In this file photo Trevor Moran (10) of North Union escapes the tackling arms of two Fairbanks defenders during Week 1 of the regular season. Moran has been a big part of the Wildcats offense this season with more than 700 yards of rushing in six weeks.
(Photo submitted)
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Football is a grinding, grueling sport and with the seventh week of the high school season here, teams around the state are feeling the grind with mild injuries and mental exhaustion.
The game, however, must go on.
“You have your typical bumps and bruises like every program does and I think mentally that is the challenge,” said North Union head coach Nick Hajjar. “Every year and every team has a different personality, but it is the time of the year when a lot of teams cut back on the practice schedule or really think about what are the necessities in practice to get done what you need to accomplish to go win a football game.”
It is no different for the North Union Wildcats (4-2) as they prepare to overcome a loss to Pleasant last week with a win against their other Mid Ohio Athletic Conference rival Marion Harding on Friday.
“It is tough,” Hajjar said about last week’s setback. “We’ve got to have a short memory. We can’t change anything that has already happened, so what we can do is learn from it and move forward.”
The Cats went into last week clinging to a fourth-place spot in Region 18 of Division 5.
After the the loss to the Spartans, they only slipped to sixth. That sixth-place spot will be tested by the Prexies this week.
Harding has had its hands full this season as they bring a 1-5 record to Richwood.
Even with the less-than-desirable mark, Hajjar said he isn’t going to underestimate the Presidents’ ability to compete.
“Don’t let the record fool you, they have really good athletes at all different positions,” he said. “Each week you can tell they are getting better. It is going to be a dogfight.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Prexies like to use a variety of running backs with DeAndre Ayers, Kwauve Booker and Devon Mallory combining for more than 600 yards.
Quarterback Noah Thompson has thrown for more than 400 yards in only four games. He likes to go to his main wide-out Andrew Brazell, who is at the top of the league in receptions, or Garey Moaney. Moaney has tallied 18 receptions through five games.
Hajjar said the diversity in Harding’s offense is something the Wildcats will have to guard against.
“They’ve done a couple of different things with their formations each week, but they like to get down hill,” he said. “They will test you on the edge with different people.”
NU’s offensive unit will have to contend with Harding’s four down linemen, fast linebackers and an athletic secondary that could give the Cats’ passing game some fits.
“Some of their best athletes are in the secondary,” Hajjar said. “They can run, they can hit and they can make some big plays. It is definitely going to be a big test.”
But as Hajjar likes to say, “every game is a test in this league” even against a team that has been on the losing side more than they would like.
“The league is a grind and every team poses challenges,” he said. “Just because somebody beat a team one way doesn’t indicate how good or bad you are going to do. People have to understand that and we are trying to get that message across to our kids.”
With plenty of history between the two teams, Hajjar expects the game to be a physical grinder, which would be no different then ones in the past.
“This has always been a physical, grind-it-out kind of football game and we are expecting the same thing,” he said.
The Wildcats will host Marion Harding with the kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.