The on-again, off-again Bradford-Warren game is back on at
Parkway field tonight at 7 p.m.
Last Wednesday a high-ranking District 10 official told the
Bradford Owls that Warren would be unable to honor its Nov. 4
contract if the Dragons qualified for the D-10 playoffs. After
Warren defeated Erie East 48-22 last Friday, Bradford head coach
Steve Ackerman informed the media the Owls’ season was over.
“We were told if Warren wins there would be no game on Nov. 4,”
Ackerman recalled. “Saturday morning Warren calls and said they
read in the paper we weren’t playing and wanted to know why. It
turned out to be a case of misinformation.”
So for almost 24 hours, 10 Owls’ seniors thought the 28-3 loss
at Harbor Creek was the final game of their scholastic careers.
“We’re playing and now we can have Senior Night,” Ackerman
stated. “I’m looking at this game as a second chance for our
seniors. I told them very few people get a do-over and they got
one.”
The 2-6 Owls will definitely be fired up for their season
finale, but how will the 4-5 Dragons treat the contest as they look
ahead to the district tourney?
“I don’t know,” Ackerman pondered. “You’d think they (Dragons)
would want to go into the playoffs on a winning note.”
The Owls scrimmaged Warren in the preseason and things didn’t go
well for Bradford.
“They (Dragons) ran all over us with their option,” Ackerman
confessed. “Hopefully we’ve come a long ways and we’ll be more
disciplined on defense.”
Quarterback Ben Paul is Warren’s leading rusher (834 yards) and
fullback Andrew Ackley is second (722 yards) in its potent Wishbone
offense.
“They (Dragons) run the Wishbone very well,” Ackerman noted.
“They have very good skill people. Their quarterback (Paul) makes
great reads, their fullback (Ackley) is a strong runner and they
block well up front.
“Their defense is a 3-5, but I call it a 5-3,” Ackerman
continued. “Their outside linebackers are up on the line of
scrimmage and play like defensive ends. In the secondary they’ll
play man-to-man and Cover 2 in obvious passing situations. They’ll
also run a stunt with their weakside backer.”
This will be the last game for Owls’ co-captains Stefan
Arlington, Rob Gault, Josh Holleran and the other seven
upperclassmen.
“They (seniors) were upset last Friday,” Ackerman declared. “Now
they have a chance to rectify the situation and make the most of
it.”
Coming into the game, Warren will not be taking Bradford’s
record lightly.
“I know that Bradford’s always a well-coached team,” emphasized
Warren coach Jeff Flickner. “I know they’ve struggled a bit, but we
can’t fall into that trap. We haven’t exactly been setting the
world on fire either. I expect that we’ll have a good ballgame, but
we’ll be ready.”
Looking at game strategy, the Dragons will look to help their
defense through their offense.
“On our end we have to have fewer turnovers and we need to
control the ball,” Flickner explained. “The best defense is for us
to put together some long, sustained drives.
“The team that controls the line of scrimmage and the ball will
be best.”
Additionally, District 9 Class A and AA playoffs open tonight.
In Class A action, Elk County Catholic plays Clarion at Clarion
University, while Kane travels to top-seeded and unbeaten
Coudersport.
In the Class AA game tonight, Moniteau visits Brookville.
On Saturday, Port Allegany is at Curwensville and Johnsonburg
travels to Clarion-Limestone.
All games will begin at 7 p.m.
