During its scrimmage on Saturday, Bradford High players did the usual running, tackling and throwing.
What impressed eighth-year head coach Jeff Puglio the most – aside from no players getting injured – was the passion his team played with.
“Something that I haven’t seen in a while was passion,” Puglio said of his Owls, which open the season Friday vs. Smethport. “Guys got fired up. That’s encouraging.”
A talking point earlier in the month at Allegheny Mountain League media day was how the Owls had to adjust to the style of play in the AML after years of playing a District 10 Erie league schedule. So far, it seems the Owls are ready to prove they’ve made the necessary adjustments in the physical, scrappy league.
“You can see it,” Puglio said. “A lot of these juniors and seniors have played since they were freshmen. This year’s junior class, a lot of them were freshmen starting. They went through the ups and downs, the 1-9s [and] 4-6 last year. I can see an energy about this team.”
The overall energy and excitement is up on the team, according to their coach.
“That’s stuff I haven’t seen around here in awhile,” Puglio said. “That’s something that makes everyone excited.”
On Friday night, Smethport – and really every AML team on the Owls’ schedule – should expect to see a steady helping of senior fullback John Eakin. A bruising runner, Eakin ran for 1,167 yards a sophomore, but was limited by injuries last season. When healthy, he was able to show his full potential, including torching the Hubbers for 238 yards and three touchdowns (including a 99-yarder on the team’s first play from scrimmage) in the opener, then running for 197 yards in the finale vs. Warren.
“I don’t think there’s any secret about what our plan is,” Puglio said. “Our plan is to get John the ball and get him going. Establishing the run, that’s critical for any Wing-T team. I like the way our line is playing. I haven’t seen our linemen getting second- and third-level blocks at the rate our line is getting right now and I don’t think ever since I’ve been head coach.”
Halfbacks Jaron Ambrose and Derek Sunafrank will also carry out of the backfield, giving the Owls complimentary backs for its run-heavy attack.
“John head a good scrimmage, Jaron had a good scrimmage, Derek had a good scrimmage,” Puglio said. “All three of our backs are locked and loaded.”
Taking the snaps from third-year starting center Kevin Ackerman on Friday will be Nate Blauser. Blauser is filling in under center for Donny Pattison, who is out for the game after receiving a personal foul penalty in last year’s finale. After Friday, the plan is for Pattison to resume his spot as quarterback, while the Owls’ coaching staff finds ways to keep Blauser heavily involved in the offense.
“He’s pretty comfortable in the position,” Puglio said. “I think he leads the offense well. The game plan is fully installed. Nate can do everything we need him to do to run our offense. We’re excited about it. He’s excited.”
The Owls coach said he’s expecting first-year Hubbers coach Adam Jack to change things up on offense from what the team ran last year.
He also noted the importance of starting the season at home. As the schedules were essentially flipped from last season, this year the Owls open with two straight home games. That means not only different-colored uniforms, but an added excitement for the players.
“It’s nice to open at home,” Puglio said. “To open at home, there’s an energy around the locker room.”
The Owls success in 2017 might just hinge on players’ passion, energy and grit. If the offseason, two-a-days and scrimmage showed anything, it’s that Bradford High is ready to go.
“It’s a different climate than what we’ve seen the past couple years,” Puglio said.
