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WELLSBURG -- The Brooke Bruins return to Brooke Memorial on Saturday, licking their wounds from a tough 35-6 loss on the road against an unbeaten North Marion outfit.
An intriguing matchup is headed their way following what will be a multi-hour early Saturday morning trip for Watkins Memorial High School in Pataskala.
The Warriors come to Brooke County with a 4-1 record and fresh off a 41-0 drubbing of Johnstown. Watkins Memorial's defense owns three shutouts to its credit and another game where it allowed just seven points.
The outlier? A 24-19 loss to Sheridan at home. The Warriors aren't the only team whose only loss has come to the Generals as they blanked MVL-rival John Glenn 14-0 last Friday.
One loss versus four wins. Seven points in four games against 24 in one. Which is the rule and which is the aberration?
The four wins from Watkins have another feature in common in addition to the Warriors' defense shutting down the opposition--that opposition has a combined five wins and 16 losses. Only Teays Valley, which Memorial beat 28-7 back on September 1, has more than one win (2-3).
Not to say the Warriors are a slouch and have only beaten nobodies; far from it. But those are numbers to consider.
The same technically could be said of Brooke. Is the Bruins' defense that limited the high-flying University air attack to nine points representative? Or is it closer to the one that yielded 35 to North Marion?
The difference is that Brooke beat a team with a winning record; one that put together an impressive win against Wheeling Park the following week.
Watkins Memorial employs a spread formation with quarterback Drew Samsal flanked by running back Gerald Banks.
Against the Johnnies, Banks ran for 91 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries while Samsal threw for 148 yards and two scores while adding 22 on the ground.
The two pair frequently with RPO action in the backfield, similar to North Marion.
The Huskies' dynamic playmaker, however, was their quarterback in Casey Minor. Minor threw for one touchdown and ran for four more in a game that Brooke trailed only 6-3 at one point.
Quarterback Braelyn Sperringer and company will need to convert scoring opportunities that were missed in the Huskies' game if they hope to get back on track against North Marion.
Sperringer's ability to do damage with his feet, however, should be beneficial.
Like Brooke, the Generals feature a gritty experienced quarterback in Camden Sheridan, who is able to beat teams with both his arms and legs. Against the Warriors, the experienced Sheridan was instrumental in leading the Generals to a revenge victory against Watkins and preserving a spotless mark.
This will be the first of a three-game home stand for Brooke, with powerful Bridgeport (W.Va.), followed by Oak Glen set to visit Brooke Memorial in the coming weeks.