Potters out to tame Golden Bears
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EAST LIVERPOOL --- The Oak Glen football team is hoping its second rivalry game of the season goes as well as its first one.
Oak Glen opened the season by shutting out Hancock County rival Weir, 35-0, in the season opener at the Bears Den. This week, the Golden Bears will be looking for the same result as Oak Glen is set to play rival East Liverpool at 7 p.m. Friday at Patterson Field in the annual “Battle of the Bridge.”
Oak Glen enters this week’s matchup fresh off a 24-0 victory against St. Marys last Friday night on the road.
“The kids made some big plays,” first-year Oak Glen (3-3) head coach Derrick Stickles said. “I did not do a very-good job of calling plays early. The kids bailed me out. The kids made plays. I did a better job of calling plays in the second half.
“(Chase) Hartung made a great play on that screen pass. He made some good moves, and the offensive line did a good job blocking. (Jacob) Everett had that big 73-yard run. He was able to break into the open field, and he was able to run away from the defense.
“We have challenged our defense a lot. We have challenged ours kids with things all year, and they have stepped up to the plate. We challenged them to tackle, hit their gaps and to do their job. They did those things, and we are rolling right now.”
East Liverpool enters this week’s game coming off a 7-3 victory last Friday night against Edison out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.
The annual “Battle of the Bridge” is always a big game for the Golden Bears and the Potters (5-2).
“It’s the ‘Battle of the Bridge,'” Stickles said. “They are right across the river. These kids see each other every day. We have a lot of kids who live in Chester, and they see each other. It is special. We have already played Weir, and that is a West Virginia rivalry. East Liverpool-Oak Glen is an Ohio-West Virginia rivalry. It’s exciting. It’s going to be a great environment. There is going to be a lot of fans.”
The Potters have a plethora of weapons on the offensive side of the ball.
“They play hard,” Stickles said. “They play very hard. They do a good job blocking. Their running back (Xavier Lara) hits the hole very well. Their quarterback is good. Their quarterback (Ben Myers) is dangerous. We are going to have our hands full Friday night.”
The Potters have plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball, and the Potters are not afraid to bring pressure.
“They have a lot of speed,” Stickles said. “Their defensive line gets off the ball. Their defensive ends -- (Dre’Keim) Abercrombie -- do a good job on the edge. Their secondary has a lot of athletes. We are going to have to remain in front of the sticks. We are going to have to be able to control the football. We want to keep the ball out of their hands.”
The Potters are also dangerous in the return game, and the Golden Bears are spending some time this week getting their special teams prepared.
“We are going to talk with our kickers about what we want them to do with the football,” Stickles said. “We are going to try and keep the ball away from their athletes. We want to keep the ball out of their hands. If we do have to kick the ball to them, we are going to have to make sure we don’t make any mistakes.
“We have told our kids that they are going to make plays. They are going to make chunk plays. They have made chunk plays all season. We want to make them have to drive the football. If you force teams to drive the football, they may make mistakes, and you have to be able to take advantage of those mistakes.”
The Golden Bears defeated the Potters, 34-22, last season.