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Preview: Tri-Valley Wants A Challenge As John Glenn Invades Dresden

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In 2013, the John Glenn Little Muskies fell to Tri-Valley in a hard-fought game by a score of 33-14.  Even with that loss, John Glenn showed that they were no pushover, giving the Scotties a tough out, and even forced a few turnovers. 

The Little Muskies (4-2, 3-1 MVL) show that same quality this year, as they are right back in the thick of things near the top of the MVL standings, where they currently sit tied for third in the league with Sheridan, and trail only Maysville and Tri-Valley.

In order to slow down Tri-Valley (6-0, 4-0) this week, they will have to not just take the ball away, but use the momentum to get down the field.  Scotties’ head coach Justin Buttermore wants to prevent that from happening,

“The last two years they’ve given us a lot of trouble and taken the ball away,” Buttermore said. “We’ve let the ball hit the ground and even if we recover it that’s something we got to focus on. Ball security has been an important topic this week.”

When they do hold on to the ball, the Tri-Valley offense averages a whopping 9.3 yards per play, making every snap count for opposing defenses.

“It is no mystery Tri-Valley is a great team,” John Glenn head coach John Kelley said on Wednesday, “we just have to put the best team on the field we can each week.”

One way the Little Muskies have done that is with Caleb Gaiters.  The running back has stepped into the role of an offensive leader this year and contributes to the hard-nosed football Kelley puts on the field week in and week out. 

“They’re a tough, physical team,” Buttermore said. “They do a great job running the ball and stopping the run, so that’ll be key, the ground game.”

The Little Muskies will have quite the challenge juggling the three-pronged rushing attack of Logan Bash, Bubby Scott, and dual-threat quarterback Brock Fargus, which the Scotties have used to dominate opponents with all year.  The three have combined for 812 yards and have no fumbles heading into Week 7. 

Friday night’s game is an opportunity for John Glenn to try and assert themselves into the top tier of the MVL.  Coach Kelley sees injuries as one thing standing in their way, however.

“Each week we have to rebuild things,” he said. “We need to get healthy if we want to make that next step forward.” 

Despite having a different lineup almost every week, they are ready to face an efficient Tri-Valley team this week.   

For the Scotties, Buttermore is hoping to see the Little Muskies give his team another good fight.

“I wish we would have more challenges early on in the season,” he said. “We’ve honestly played sloppy recently and need to improve on that.” 

This is critical for Tri-Valley as this game precedes their toughest two of the season against Sheridan (5-1) and Maysville (6-0). 

Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Dresden. 

'Gridiron Glory' airs every Friday night at 11:30 p.m. on WOUB. You can follow the show on Twitter @gridironglory, like the Gridiron Glory page on Facebook, and follow along on Instagram @woubsports. You can also join the conversation throughout the season by using the hashtag #GridGlory!