By Chris Chaney
Sports Editor
For Williamsburg, it’s not the X’s and O’s’ it’s the Jimmys and the Joes.
Or, more appropriately, it’s the Spencers, Kurts and Dawsons.
Program systems in high school football only last as long as the players who can implement them. In 2015, that meant Wildcats head coach Scott Lefker had to stray from the spread offense that his team had been running in recent years, reverting back to the run-based Wing-T to accommodate for the players who would be suiting up for him on Friday nights.
“Obviously, with a new offense, there’s been a learning curve for our guys,” Lefker said. “They’re still picking up on it, we still have a lot to learn, but when we do what we know, we’re not bad, so that’s where we’re at now.”
Lefker’s Wildcats had a microcosm of their season in Week 6, the team’s first Southern Buckeye Conference National Division match up. Visiting perennial contenders Blanchester, the Wildcats found themselves in a hole early on, needing to come together around their new system in the second half to pull out a victory, 27-20.
“We put ourselves in some bad spots all night long,” Lefker said. “In the second half, we played like we knew what we were doing and we didn’t have too much trouble getting back into the game and winning.”
The coach said that he and his staff told the team before the game that they would be judged by how they responded to adversity. In the Wildcats’ two previous losses, they allowed their mistakes to compound, eventually costing them early-season victories over Paint Valley and Goshen.
On Friday night, however, Lefker said that his team leaders took the initiative to own their mistakes and improve from them.
“We had a lot of adversity Friday night; we had two bad snaps over our punter’s head and they scored on those. We gave a fumble up and they scored on that,” Lefker said. “It was great to see our kids respond. At halftime, they said that they weren’t going to lose.
“There are kids on this team who are normally very quiet — the lead by example type that aren’t very vocal — and they were all vocal. They had it in their minds and in their hearts that they weren’t going to lose that game and they came out and played that way. It was awesome to see.”
The catalysts for that comeback win were the same guys whose skill set required a change in the offensive system. Burg is led by a three-headed senior rushing attack made up of Kurt Meisberger, Spencer Clowery and Dawson Davis.
“Kurt Meisberger and Spencer Clowery are our team captains and they’re both being great leaders,” Lefker said. “The reason we went to (the Wing-T) was those guys. We knew we had Kurt and Spencer, but also Dawson Davis who, on Saturdays last year (on junior varsity), just tore it up and looked out of place all year; he looked like he should have been on the field on Friday nights and that’s been the difference.
“You just can’t key in on one or two, you need to know where all three of those guys are on the field at all times. All of them have had big nights, it just depends on what the other team gives us and that’s what we’re going to take.”
As if three threats out of the backfield weren’t enough, senior quarterback Zack Ward has the ability to get outside on naked bootlegs to gain big yardage, Lefker said.
“We do give teams trouble,” the coach said. “They have to respect us all across the field. They have to stay home and that’s helpful to have. Our offensive line has done a great job as well.”
At 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the league, the Wildcats are itching at the chance to get their crack at bitter rivals Batavia. Falling to the Bulldogs in a knock-down-drag-out 8-6 contest last year, Burg is looking to make amends on Friday night at Holman Stadium.
“It doesn’t matter what the records are when we play Batavia — we could be undefeated or they could be undefeated — you throw all that out,” Lefker said. “The bottom line is that Batavia has a good team regardless of their record. They have a big team, good skill players and they’re well coached, so we have to be on our very best to be able to compete with them. That’s all we’re hoping to do.
“Our kids are pumped up about it and they will be ready to play on Friday night. It’s just a matter of do we have enough horses to stay in the game with them.”
It won’t come down to X’s and O’s on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. It’ll be the Jimmys and the Joes.
Or the Spencers, Kurts and Dawsons.