The North Union Wildcats run onto the field to open a game at home. This week, the Cats will go on the road to take on Marion Harding as they try to climb above .500.
(Submitted photo)
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The North Union Wildcats are a football team that most folks would call streaky.
Their only back-to-back wins came early in the season when they consecutive won road games against Triad and Grandview Heights.
Along the way, the Cats have yet to claim one of their three wins on home turf. This week, that is good news.
The ‘Road Warriors’ of Richwood will be on the go once again as they take on Marion Harding.
The Prexies have had some streakiness of their own this season with a 4-2 record. However unlike North Union, Harding has earned the majority of its victories when playing at home.
Home or away, it doesn’t matter to NU coach Nick Hajjar. It is about the competition.
“This is going to be the challenge this week, home or away, it shouldn’t matter,” he said. “You have to compete to give yourself a chance to grind at a higher level and go get a win.”
In order to grind, the Wildcats will have to face a Presidents team that likes to run the ball.
“They’ve got just a bunch of different body types that are going to be carrying the football,” said Hajjar. “They use the run, run, run and then they do a great job with the play action, with either just your typical boot stuff or they will take some shots down the field.”
One of those different body types will be the recent return of Julian Ladd.
The transplant from Pleasant will rejoin the Prexies on the field after having to sit out the first five games of the season due to transfer regulations.
Last week was his first game back against Galion and the time on the sidelines seemed to do him good as he racked up more than 140 yards.
“You can tell he has fresh legs,” said Hajjar. “You can tell he’s a spark plug and plays hard, on top of some of the bigger backs they have used throughout the year.”
Harding will also use the likes of 180-pound senior Seth Tyler, 170-pound junior TJ Pickens and 215-pound sophomore Justin Bentley in the backfield with Ladd.
Hajjar said that with all the different body types, good tackling will be key to his defense’s success.
“We are going to have to stop the run because that’s what they want to do,” he said. “We are going to have to be really good tacklers Friday night, just because they are bigger-bodied running backs. We’ve got to do a great job of wrapping them up and getting at their legs. We are just going to collectively get 11 guys to the football.”
The Cats’ defense has had its ups and downs, surrendering 1,404 total yards with 1,045 yards coming on the ground.
Last week, NU yielded 236 rushing yards against Pleasant, with the majority of them coming late in the game, which led to the 20-7 victory.
Hajjar said the Wildcats’ defense has what it takes to get the job done physically. Now, it is about working on the mental aspect of the game.
“We’ve got to get our mind right after a difficult setback, which we had Friday,” he said. “The physical tools will be there… it is just mentally where are we going to be at moving forward and that’s not an easy thing to overcome. If you want to go on the road and a win against a good a opponent, you are going to have to get your mind right.”
The Cats have the tools to win ball games. It now comes down to whether they can win games in their heads.
If the Cats have their minds right, they have a good chance to stay perfect on the road.