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Versailles
senior Mitchell Campbell will lead the Tigers on the field
Friday against their
arch rivals, Coldwater. The Cavs beat the Tigers
earlier in the season, now the
two will meet again. The winner moves
on, the loser goes home.
Photo by Scott Langston, Versailles Policy.
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Versailles to meet
Coldwater again
This time it’s all or nothing...
By George Starks
Sports Editor
VERSAILLES - It’s no secret that there’s no love lost between
Versailles and Coldwater when it comes to football. Friday night, the
Tigers and Cavaliers will lock horns for the second time this year.
This time, it’s for a shot at all the marbles.
A state title!
In week five, the two teams met in Coldwater and the Cavaliers walked
away with a 36-19 victory. However, it goes much deeper than just
another game. A shot at the state D-V title is on the line. The Tigers
haven’t been in the playoffs since 2006 and are hungry to get back to
the way it was under Al Hetrick.
“We want to get this program back to where it use to be,” said Tigers
head coach Bob Olwin. “WE want to get it back to the top of the
pinnacle. Get it back to where it was when Coach Hetrick was here.”
Coldwater has something on the line also, as the Cavs have a score to
settle.
Last year, the Cavs lost to Youngstown Ursuline, 51-21. To make matters
worse, Coldwater lost to the same school the year before that.
“We are going to have to go into this game and play the way we did in
the second half against West Liberty-Salem,” said Olwin. “We forced
turnovers and took advantage of them. We have to play four quarters of
solid football if we expect to beat Coldwater.”
With five of the 10 MAC schools getting into the post season, all five
won in the opening round. This week it’s guaranteed that at least one
MAC team will be going home after Saturday night’s games are completed.
“We were with Coldwater in the first half of the regular season game,”
said Olwin. “It was a game we could have won but we fell apart in the
second half.”
Last week, the Tigers saw sophomore quarterback Nick Campbell throw for
over 200 yards and rush for 162 more. He also hooked up with his
brother Mitchell on three occasions, with two of those passes going for
touchdowns in a 48-21 victory over West Liberty-Salem.
“Nick is one that doesn’t crack under pressure,” said Olwin. “ He
doesn’t get rattled easy and him and his brother are a solid
combination when it comes to the passing game. They are usually on the
same page.”
In the game against WL-S last week, Campbell connected with four other
receivers. On the ground, Versailles running back, junior Mike
Rutschilling, ran for well over a hundred yards with a 19 yard score.
Most coaches will tell you that offense wins games, defense wins
championships. Olwin is no different.
“Our defense stood its ground in the second half,” said Olwin. “We
forced turnovers and kids stayed at home on defense. We have to play
that kind of defense if we are going to beat Coldwater and move on.”
The two teams will play at 7:30 at Welcome Stadium.
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