The battle of champions last week saw West Orange-Stark drop a tough one to Newton. Coach Cornel Thompson believes the Mustangs gained a lot more from that game than a walk over against a lesser opponent. He flat out stated WO-S benefitted from playing four quarters for a full 48-minutes against a team like the Newton Eagles than in its win the week before.
Other good news is there were no injuries for the Mustangs. Thompson quipped, “The only thing hurt was our feelings.”
This Friday night West Orange-Stark steps up a classification to play 5-A Crosby. Thompson examined the Cougars’ offense. They are pure Spread in their offensive alignment. The Cougars line up with either two receivers wide on both sidelines or with a one and three split outs. They do not huddle or go under center with their quarterback except in rare goal line situations.
The quarterback guiding the Crosby Spread is Jaiden Howard. Last season Howard accounted for 3,600 total yards and 36 touchdowns. Zach Simon will lineup in the backfield and carry the football. The Mustangs’ scouts peg him as a hard runner.
Four talented wide receivers are available for Howard’s left-handed tosses of the football. The go to receiver for the Cougars is Matthew Fagnana who frequently lines up as a slot receiver. “They are a pure Spread football team running and throwing,” Thompson reminded.
Crosby is best known for its explosive offense. Coach Thompson took a look at the Cougars on defense which is based out of a 4-2-5 formation like many pro teams. Crosby plays well as a unit together on defense. The Cougars do not really have a bell cow or a standout on the defensive side of the ball. They are an experienced group of tacklers with eight returners on defense.
Leaders for the Cougars are Hunter Moore at outside linebacker and Jamar Hamilton at tackle. Thompson evaluated, “I don’t know how strong they are or how fast they are, but they’re big and they swarm the ball pretty good.”
This is another non-district game for West Orange-Stark. Improvement is the first priority, and a win is desired. Coach Thompson was asked what must be done to attain the latter. His one-word answer was tackling. The coaches have worked to emphasize tackling since the Newton game to improve the poor tackling of the Mustangs which was pinpointed as causing WO-S to surrender at least two of the three touchdowns scored by the Eagles last week.
Despite being only 1-2 on the season West Orange-Stark is still highly ranked in the state. The coach said the ranking is based on the Mustangs’ strength of schedule. “I challenge anybody to match our schedule and the people that we play,” Thompson concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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