Griffin Johnson of Marysville (22) encounters a pair of Thomas Worthington opponents on this play. The Monarchs will travel to Olentangy Berlin on Friday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
The Marysville Monarchs will face a brand-new gridiron opponent Friday evening.
It will mark the first time the 3-1 Monarchs have faced Olentangy Berlin.
“They’ve been around for three or four years, I believe,” said Marysville head coach Brent Johnson.
The Bears (2-2) run a balanced spread offense
Qquarterback Jacob Moeller heads up an accurate aerial attack.
He’s thrown for 1,446 yards and 11 touchdowns through four games.
Moeller has completed 88-of-135 passes
Justin Rader has caught 15 passes for 248 yards and a trio of touchdowns.
Other targets for Moeller include Ryan Horstman and Aidan Loeffler.
They’ve combined for 28 receptions for more than 320 yards.
Although Berlin likes to put the ball in the air, it does have some weapons in the ground game.
Nick Tiberio leads the team with 398 yards on 88 carries.
As such, Johnson said the Monarchs will have to be ready for anything.
Berlin’s skill position players operate with the protection of a veteran offensive line, according to Johnson.
The Bears’ top linemen are guards Antonio Alonso and Andrew Cline, tackles Cole Troyer and Jon Harder and center Bryce Young.
“They average between 260 and 270 pounds per man on their O-line,” he said. “However, we’ve seen bigger-sized lines before and the guys have done good jobs of handling that.”
The Bears will employ a three-man defensive front.
They will, however, walk up a couple of linebackers to help stop the run.
The ground game has been Marysville’s offensive bread-and-butter throughout the season.
“They are a typical Ohio Capital Conference defensive team,” said Johnson. “They run to the football very well.
“However, I think our team speed could give them some trouble.”
The ball game could very well come down to which team executes its offense the best.
Johnson said Berlin’s offensive unit will earn first downs.
“We will have to make them work for everything they get,” said Johnson. “We still, however, have to get our defense off the field as quickly as possible.
“This is going to be a ‘time-of-possession’ type of game,” he said. “We have to move the chains and stay on schedule.”
Johnson was asked whether facing a new opponent like Berlin will be a challenge for the Monarchs.
“We’ve played the same OCC Central Division opponents for many years,” he said. “This will be a new place to go and that’s a good challenge for the guys.
“We’ve got to get off to a fast start and take the fight to them,” said Johnson.