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ST. MARYS – After three-straight losses, the Oak Glen football team got back on track last week with a win against Buckeye Local at home, and the Golden Bears will look to continue their winning ways this week on the road.
Oak Glen is set to face off against St. Marys at 7 p.m. Friday night down at Bill Hanlin Stadium.
The Golden Bears enter this week's game against the Blue Devils coming off a 41-14 victory against the Panthers last Friday night up at the Bears' Den. It was a good night for the boys from Hancock County as they were able to pick up their second win of the season.
"Absolutely," first-year Oak Glen (2-3) head coach Derrick Stickles said. "The kids played hard. We have challenged the kids the last few weeks. They showed a lot of toughness against Buckeye, and they came out and played well."
St. Marys comes into this game with a record of 1-3, but the Blue Devils have faced some quality opponents this season.
"They certainly have," Stickles said. "They have played a pretty-good schedule. They played well last week. I think the injury bug got them last week. They had some kids out. They are looking to get those kids back. They are looking to get healthy. I don't know what the final score was, but they played a tight game last week. It came down to the last drive."
Last week, Frontier (5-1) defeated St. Marys, 29-20, at home.
"They move the ball pretty well," Stickles said. "They like to run the football. They run some different formations. They run the ball out of the different formations. They have an experienced coaching staff. Their coach (Jodi Mote) has been there for a while. They do a lot of good things.
"Defensively, they show you some different looks. They like to bring different types of pressure. The big thing once we get down there is we are going to have to figure what we can do the best offensively. We are going to have to establish an identity on offense. They are tough. Ritchie ran the ball. They had a three-back backfield, and they ran double tight. Frontier is pretty much a spread team. Their field was a mess. Once Frontier got going, they were able to do some different things. We are going to have to figure what is the best thing we can do on offense."
After opening the season by defeating Webster County, 40-6, St. Marys has lost its last three games with the first two losses coming against 4-2 Belpre (34-24) and 2-2 Ritchie County (12-0).
"They have pretty-decent size on their offensive line," Stickles said. "We are a bit undersized with the size matchup with their offensive line. We are good skill-wise. Our kids are tough. They are going to battle. They are not going to backdown from anyone. We are going to have to maintain our leverage and maintain our gaps. We are going to have our skill guys run to the football."
The Golden Bears know what it is going to take to be successful Friday night down in Pleasants County.
"We are going to have to protect the football," Stickles said. "We are going to have to eliminate mistakes. Defensively, we have got to be able to tackle. We have to be able to get the ballcarrier on the ground. We haven't done a good job of that. We did a pretty-good of getting the ballcarrier on the ground against Toronto, and we improved upon that against Buckeye Local. We have to be able to get the ballcarrier on the ground. We are going to have to maintain our gaps, and we are going to have to run to the football."
Oak Glen has dealt with some injury issues this season.
"We have a few guys banged up," Stickles said. "We had some guys who haven't practiced for a few weeks practice today. They looked good. They were rested. Our kids have had positive attitudes. They show up every day. We are dealing with some sickness. It is that time of the year when you have to deal with some sickness. The big thing is we want to get everyone healthy, and we want to keep everyone healthy. We want to limit reps, but at the same time, we want to find creative ways to stay physical and create contact."
The game against Buckeye Local was the midpoint of the season for Oak Glen.
"I am pleased with how our kids are playing," Stickles said. "I am happy with the way we have responded to adversity so far this season. We just want to play another week of football."
The Golden Bears defeated the Blue Devils, 53-18, last season at home.