Marysville’s Blaine Williams (6) attempts to stop an Upper Arlington ball carrier during last week’s game. Also pictured for the Monarchs is Chase Kilgore (34). MHS will host Hilliard Davidson on Friday.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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The Marysville Monarchs have another tough task on their hands Friday evening.
The Monarchs (4-4), who are coming off a disappointing Homecoming loss to Upper Arlington, will host Hilliard Davidson (7-1) during their final home game of the 2018 season.
The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 1 in Region 3 of Division I heading into the final two games of the season.
The Monarchs, who were No. 8 in Region 2 last week, tumbled down to 13th.
Davidson does nothing fancy on offense. The Wildcats employ the same midline-veer they’ve used for years.
It’s just that they are very good at running the option offense and are difficult to stop.
The Wildcats have two stellar running backs in Christian Sweet and Jordan Hicks.
“They are typical, tough Hilliard Davidson kids,” said Monarch head coach Brent Johnson.
The offense is led by quarterback Carson Felicetty, who, according to Johnson, “reads defenses well.”
The Wildcats did not throw a pass during last week’s 24-7 victory over Dublin Coffman.
With that in mind, Marysville will have to load up its defense to stop Davidson’s running attack.
“When you play an option football team, it is assignment football,” said Johnson. “We will have to be disciplined with our defensive assignments.”
Johnson said control of the line of scrimmage will be important in this game.
“We have to establish the line of scrimmage,” he said.
Johnson noted that Davidson’s offensive line isn’t overly big.
“However, they will be physical and they will play with great pad level,” he said.
The Monarch boss said his defense will throw several different schemes at the Davidson offensive unit.
“We’ll move around a bit and try to throw them off their reads,” he said.
Speaking of defense, the Wildcats use a 4-3 front, much like MHS.
“Like us, they will walk somebody up at times to give you a 50 front,” said Johnson.
Davidson has two solid linebackers in Evan Annis and Ethan Royer, who pursue the ball well downhill.
“Davidson, as a team, runs to the football very well,” said Johnson.
The Monarch coach said his offensive unit must maintain control of the football.
“That’s something we didn’t do against Upper Arlington,” he said. “We’ve got to win the time of possession battle. If we do that, we’ll be in great shape.
“We have to get our defense off the field after third down and make them punt the ball,” he said. “We can’t have any turnovers and our offense has to stay on schedule.”
Johnson said the Monarchs came back in for Saturday’s workout ready to put the Upper Arlington game behind them.
“We watched films and had a good workout,” he said. “I think these guys will bounce back against Davidson.”
While the Monarchs slipped five notches in the Region 2 playoff race, they still are not mathematically eliminated from the post-season. However, time is running short.
“We are running out of wiggle room,” Johnson admitted. “However, these guys won’t stop working.
“We’re focusing this week on our effort and competition for Friday night against Hilliard Davidson.”