North Union’s Garrett Miller picks up yardage against Grandview. The Wildcats will face a tough test on Friday when they host state-ranked Clearfork.
(Photo submitted)
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Week 4 of the regular football season is knocking on the door and that means conference play will begin for the Wildcats of North Union.
The unfortunate bit of news is that the Wildcats will be facing Mid Ohio Athletic Conference newcomers Clear Fork to open league play.
The Colts will make the trip down from Bellevue and bring with them a 3-0 record and fourth place in the Division IV Associated Press high school football poll.
They have earned that ranking by defeating the likes of Fredericktown, Bellevue High School and last week, Jonathan Alder.
North Union head coach Nick Hajjar says this is just one team of many in the MOAC that will be tough for his squad.
“There is not going to be an easy week,” he said. “I think if you collectively look at the overall record in non-league play it is something crazy. There are a lot of undefeated or one-loss teams. It just goes to show you how tough the conference is.”
Clear Fork will field a team of 59 players, led by 11 seniors. Due to the high numbers and depth of experience on the roster, the Colts will utilize two different quarterbacks, Blake Dinsmore and Jared Schaefer.
Hajjar says that both have the ability to beat an opponent either on the ground or in the air. The dual quarterbacks will be in the backfield with Hajjar’s biggest concern, running back Trevon Trammell.
“They’ve got a young man on their team who didn’t play for them last year, but he is back this year,” said Hajjar. “He is really, really good. He is not the only one, but he is the guy that they like to get the ball to.”
Trammell, along with a number of other players, will use the jet wweep behind a big front line.
“They are big up front, just as big as us, and it is going to be a good challenge,” said Hajjar. “We are going to see a lot of skill kids running around. The last couple of games, they have been empty (in the back field) with multiple guys getting the ball.”
Defensively, the Colts like to cram guys into the box using four, five or even six upfront to try and over power an opponent’s offensive line and the running game.
Hajjar realizes that is always what teams try to do against the Wildcats.
“Anytime a team lines up against us, there is the priority to stop the run,” he said. “How they decide to do that each week is the game within the game for us. They are going to pack the box and try to force us to do some things they think that we don’t like to do. It is going to be a battle up front on both sides of the ball.”
This game will be a battle in the trenches, as both teams will use their own flavor of running to move the ball. Who can do it better or make the least amount of mistakes will come out on top. Hajjar, however, said that will be what it’s like every week in the MOAC.
“It is going to be all about match-ups, who can stay healthy and that is what it is going to be like each and every Friday,” said Hajjar. “If you don’t come ready to play every week, you are going to get beat, so we’ve got come ready to play.”