SPENCERVILLE-Thursday night will be the last time that the Spencerville Bearcats will put the pads and jerseys on with a Thursday night matchup in the Battle of Route 66 against Jefferson.
For Spencerville it was an encouraging sign in their 42-0 loss to state-ranked LCC. The Bearcats held the Thunderbirds to under 300 total yards and made them earn every yard they got.
“I was really proud of how we competed last week,” said Spencerville head coach Kyle Koenig. “We talked to the guys about taking things one play at a time and just focusing on what our job is for that play, and our guys bought into that philosophy. I thought we tackled a lot better last week and really made them earn everything they got. Offensively, there were some encouraging things. I thought Keaton Jacobs did a really good job running the ball, catching things out of the backfield, and I think it was probably his best game defensively for us this year. He did a really good job.”
Jefferson got off to a surprising 3-0 start with wins against Evergreen, Parkway and an upset win on the road against Paulding. However the Paulding game was costly as Dean Trentman was lost for the year with injury and as was offensive lineman Zaide Miller.
“Regarding the injuries, losing a guy like Dean Trentman is a tough blow,” said Jefferson head coach Allan Pohlman. “We also lost our starting left guard, Zaide Miller that same week. We had to make some personnel adjustments and our guys have shown tremendous flexibility and sacrafice. It hasn’t been easy, but different players have stepped up into new roles throughout the year, and that resilience has kept us in the hunt.”
Thursday night’s game has started a tradition a few years ago that the Bearcats would play Jefferson on a Thursday night since both the Wildcats and Blue Jays are home this week.
“Playing on Thursday just meant that we had to talk a little bit on Saturday morning to get the prep work started because you are essentially losing your install day for the week, which is usually Mondays for us,” commented Koenig. “We talked about how we just need to have 3 really focused, high energy practices to get us ready to go Thursday night.”
The Jefferson Wildcats had to do some shuffling on the offensive side since week 3 with moving transferred quarterback Heath Schnipke into more of a running back and Gavin Howell into the QB spot following the loss of Trentman.
Before being moved Schnipke completed 53 of 122 passes for 627 yards with 3 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Schnipke has shown the ability to run hard by having 134 attempts for 746 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season. The main target has been Kellen Brotherwood who has 38 receptions for 482 yards and 2 touchdowns. Parker Shade has also caught 22 receptions for 159 yards.
“Our upperclassmen have been the foundation of this group, providing the leadership we’ve needed through a long season,” commented Pohlman. “They’ve really set the tone for the younger guys in how they approach practice and game day.”
For the Wildcats this week it’s simple. Win and they would be playing in week 11. The Wildcats currently sit in the 10 seed in the division 7 region 26 playoffs according to Joe Eitel.
“It is definitely a win-and-in situation, and getting to Week 11 would mean everything to this program,” said Pohlman. “It’s what we’ve been working toward all year.”
Thursday night will just be another installment to the historic Battle of Route 66. Both coaches talked about what it means to the team and communities.
“It is a fun game because it is two close communities who love to support their schools and it just makes for fun games,” added Koenig. “Having a rivalry like this at the end of your season is always fun. These are the games that when the guys look back at their high school playing days they will always remember.”
“The Battle of 66 is always huge for our community,” commented Pohlman. “The rivalry runs deep, and our kids are fired up for the challenge. It’s a special game for everyone involved. You can throw the records and stats from the season out for this game. We know Spencerville is going to give us their best shot and we need to be ready for it. They will bring a lot of energy and grit to the table on Thursday night. They are a well-coached team, and we know we’ll have to play well.”
Both coaches gave their keys to victory on Thursday night.
“Keys for us is to control the line of scrimmage and the clock,” concluded Koenig. “Get some long drives going and keep the ball out of their offensive weapons will be a big factor for us. We need to have tremendous discipline and communication defensively. They are going to spread us out a little bit and we need to make sure that we are locked in with our coverages and make sure everyone knows their responsibility defensively for this week.”
“Finally, the keys to victory for us are to play physical football again,” concluded Pohlman. “The past few weeks it seems like we have gotten away from that a bit. We need to get our edge back and ultimately we just need to focus on ourselves and execute.”
If you can’t make it to the game tune in to Zsports 3 as Nate Stidham, Shane Falke, and Brock Blythe will have all the action with the Beantown Barbers pregame show at 6:30pm followed by kickoff at 7pm.
Series notes: Thursday night’s game will be 24th meeting of the Route 66 rivals since 2004. Spencerville leads the series 13-10 over the Wildcats and have won the last two meetings. Jefferson last win came back in 2023.
