ST. MARYS — The long, uncertain wait is nearly over.
After a tumultuous summer that saw the 2020 football season nearly canceled before being brought off of life support, the Bradford Owls will take the field tonight against St. Marys at Dutch Country Stadium.
The opportunity to even be on the field at all hasn’t been lost on Bradford coach Jeff Puglio or his team.
“We’re happy to just be playing, because the alternative was nothing,” Puglio said. “ … We’re happy to play, and we feel very fortunate to be playing (tonight). We’re excited.”
That said, the task at hand is a tough one as Bradford rolls out its new spread/air raid scheme on offense and 4-2-5 package on defense. A year ago, the Flying Dutchmen walloped Bradford to the tune of 45-0, and St. Marys returns nearly every starter that took part in that game.
What stood out from that matchup, according to Puglio, was the strength of the Flying Dutchmen and how powerful they were inside the trenches. St. Marys racked up 263 yards rushing thanks to that dominance on the line and some explosive plays.
Dutch running back Jacob Kline led the charge with 123 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries and is back for his senior season.
“They’re big, strong kids,” he said. “They jumped off on film last year as big, strong kids, and I know they really dedicate to their strength and conditioning program. You can see that on film, so we’re expecting it to be physical inside.”
As such, Puglio said the game will once again come down to line play — even as the Owls roll out their new schemes.
“I know everybody wants to talk (about the) air raid and how we’ll throw it all over the field, but this game is pretty simple at the end of the day. It’s about the guys up front,” he said. “And I’m excited about our group and the work they’ve put in since July.”
Bradford also will be tasked with slowing down potent dual-threat quarterback Christian Coudriet. As a sophomore, the signal-caller racked up 2,612 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air and added 294 yards and five scores on the ground.
Coudriet’s top three targets from a season ago — Bryce Walker, Michael Fitzgerald and Terry Williams — all return for the Dutch this year, too.
The Owls are anticipating a strong performance in 2020 from Coudriet, who threw for just 70 yards during the teams’ 2019 matchup but scored twice on the ground.
“We know (Coudriet) was a young quarterback last year and just got better and better throughout the year. We’re expecting him to play really well, and I wouldn’t expect anything else from him except to play really well,” Puglio noted.
The key defensively, the coach says, is for the Owls to read their keys, pay attention to details and be in the right pre-snap positions to make plays.
“I think it’s going to be a really good matchup between their athletes and our athletes in space, and I’m excited to watch it,” Puglio said. “I think that, again, it’s about paying attention to detail. If we can put ourselves in the right position then we don’t put ourselves at a disadvantage. And then when the ball is snapped, you just let your athletes play.”
To match that physicality and skill the Flying Dutchmen possess, Bradford is also seeking to get out of the gates quickly.
“In the past we’ve been really slow starters. If we’re going to have a chance, we have to come out fired up and ready to go,” Puglio said. “We cannot start slow against St. Marys at all, or it’ll be 14-0 before you can blink an eye. For us to win and be in the game, we have to come out fired up and start fast.”
Kickoff is slated for 7 o’clock.
