Marysville senior Jake Carper (28) picks up yardage during last week’s game at Dublin Coffman. The Monarchs will return to their home field on Friday by hosting Westland for Homecoming. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
The Marysville High School football team will return to its home stadium with the hopes of getting back on the winning track Friday evening.
The Monarchs (4-2) will host Westland (1-5) for Homecoming.
The Cougars will run a spread offense with 3 x 1 receivers.
Westland, however, likes to maintain balance between the running and passing games, according to MHS head coach Brent Johnson.
A pair of primary offensive weapons are wide receiver Robert Clark and running back Peterson Iresne.
“Those are the guys we have to primarily be ready for,” said Johnson.
As far as the quarterback position, the Monarch boss said he’s not sure who his team will face.
“We’ve seen several quarterbacks for them on tape,” said Johnson.
Senior Buddy Workman has a full ride available to him from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Col.
Jason Cooper, a sophomore, has also recently taken snaps.
“I’m not sure why Workman hasn’t played the last couple of games,” said Johnson.
The Monarch boss knows what his defensive unit must do in order to get back on the winning side of the ledger.
“We can’t give up any big plays,” said Johnson. “We gave up some big plays last week at Dublin Coffman and that was basically the difference in the game.
“You can’t do that,” he said. “We also have to stop their running game.”
The Cougars’ “under front to a 50” defense will be designed to stop the Monarchs’ ground attack.
That’s nothing new since MHS is known as a run-first offense.
Johnson, however, feels Marysville’s roster strength will be enough to allow them to succeed with the ground game.
A number of different Monarchs have led the team in rushing over the past six weeks, including the likes of Chase Kilgore, Ryan Kern and Gabe Powers.
“We’re a much deeper team than Westland,” said Johnson. “I feel we can pound the ball on them and wear them down.”
Despite the confidence in his rushing attack, Johnson knows the Monarchs can’t take anything for granted.
“We’ve watched Westland on tape and they are improved from years’ past,” he said. “They’ve got some good athletes, but have had a problem of maintaining consistency on both offense and defense.
“However, we’ve seen flashes where they have been very good.”
The Monarchs will play on their new turf field for only the second time this season.
They played their inaugural contest on the field a couple of weeks ago during a victory over Big Walnut.
“We’re excited to be back playing on our home field,” said Johnson.
The Monarch coach said the key to winning the game will likely rest with the MHS defense.
“We have to keep everything they run in front of us,” he said. “We’ll have to see who will play quarterback for them and then take stuff away.
“We have to put a lot of pressure on their offense and get them into three-and-out situations,” said Johnson.
“We have to play on Friday night with a chip on our shoulder.”