Tigers look to bounce back vs. Magnolia
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If Marietta is going to secure at least another .500 season this Friday, the Tigers will have to find a way to get a victory against last season's Class A West Virginia champion.
That may sound tougher than it really is, though.
Marietta (4-2) hosts Magnolia at 7 p.m. Friday at Don Drumm Stadium, but the Blue Eagles are having a tough 2016 and enter the game at 1-5.
"They are 1-5, but record doesn't reflect how good they are. They have played an extremely tough schedule," said Marietta coach Jason Schob. "They have quite a few nice athletes, and they will be a challenge on Friday."
Just 10 months ago, Magnolia was wrapping up a perfect 14-0 season by winning the West Virginia Class A championship by whipping East Hardy 62-0 in Wheeling. Now it took the Dave Chapman-coached Blue Eagles six games to get their first win.
Magnolia (1-5) held off winless Monroe Central 19-14 last week in Woodsfield. Senior quarterback Nick Priem, who guided the Blue Eagles to last year's championship, had a big game against the Seminoles. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for one touchdown.
Senior Chase Street was the recipient of Priem's two touchdown passes, and will be a challenge for the Tigers (4-2) to defend.
"The win was a much needed win," said Magnolia's first-year coach Dave Chapman.
"The guys have been challenged big time as far as the teams we're playing. We're not playing any easy games, and Marietta isn't going to be easy either. We finally put some things together on both sides of the ball last week."
Both Marietta and Magnolia have faced Williamstown, who is 4-2. Marietta defeated the Yellowjackets 44-30, while the Blue Eagles lost at home 34-12. Chapman was impressed with what he saw from the Tigers.
"First and foremost they are a good football team. Marietta is a quality school and they have the football program going in the right direction," he said. "I know how they fared against Williamstown. They play a really competitive schedule. I've been impressed with what I've seen on film."
Marietta dropped its East Central Ohio League opener last week to Cambridge, 46-26, on a rain-slickened Don Drumm Stadium surface. Cambridge was able to capitalize on the conditions and use a strong power running game.
"Cambridge is a very good ball club," Schob said. "There are a few things we need to work on in all three phases of the game, but there wasn't really one thing that jumped out."
The Tigers managed to muster a solid running attack behind Dominic Vanfossen's 188 yards on 22 carries. The conditions made it tougher on Marietta's passing game, but Trent Dawson still managed to complete 13 of 28 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown. He also had one interception. Dawson has thrown for more than 1,500 yards this season.
Travis Moore and Isaac Danford remain Marietta top two receivers. Moore has 41 receptions for 636 yards while Danford has 37 receptions for 646 yards.
"It's important for us to get back on track after a loss," Schob said. "The guys really had a great attitude Saturday and in practice this week. We don't seem to get down when things get tough."
Chapman hopes his young offensive and defensive lines have toughened up now that Magnolia is more than halfway through the season.
"We start three freshmen and a sophomore on the offensive line. On the defensive side we start three or four sophomores," he said. "We lost 16 seniors off the state championship team, and we're still not where we need to be. But we feel we've gotten better each week and we're a far better football team now than we were five weeks ago."
Last week's victory was a nice shot in the arm for the Magnolia program.
"You can do all of the talking you want as a coach, but a win takes care of a lot of the doubt," he said. "That win Friday on the road ... we battled and came out on top. That's a good feeling for the kids and the fan base to finally get that first win. Now we move on from there."