Jays, Flyers renew rivalry in state semis

By Jim Metcalfe, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Thursday, November 26, 2009 (3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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jmetcalfe@cdelphosherald.comThe St. John’s offense celebrates the game-winning score by Wes Ulm Saturday night versus Ada. The win gave the Blue Jays a chance to continue on their quest to repeat as Division VI state champions.

St. John’s and Marion Local have developed quite a rivalry since the Blue Jays entered the Midwest Athletic Conference in the 1982 football season.
That intensity will be on full display Saturday night on the turf of Wapakoneta’s Harmon Field as the two rivals battle for a berth in the Division VI state title game.
The Blue Jays (13-0) won the regular-season matchup at Maria Stein 35-14 Oct. 2.
Jays coach Todd Schulte puts no bearing on that game because the Flyers (8-5) are not the same team as then.
“For one, they have their quarterback, Jarren Griesdorn, back. He’s a two-way starter, so he makes an impact on both sides of the ball,” Schulte began. “The second is that they seemed to have simply buckled up their chin straps and try to drive the ball down your throat; they have become more physical. Third, they aren’t beating themselves with mistakes. That really hurt them during their 5-game losing streak in the middle of the season.
“Griesdorn makes their passing game a lot better than before (he threw for 3 scores in their 27-0 win over Fort Loramie in the regional finals) but this offense is built around Niles Keller at tailback. He is only around 160 pounds but he runs very hard; he runs well between the tackles, getting the tough yards, and yet has the breakaway speed once he gets in space. Their offense is very similar to ours in what they like to do.”
That puts the burden on a Blue and Gold defense that comes in with averages of 9.6 points and 208.6 yards per game (a stingy 83.3 on the ground) with a 4.1-yard per play average.
Chris Pohlman (65 solos, 46 assists, 6 for loss) leads the troops, along with older brother Joel Pohlman (66 and 38, 5 for loss), Dylan Dancer (52 and 44), AJ Klausing (42 and 30; 3 interceptions), Chris Ulm (42 and 22; 6 sacks), Derek Klaus (37 and 25, 7 for loss; 8 sacks), Tyler Bergfeld (25 and 14; 4 picks) and Justin Backus (3 picks). Cody Brinkman (22 and 11; 5 sacks) is questionable due to injury.
“Defensively, they haven’t changed; they will bring a linebacker or two every play and will try to get in the backfield to mess up your blocking. They have varied their fronts lot more while still staying in a 4-4/6-2,” Schulte said. “They aren’t as big as they have been but they are quick, aggressive and tough.
“The biggest difference is that the offense is not turning the ball over and putting their defense in bad field position. That makes it a lot easier for the defense when it doesn’t have to defend a short field.”
The offense brings in averages of 41 points and 389.5 yards (299.2 rushing) per game (7.6 average per play).
Jordan Leininger (184 rushes, 1,412 yards, 30 touchdowns; 14 grabs, 218 yards, 2 scores; 9 kickoff returns, 24.2-yard average) leads the way, with lots of help from Wes Ulm (142 totes, 966 yards, 11 scores; 55-of-105 passing, 1,117 yards, 13 scores, 8 picks), Blake Williams (73 rushes, 561 yards, 7 TDs), Tyler Bergfeld (17 catches, 476 yards, 6 scores; 15 punt returns, 17.3-yard average), Mitchell MacLennan (64 carries, 371 yards, 3 TDs), Jay Clark (7 grabs, 123 yards), Steven Metcalfe (6 for 102, 3 TDs), Jordan Bergfeld (9 kickoff returns, 25.6-yard average) and Josh Rode (62-of-67 extra points, 1 field goal).
Joey Grubenhoff (18 pancake blocks), Alex Recker (13; 29 punts, 36.4-yard average), Austin Vogt (12) and Klaus (11) do the dirty work up front.
The Jays enjoy a plus-15 turnover margin, which they hope to better this week.
“In a game like this, field position is huge. We know each other so well: I am sure they will have a few wrinkles and so will we but basically, it comes down to execution on both sides of the ball,” Schulte noted. “Offensively, you don’t want to have to go 80 yards all the time. Defensively, you want to make them go 80 yards all the time. If they can drive the field on us consistently, then we have to adjust. You want to have a short field and give them a long one, so special teams and turnovers will be crucial. We need to win the turnover battle.
“As a coach, you’re always concerned about coming off an emotional and physical game like last week and whether you can bounce back. However, we had the same situation after beating Coldwater and then having to play St. Henry; I thought we handled that well. These kids know what the situation is and what they have to do. They’ve worked hard to get to this point.”
The Jays didn’t win that battle against Ada but managed to survive 34-31 in overtime in Saturday’s Region 22 final.
“We made mistakes we haven’t made all year. We missed assignments and had other mistakes we haven’t done all year,” Schulte added. “We were fortunate to stay in the game and come out with a victory.
“What I liked was how we didn’t hang our heads down 21-7 and didn’t panic. We maintained our poise and just kept playing hard and plugging away. I thought we wore them down over the course of the game. Defensively, we simply had to start executing and once we did that, we shut them down the last three quarters.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Saturday.

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