H.S. FOOTBALL: ’Dogs look to get physical against Warren

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September 21, 2012

H.S. FOOTBALL: ’Dogs look to get physical against Warren

By Pete Chiodo Meadville Tribune The Meadville Tribune Fri Sep 21, 2012, 07:00 AM EDT

September 21, 2012 7:00 a.m. — All season long, Meadville head football coach Mike Feleppa has tried to get his squad to be, “a more physical football team,” he said. “We’re trying to be a better tackling football team. We want to out-hit our opponents. That’s kind of our mantra going forward.”

The Bulldogs appeared to be heeding that call this past Saturday, when they out-muscled Erie East 41-30 up at Veterans Memorial Stadium, improving their record to 2-1 in the process.

Tonight, the ’Dogs will pump up the physicality even more as they go back out on the road to face undefeated Region 5 foe Warren. Game time is 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.

“I know they’re 3-0,” said Feleppa. “I know they’re going to be a test. But I expect that we’re going to come out and perform.”

Warren is coming off a 47-6 romp over Bradford last week. Two weeks ago, the Dragons trounced Clarion-Limestone 83-12. And that followed a 28-6 victory over Erie East in Week 1.

Add it up, and Warren has won its first three games by a combined score of 158-24. That’s an average of 52.7 points per game for and 8.0 against.

Yet, Meadville will be only the second team with a winning record that Warren has faced (the other is Bradford). And, as Dragons head coach Brad Wright puts it, “I kept telling the kids all week that this is going to be the best team they’ve seen this year. They’ll have to continue to improve if we expect to win.”

It’s kind of hard to see where Wright wants his team to improve, with the defense allowing a little more than a touchdown per game and the offense boasting a nicely-balanced running and passing attack.

“Warren is a spread,” said Feleppa. “But they’ve got a mindset where they will spread you out and run the ball. And they are more than capable of throwing the ball.”

The focal point of the Dragons’ offense is senior quarterback Austin Jerman. He’s completed more than half of his passes this year (22 of 42) for 376 yards and six touchdowns while throwing three picks. He’ll also run the ball, already collecting 177 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries.

Jerman is one of three backs — along with junior Luke Wortman and senior Chris McNeal —that have rushed for more than 150 yards this season.

The Dragons also have three pass-catchers — Wortman, senior tight end Marc Davis and senior wideout Jordan Willetts — who have five or more receptions and have scored two TDs each through the air.

“Austin Jerman, he’s a really good quarterback, athletic kid,” said Feleppa. “He puts the ball on target. They’ve got some tall wide receivers. They’re a fast team. And they can run or pass on you at any time.”

Warren’s defense, meanwhile, will have to try and stop Meadville’s run-heavy wing-T, which has averaged a little under 300 rush yards per game. And that’s despite a fluctuating group of ball-carriers.

“That’s all right,” said Feleppa. “We’re used to it. We know how to deal with it. We haven’t had the same lineup since the first day of camp. And that’s no exaggeration.”

For instance, senior starter Artrel Foster, one of Meadville’s most talented athletes, will miss his third straight game on offense after suffering a knee injury back in Week 1. However, like last week, he will start in the ’Dogs’ defensive backfield.

In his spot at halfback will again be senior Trevor Martin, who has done a nice job of filling Foster’s shoes the last couple games, taking 28 hand-offs for 196 yards and two touchdowns this year.

At the other halfback spot will be junior Tim Bolden, who missed out on last week’s game for undisclosed reasons. Yet, he’s the team’s third-leading rusher with 191 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Leading the team, meanwhile, is the backfield’s most consistent presence, junior fullback Ryan Harkness. After rushing for 225 yards last week against East, Harkness has 394 yards and three TDs on 52 totes.

“They’re dangerous,” said Wright, “not only Foster, but they have several backs that are hard runners. They’ve put a lot of points on the board thus far. And we’ve got to reverse that trend.”

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