SPENCERVILLE-For the second straight season under Kyle Koenig the Spencerville Bearcats are 2-0. However this season the Bearcats will look for a 3-0 start against Riverside.
Riverside turned a 10-3 halftime deficit into a 45-10 victory last season. However the past is in the past and head coach Kyle Koenig seizes the opportunity for this year’s group.
“I think having some experience from last year has been big for us in making sure we are playing a clean game,” said Koenig. “I also think that our guys do a great job of focusing on those little things in big moments. Watching the ball on defense so they do not jump, resisting when we go on two. The guys just have done a great job of keeping focus on what is going on and hopefully we can keep that going.”
Last week Riverside dropped a 28-14 decision against Northeastern. Stopping the passing game will be key for Spencerville as Senior Gavin Osborne has passed for 518 yards on the season with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. His main target has been Landon Purtee who has 17 receptions for 233 yards and a pair of touchdown grabs.
It was a different kind of game for Spencerville last week as the Bearcats trailed 27-21 with a little under two minutes but the drive led by senior quarterback Carder Orr found Will Sensabaugh before getting the game winning score with 55 seconds left for the hard fought 28-27 victory.
“I was just really proud of how the guys came together last week and figured out a way to make plays and win,” said Koenig. “We had to overcome a lot throughout the game. Injuries, travel the heat, and whatever else going on and our guys overcame and figured it out and I am really proud of them.
Keeping the Riverside offense off the field will be key for Spencerville. The wing t offense will help with that and junior running back Zach Looser has been a big part of that. Looser has ran for 216 yards on the season with 2 touchdowns as part of an offense that is averaging 305 yards a game.
The weather doesn’t look too be favorable tonight with a chance of rain. However Koenig says this team learned the importance of ball security last week.
“Ball security is always important. I think last week is a great example of how turnovers can make a difference in the game,” said Koenig. “We had an interception for a touchdown, a fumble recovery and a few turnovers on downs that really kept us in the game last week. So, making sure we take care of the ball on our end is important.”
It looks to be a dandy of a football game tonight and Koenig kept it simple when it comes to the keys to victory for Spencerville.
“We have to stop the pass game. Riverside has had a lot of success of finding open receivers and making teams pay with big plays,” concluded Koenig. “We have to be able to find success in our run game. They are going to stack the box and we need to be physical up front to have the success that we need to win this game. Lastly, just control the line of scrimmage. Riverside has tremendous size up front, and it will be a big challenge for our guys to take on this evening.”
If you can’t make it to the game tune in to Zsports 3 as Chase Dettrow and Brock Blythe will have all the action with the pregame show at 6:30 followed by kickoff at 7pm
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