The key word attached with Bradford football for much of this season has been “energy”.
When the Owls don’t play with energy, they usually don’t fare very well; when they have energy, there aren’t many teams in District 9 who look better.
The latter version of Bradford was the one that showed up last Friday as the Owls trounced visiting Brockway 34-13 to improve to 3-3 on the season.
But head coach Jeff Puglio knows that that big win won’t mean much if the Owls can’t follow it up this Friday when they make the trip to face Punxsutawney (2-4).
“We can’t take a step backwards,” Puglio said. “We saw that happen after the Kane game; we took two big steps backward,” he said, referring to back-to-back losses to Ridgway and Moniteau.
“We’re looking to keep the momentum going and keep doing the right thing.”
To do so, the energy needs to be there coming off the bus. The last time Bradford made a long road trip, it resulted in a 12-7 loss to Moniteau. It was a game in which the Owls looked sluggish from the start and their inability to find any momentum resulted in a defeat to a team it almost certainly should have beaten.
“It’s about energy: we’ve gotta find that energy in the locker room before we come out,” Puglio said. “We did a really good job with that last Friday. We’ve got to make sure we get that fire, that life, and get ready to play.”
It’s been quite a while since the Owls and Chucks did battle on a football field: the old rivals haven’t met since 2007 — when Bradford won 49-13 — and haven’t played in Punxsy since 2006 (where Bradford also won 28-7).
The 2018 version of the Chucks haven’t had the best season, as Punxsy has lost back-to-back games to Kane and Ridgway. Punxsutawney has yet to score more than 24 points in a game this year, while its defense is allowing more than 31 points per contest.
But don’t think for a second that Puglio and the Owls are taking the Chucks lightly, even with a huge Week 7 matchup against (as of now) undefeated Clarion on the horizon.
“They’re going to throw a lot of different things at us,” Puglio said of Punxsy. “They run a lot of different plays and formations, so it’s crucial for us to pay attention to detail, to read the keys. I like the plan that we have in place. It’s about execution: we have to be aware of where they’re lined up.”
The key to the Owls’ bounceback win against the Rovers was the re-emergence of its powerful rushing attack: after a pair of disappointing showings, Bradford’s ground game was dominant on Friday, racking up 354 yards on the ground with both Donny Pattison (191) and Jaron Ambrose (137) eclipsing 100 yards on the ground and combining for five touchdowns.
“When our backs block for each other, good things happen for us,” Puglio said, adding, “The big key was we didn’t turn the ball over — that’s a really big story for us. When we take care of the ball it gives us a chance to win games. You look back at the Ridgway game and we turned it over five times. It’s hard to win games like that.”
On to the picks for Week 6:
Bradford (3-3) at Punxsutawney (2-4)
Expect another big day for the Owls’ ground attack against a suspect Punxsy defense. BRADFORD by 17.
Smethport (6-0) at Cameron County (1-5)
I highly doubt the Hubbers’ undefeated season comes to an end this week. SMETHPORT by 40.
Otto-Eldred (3-3) at Coudersport (4-2)
After giving up 74 to Clarion-Limestone, the Terrors get no relief against Coudy’s high-flying attack. COUDY by 13.
Moniteau (3-3) at Brockway (4-2)
Brockway desperately needs a win after two straight losses. Even after losing to Bradford, the Rovers still give up less than 20 per game. BROCKWAY by 6.
Brookville (3-3) at St. Marys (0-6)
After losing three in a row, the Raiders have won back-to-back contests and face a Dutch defense that allows almost 35 points per game. BROOKVILLE by 24.
Kane (1-5) at Karns City (2-4)
Even though their record is 2-4, the Gremlins have actually scored more points than they’ve allowed this year. A few close losses have masked a pretty good team. KARNS by 13.
Ridgway (6-0) at Clarion (6-0)
Not much on the line here in a matchup between the undefeated reigning D-9 Class A and AA Champs: just first place in the Large School Division, the top seed in the AA playoff race, and District-wide bragging rights. RIDGWAY by 3.
Redbank Valley (4-2) at Curwensville (4-2)
A crucial matchup in the Small School South Division. Curwensville held Coudersport to six points last week, but the Tide might not have the offense match Redbank. REDBANK by 4.
Sheffield (0-6) at Port Allegany (0-6)
Something has to give in this one. I think the Gators have a bit more to work with on offense, and every little advantage will be key. PORT A by 7.
Elk Catholic (4-2) at Clarion-Limestone (5-1)
These two offenses scored 139 points between them last week (65 for ECC, 74 for C-L). So yeah, there might be a few fireworks in this one. CLARION-LIMESTONE by 4.
Keystone (3-3) at Union/A-C Valley (2-4)
This matchup is a bit of a mystery to me. I’ll give the Keystone the edge since, by the numbers, they’ve been better on both sides of the ball. KEYSTONE by 8.
