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NEW MANCHESTER -- It has been a long wait, but the Oak Glen football team is finally back home.
The banged up Golden Bears traveled across the river last week for a rivalry game, however, Beaver Local controlled the game from the get go en route to a 62-0 victory last Friday night on Pastore Field.
"It was just one of those games," first-year Oak Glen (1-4) head coach Doug Taylor said. "When you play a team of Beaver Local's caliber and you are shorthanded, it is going to be tough. We were down three starters and things kind of snowballed from there. We lost three or four more guys in the first quarter.
"We had to play a lot of young kids. They were playing out of position. We just have to move on."
The boys from Hancock County are looking to get back on track this week as winless Berkeley Springs makes its way to the Bears Den. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. Friday night.
Terry Rea is the head coach of the Indians (0-5).
"Their is a local connection to this game," Taylor said. "Terry Rea is the coach of Berkeley Springs. He has coached at Brooke and at Weir.
"He knows the valley. He knows what kind of football he is going to see.
"He's a good coach. He is a good defensive coordinator. Defense is his big thing. I expect nothing but the best from Terry."
The Indians have had a rough start to the season. Petersburg (54-28), Greencastle-Antrim (53-7), Braxton County (41-35), Frankfort (45-14) and Tucker County (70-19) have all beaten Berkeley Springs this season.
"Offensively, they run multiple formations," Taylor said. "They are similar to the teams we have played the last two weeks.
"They will use motion. They want to get their people on the perimeter. They want to get their playmakers the ball in space. They are difficult to defend."
Berkeley Springs has struggled stopping teams from putting points up on the scoreboard as all five opponents have scored at least 41 points against them.
"Defensively, they play an even front," Taylor said. "They like to bring pressure. They use stunts and twists. They use multiple blitzes. They are going to give us looks we have not seen."
The Indians went 6-4 last season. Oak Glen defeated Berkeley Springs, 53-31, on the road.
"Berkeley Springs had a good season last year," Taylor said. "Oak Glen played them at their place. They are in a rebuilding mode this year. Last year's game was high scoring."
Berkeley Springs has struggled defensively this season, while Oak Glen has struggled to score points.
"You never no what to expect," Taylor said. "Offensively, we are going to have to establish the run. We are going to have to run the ball consistently. We need to sustain drives and score points. We have been able to do those things in spurts. We haven't done it consistently.
"We have to be better offensively. The first thing we have to do is establish the run. We have to run the ball. We have to get the ball to our playmakers."
A blitzing team can give up big plays in the run game if a hole opens up at the line of scrimmage.
"We are going to try and figure out their tendencies," Taylor said. "We have to figure out when they want to blitz. If they blitz, a hole may open up, and there will be a lot of green to run too.
"We want to run the football. We have to establish the run. We want to use the play-action pass off the run. We have not been consistent on offense."
The Golden Bears have played quality opponents all season, and Oak Glen is looking to build momentum going into the remainder of the season.
Oak Glen has been dealing with a lot of injuries, including injuries to key players, however, the Golden Bears are expected to get a couple key players back this week.
"We are getting back Matt Greenlief and Tristin McCauley back this week," Taylor said. "Nate Davis' injury wasn't as bad as we first expected, so he should be back for this one.
We are still going to be without Wes Molish and Buck Franklin. Franklin got hurt on the opening kick off last week. We were down two running backs.
"Getting Matt back will be big for us. He's a good running back. He is an established ball carrier."
After opening the season at home, the Golden Bears have been on the road the past four weeks.
"It is nice to finally be able to play at home," Taylor said. "We opened on a Thursday, and then we were on the road the last four weeks. The kids are excited about playing in front of the home fans. It will be nice seeing all of that support. The kids deserve it."