Swanton Bulldogs Football: Program News: News and Announcements 10-3-09

* Bulldogs Struggle at L.C. *

LIBERTY CENTER -  The road woes continued for the Bulldogs this past Friday night as they were defeated by Liberty Center 55-26 on the Tiger's homecoming. An explosive Liberty Center offense and mental errors by the Bulldogs played a large role in the loss. Although the last 2 weeks have been very frusterating for the Bulldogs, Head Coach Ben Ohlemacher and his coaching staff remain determined as they have said they refuse to give up on their team and the 2009 season. After the game, the coaching staff stated "these past 2 weeks have been a lesson in adversity, which will not only make us stronger as football team, but prepare our young men for overcoming adversity the rest of their lives". Some of the bright spots for the Bulldogs including a dominating performance by sophmore quarterback Travis Hilton who was 11 for 19 with 255 yards through the air including 3 touchdown passes to senior wide receiver Louis Miller. Miller would finish the night with 7 catches for 219 including 3 touchdown catches from Hilton. Darnell Hinds led the ground game with 60 yards on 10 carries and 1 touchdown. Senior linebacker Cole Doren continued to display the toughness and leadership that the coaching staff believes in for the Bulldog's defense.

       Although the last 2 weeks have been frusterating for the Bulldogs, they were back to work early Saturday morning to prepare for their next game. The Bulldogs hope to silence their critics and take out their frusterations as they will host their rivals, the Evergreen Vikings this Friday, October 9 at Hansbarger Stadium for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 7:00pm

* Bulldog JV News *

    On Monday, October 5th, the JV Bulldogs traveled down to Liberty Center to take on the Tigers. In a hard-fought game, the Bulldogs pulled out the upset 12-6 over the Tigers. Sam Knepley had a great day throwing the football, making multiple completions to Paul Kennedy, Nick Schaffer, Kevin Kohlman, and Andrew Foore. Knepley also contributed a touchdown on the ground. Joe Daniels kept pressure on the Liberty Center quarterback making it difficult for them to throw the football. The defense was led by Mark Parker, Dakota Mason, Jamie St. Clair who all made big plays to secure the win for the Bulldogs. The win brings the JV team's record to 3-3 overall. The next game will be on Monday October 12th at 4:30pm when they host their NWOAL rivals, the Evergreen Vikings.

*A Look at This Week's Opponent*

Evergreen Vikings

Coach: Todd Theiken, 5th year

Last season: 4-6 overall, 3-5 NWOAL 

Returning letter winners: 20

Returning starters: offense 8, defense 7

Schemes: Multiple Pro Sets, 3-5

FROM THE TOLEDO BLADE PREVIEW: 

Outlook: There are a lot of familiar faces back for the Vikings, who have 13 seniors and 20 lettermen. But many of those familiar faces are in unfamiliar places. For example, Pennington moves from receiver to quarterback to take the place of Mossing, who switches from quarterback to split end. Langenderfer was a lineman last season but now will be more of a lead blocker out of the backfield. Defensively, Evergreen has good speed and experience, with May at OLB among the most experienced. "We got our butts kicked around a little bit, but now we've got a lot of experienced kids who are juniors and seniors," Thieken said. "We also have some depth, so we may have to use fewer players on both offense and defense."

SITE UPDATES ON OCTOBER 3 2009:

• Tons of photos added to photo site including pictures from Montpelier,  Archbold, Patrick Henry, and Wauseon games.
•  Offense Individual Stats from Games 1-5 are updated. (Thanks to Dave Lutz for providing our stats)
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• Junior High Page