Things seem to be turning around at Parkway Field, as the Owls were able to add a second notch to their win column, beating Otto-Eldred in a heavy-handed blowout.
With the 35-12 win, the Owls reached another landmark in winning back-to-back games. That feat hadn’t been achieved since 2018, when they also opened their season with a loss before stringing two wins together. That year, the Owls finished 6-5 and had a four-game streak in the middle of the season.
“I think winning back-to-back games justifies the hard work the kids have been putting in. There’s some reward for it. They’re more willing to come back and keep pushing harder,” said Bradford head coach Jeff Puglio. “We’ve got some kids that have really bought into the system. It’s funny, because as coaches we haven’t really done anything different, we just have a group of kids that kind of believe in themselves this year.”
A major trend of recent years for the Owls has been their over-reliance on the passing game. However, in the win over the Terrors, Bradford showed off the duality of their offense, recording 156 yards through the air and 169 on the ground.
Throughout the first three games, quarterback Talan Reese has collected 581 yards on a 71 percent completion rate, with his two main targets, Jake Franz and Adam Ward totaling 265 and 168 receiving yards, respectively, also combining for four touchdowns.
When handing the ball off to their backs, the Owls tend to go through Jordan Thompson and AJ Gleason. In last Friday’s game, Thompson carried the offense early, ending with 78 yards (165 yards, 1 TD on the season) while Gleason tallied 43 yards and a score (78 yards, three TDs through three games).
“I think our offense is a testament to the work the kids have put in over the summer. This doesn’t just happen. They know where they’re supposed to be, Talan knows where they’re supposed to be and if they’re not, he’s not shy to tell them,” said Puglio. “We’re very comfortable being able to distribute the ball, and we’re starting to show that we can run the ball. It’s going to make us very dynamic moving forward and very hard to defend.”
Coming up next for the Owls, however, is a rough and tumble team with a similarly balanced plan of attack: DuBois.
Though 1-2, the Beavers have been battle-tested in each of their three games, winning the season opener against Karns City by just five points before falling in overtime by a single point to Brockway. Their most recent game was a 30-14 upset loss to Northern Bedford, something DuBois will certainly look to respond to with a win.
Like the Owls, the Beavers have a balanced system of offense, garnering 491 passing yards and 431 rushing yards this season. Their quarterback, Trey Wingard, is completing 57.5 percent of his passes, good for five touchdowns and 364 yards, with his receivers, Kaden Clark and Carter Vos, combining for 313 yards via the air. On the ground, their go-to back is Garrett Nissel (198 total rushing yards,) but also can alternatively hand it off to Danny Dixon (109 total rushing yards.)
However, what Puglio is most focused on is their size, something that hampered them in the Week 1 matchup against Punxsutawney.
“They’re big. That kind of jumps off the film. They’re much bigger than Coudy and Otto-Eldred. I’ve been waiting to see if we can be physical with a team that’s bigger than us,” said Puglio. “Really the only game we have to go off of was Punxsutawney, and they were playing three or four yards past the line of scrimmage every play. For us to have success tomorrow, we have got to bring the game to DuBois, bring the physicality and push the line of scrimmage backwards.”
While they are still riding their wave of newfound confidence, and while their offense certainly is developing into a cohesive and successful unit, their toughness and discipline are yet to be proven. Both Coudersport and O-E were smaller, Class 1A teams, now it’s time for the Owls to pick on someone their own size.
