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Cougars of ROWVA/Williamsfield, High School Football, IHSA, IHSA Football, ROWVA/Willaimsfield Football, ROWVA/Williamsfield, ROWVA/Williamsfield Cougars, Saturday afternoon football, Stark County, Stark County Rebels
By Matthew Wheaton, Wheat on the Prairie
ONEIDA — For the second straight season, ROWVA/Williamsfield’s football team has advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
And the Cougars (8-2) are taking on a familiar foe in the Rebels of Stark County (10-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bill Adams Field in Oneida.
R/W and Stark County faced each other in Lincoln Trail-Prairieland Conference (Small) action in Week 6, and the Rebels handed the Cougars a 24-14 loss, which at the time was R/W’s only defeat. The Cougars fell to the Titans of Annawan/Wethersfield 28-6 in Week 8.
“It’s the second year in a row that we’ve been playing in Week 11, and it’s pretty special. Obviously, we’re not taking it for granted,” R/W coach Grant Gullstrand said. “We played a really good game last week and had a good regular season. Now, we get a chance to have a rematch against a conference opponent. It’s a pretty exciting time.”
What’s the key for the Cougars versus the Rebels, Part II?
“We made a lot of mistakes in the first game against them both schematically in what we were doing and our players made some mistakes. We had a couple of bad snaps and some missed tackles. We had some stuff we had to fix coaching wise to get kids in better spots,” Gullstrand said. “I think we’ll be prepared. Our kids are pretty confident after last week’s (28-14) win over Sterling Newman (Central Catholic).
“We just have to play our game, and we have to make less mistakes,” Gullstrand added. “Last Saturday was the best game we’ve ever played as a program. The defense was flying to the ball. Offense, it took us a while to figure some stuff out, but we made explosive plays that negated us not being consistent. In the second half, we found the consistency, ran the ball and dominated the line of scrimmage like you need to do in a playoff game.”
R/W by the numbers
Senior Riley Danner has completed 123 of 194 passes for 1,724 yards. He’s thrown 16 touchdowns, rushed for one and been picked off four times.
Junior Preston Schroeder has completed six of eight passes for 114 yards and a TD. He also has five catches for 50 yards and a TD.
Senior running back Spencer Brown has 80 carries for 541 yards and 14 TDs. He also has 15 catches for 269 yards and five TDs.
Senior running back Bryan Bertlshofer has 123 rushes for 1,179 yards and 14 TDs. He also has catches for 104 yards.
Junior running back Jack Cordle has 11 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. He also has nine catches for 87 yards and a TD.
Senior running back Lewis Sams has 38 catches for 449 yards and has broken the plane three times. Senior wideout Jack Godsil has a dozen grabs 12 for 167 yards and a pair of TDs. Junior tight end Talan Hull has 34 catches for 657 yards and four TDs. Sophomore Drake DeJaynes has a 7-yard TD reception.
On the defensive side of the ball, a pair are tied for the team lead in tackles. Senior Luke Nelson has 54 tackles (35 solo), and Hull has 54 tackles, as well, and 38 of his are solo.
Cougars’ 2023 schedule
Regular season
Week 1: R/W 29, Havana 20
Week 2: R/W 47, LVC (Lewistown, Valley, Cuba) 8
Week 3: R/W 38, United 18
Week 4: R/W 55, Princeville 40
Week 5: R/W 35, South Fulton 18
Week 6: Stark County 24, R/W 14
Week 7: R/W 45, Rushville-Industry 16
Week 8: Annawan/Wethersfield 28, R/W 6
Week 9: R/W 43, Abingdon-Avon 23
Postseason
Week 10: R/W 28, Newman Central Catholic 14
Week 11: Stark County at R/W at Bill Adams Field in Oneida, 2 p.m. Saturday
R/W’s roster
#2 Dawson Traphagan RB/LB
#3 Dalton Hertz RB/DB
#4 Nathan Courtright WR/DB
#6 Keegan Gerlach WR/DB
#7 Daniel Skala TE/LB
#8 Brock Davis TE/LB
#9 Preston Schroeder QB/DB
#10 Drake DeJaynes QB/DB
#11 Lewis Sams RB/DB
#12 Riley Danner QB/DB
#14 Jack Godsil WR/LB
#20 Spencer Brown RB/LB
#22 Devonte Noel WR/DB
#23 Edwin Foster TE/LB
#24 Bryan Bertlshofer RB/LB
#30 Brady Rickey RB/LB
#32 Jack Cordle RB/DB
#34 Kole Miller RB/LB
#40 Connor Wilson TE/LB
#45 Drake Powell TE/LB
#50 Carter Smith OL/LB
#52 Noah Soper OL/LB
#53 Max Main OL/DL
#54 Taylor Foster OL/DL
#56 Gage Aldred OL/LB
#58 Christian Doubet OL/DL
#61 Jacob Wheeler OL/DL
#62 Mathew Dennison OL/DL
#64 Cayden Sanders OL/DL
#66 Henry Powers OL/DL
#67 Tristan Loomis OL/DL
#68 Chad Rickey OL/LB
#69 Luke Nelson OL/DL
#70 Ayden Sanders OL/DL
#72 Matt Little OL/DL
#73 Jaxson Strom OL/DL
#76 Harlan Mitchell OL/DL
#80 Talan Hull TE/LB
Head coach: Grant Gullstrand
Assistant coaches: Jason Lydic, James Sams, Jordan Danner, Kaevahn Pendleton, Tucker Sams
Stark County’s roster
#0 Connor Wagenbach WR/LB
#1 Chris Barnwell RB/DB
#2 Blair Daum WR/DB
#3 Brett Hopp WR/LB
#4 Chase Holmstrom WR/LB
#5 Ben Browning QB/DB
#6 Matthew Bowser WR/DB
#7 Connor Daum RB/DB
#8 Justin Warner WR/DB
#9 Lane Joos WR/DB
#10 Braden Lindley WR/DB
#11 Charley Holmstrom WR/LB
#12 Brady leezer WR/DB
#14 Aiden Smith WR/DB
#15 Luke Rewerts QB/DB
#16 Caleb Gentle QB/DB
#17 Wyatt Snider WR/LB
#20 Keagen Sparks WR/LB
#21 Dillon Steelman WR/LB
#22 Nolan Orwig RB/LB
#23 Connor Down QB/LB
#24 Cary Morgan WR/DB
#25 Kaiden Libby WR/LB
#27 Owen Gibler WR/LB
#28 Guillermo Leon Ruiz WR/LB
#30 Rocco Swearingen RB/LB
#33 Mason Thieben WR/LB
#35 Nico Calderon WR/DB
#42 Avery Gerber WR/LB
#45 Baptiste Robineau WR/DB
#50 Jaxon Carder OL/DL
#51 Ben Siebenthal OL/DL
#52 Colton Wagenbach OL/DL
#54 Hunter Hart OL/LB
#55 Christian Calderon OL/DL
#56 Chet Gillespie OL/LB
#57 Charles Boarman OL/LB
#59 Nolan Snider OL/DL
#60 Jacob McCauley OL/DL
#62 Cole Merriman OL/DL
#64 Aiden Painter OL/DL
#65 Owen Mercer OL/DL
#67 Donavin Hoffman OL/DL
#68 Tanner Price OL/DL
#70 Owen Hess OL/DL
#71 Will Richards OL/DL
#72 Jayden Meecham OL/DL
#74 Ronan Breese OL/DL
#75 Cole Kinsellla OL/LB
#76 Jackson Saner OL/DL
#78 Corbin Williams OL/DL
#80 Johnathan Becker WR/DB
#86 Ross Saner WR/LB
#87 Adrian Manzano-Garcia WR/DB
Head coach: Jade Noard
Assistant coaches: Dustin Browning, Clint Terwilliger, Dylan Miller, Trey Swanson, Joe Charvat
Departing thought…
“They’re playing really well,” Gullstrand said of his squad. “The communities are really excited. It’s a fun time to be here. The kids have worked really hard for this, and it’s awesome to see them get the opportunity to continue to play.”
Want to help pay for some gas? Venmo: @Matthew-Wheaton-10 Want to shoot an email? matthewlwheaton@gmail.com