-The Spencerville Bearcats will look to use last week’s improvements to get a victory on Friday night when they visit Allen East.

“Last week we did a lot of focus on being more physical up front and offensively I think we did improve at that, but defensively we still struggled,” said Spencerville head coach Kyle Koenig. “We were able to put some good drives together throughout the game, but just made too many mistakes when it mattered and could not punch it in.”

The Bearcats come in to Friday night’s game averaging 13.2 points per game and giving up 31.8 a game while averaging 203 game on offense. Koenig believes getting guys back is what has them trending back in the right direction.

“Having Nate back in the backfield was huge for us. He just sees the field so well back there and knows which cut to make when. It was really nice having him back,” continued Koenig. “Defensively we continue to focus on being more physical and blitzing with a purpose. We went to this defense this year because we believed it helped us do some different things with blitzes and movements and in the first two weeks it was looking really good and for some reason, we have gone away from it. So, we continue to work on those things this week and hopefully we can take a step in the right direction this week.”

The Allen East Mustangs come in with a 1-5 record which featured games against teams that have a combined record of 28-8. Head coach Joel Billings sees some positives from his team so far.

“Over the last couple of games, we have lowered the number of turnovers and have had a more effective run game,” said Billings. “We need to continue to improve our technique and pad level on both sides of the ball.”

Both coaches understand the records don’t show the type of teams that they are.

“Allen East’s record does not reflect who they are as a team. They are strong, athletic and physical. They have some great athletes offensively that we really need to focus on and be able to stop if we want to be successful. They can run the Quarterback, multiple running backs and have some speed with their receivers that can cause some problems if you are not focused.” Added Koenig.

“Spencerville has an excellent run game and our ability to play with a good pad level, respond to our keys, and tackle with a good pad level are big this week,” continued Billings.

Allen East comes into Friday night averaging 19.2 points a game and are giving up 32 a game. The Mustangs have a 210.8 total yards per game with 118.7 coming on the ground.

Both defenses have given up similar numbers on the season. The Mustangs allow 298 total yards while Spencerville gives up 306.

No matter the Bearcats have faced through their losing streak their work ethic remains the same.

“The kids continue to work hard every day in practice and understand that we have a long way to go to really be the team that we want to be at the end of the season. They have great attitudes and have just been a fun group to be around all season. We just need to keep getting better every opportunity we get. With that being said, we are still fighting for a playoff spot this year and we understand that if we want to make that step, we need to continue to get better each day because it is something that we can do still at this point in the season.” Said Koenig.

If you can’t make it to the game you can listen to it on Zsports3 as Nate Stidham and Shane Falke will have all the action with the pregame show at 6:30 followed by kickoff at 7pm.