Bearcats set to face Westfall
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
BAINBRIDGE — Not much can be said about the 2010 Paint Valley Bearcat football season, except missed opportunities and games that got away.
This season the Bearcats have started the season with an uncharacteristic 0-4 start to the year, but this week is a new week and standing in the way of Paint Valley's first win of the year are the Westfall Mustangs.
Westfall is 2-2 for the year, with a 1-0 mark in the Scioto Valley Conference, after defeating the Unioto Shermans 46-34 last Friday at WHS.
This will be the third straight road test for PV, as they have traveled the past two weeks to face the McClain Tigers and Southeastern Panthers.
The Mustangs can score points, already racking up 108 this season, but they allow a lot of points too, exactly 137 in their first four games.
"They use a 4-3 base defense and they will blitz," Paint Valley head coach Pete Hollon said. "They blitz and have gap control up front, and they will slant. They like to keep their linebacker free, and they do a good job of it."
The Mustangs have a solid defensive line averaging 6-2, 240-245 pounds.
Hollon said they are a typical Westfall team who are coached by second year head coach Scott Keller. Keller has been with the program for eight seasons.
"They (Westfall) will give up a lot of points but will outscore you to get the wins," Hollon said. "Week in-week out that is normal for them. To get ahead of them we have to play better defensively. We have to grow older."
The offense of the Mustangs uses a empty backfield with a spread formation.
Their QB (Westfall) is a sophomore by the name of Trent Williams who is a first-year varsity starter at the position. He is a transfer from the Grove City area.
"They have a nice quarterback," Hollon said. "He throws and runs well. He's perfected the spread and they have good skill kids."
Other skill players for Westfall include sophomore running back Seth Fias, along with classmate Alex Stonerock at wide receiver.
"They have three good skill kids who are sophomores. They have a good mix and they run everything out of the shotgun, so those guys can use their speed," Hollon said.
The Bearcats had their problems last week in the second half, allowing Southeastern to score a 98-yard kickoff return to start the third quarter and outscore them 25-0 in the second half in a 38-6 loss.
"For us, we just need to improve our line play," Hollon said. "We are young with our skill players and they aren't where we need them yet, but they will be down the road. We are just going to continue to shuffle players around until we get the right combination."
The Bearcats will kickoff with the Mustangs Friday at 7:30 p.m.