Behind The Box Score

Monday: Hilliard Davidson Preview

Today:Westerville South Preview

Tomorrow Night:Preview of the South-Davidson game that takes place on Saturday, 3:30 ET at Ohio Stadium (can be seen live on ESPNU)

After having two seasons out of the ordinary for South, the other Wildcats are looking to end up on a positive note this year. A dominant program in the mid-late 90s that included the names such as Andy Katenzmoyer (Ohio State), and Ki-Jana Carter (Penn State). However, as of late, those seasons in the 90s have been washed away to a distant memory, going 3-7 and 5-5 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The 2009 season looks promising for the Wildcats, who with the additions of a few key players, are poised to take the OCC by storm.

However, the problem at the quarterback position has arisen quickly, with the injury to Jonathon Jennings in the preseason scrimmage against Olentangy Orange. The depth at quarterback has no true varsity experience, with a transfer from DeSales in Evan Lese, and Tevin Favor, who actually started at QB in 2007 for the JV squad, but played wide receiver last year. Davidson’s coach, Brian White had a few things to say about South’s QB troubles. “No matter who’s playing quarterback, they still have great athletes and when you have those great athletes you can get them in space and they can make things happen. There’s no substitute for speed and I know Rocky well enough that he will find a way to get those great athletes in space and give them an opportunity to use their speed, so that’s obviously a great concern.”

Regardless of whoever throws them the football, the wide receivers at South are very talented. One has already committed to Ball State in Jack Tomlinson, flying down the field, with a 4.38 40-time. Also, the backfield for the ‘Cats picked up a 1,000+ yard rusher from Central Crossing in Jayshon Jackson, looking to help steady the offense.

Defensively, South has always made a name for themselves at dominating and stopping the opposition. The injury bug however, did not stop with just the offense, getting to senior outside linebacker Drake Wakefield, sidelined with a broken arm for 4-6 weeks. Other than that, South returns 9 starters, included with highly touted prospect Derek Jones, another ex-Comet, who has switched to South looking to play. The core of the defense is returning starter Jamar Williams, middle linebacker for a South defense that is trying to improve on last years stat of giving up 24+ points 5 or more times in a game, one of those being to Davidson, a 35-0 hammering.

The schedule for South is fairly tough in the beginning, going to the ‘Shoe for the Davidson game on Saturday, and traveling to Watterson the following week. The test in Week 3 doesn’t get much easier, getting Clayton Northmont at home. The only two losses Northmont suffered last year were to St. Ignatius and Cincinnati Elder in the OHSAA playoffs, two teams that faced eachother in the State Championship Game. Last year’s meeting between South and CNHS resulted in a 42-12 blowout in favor of Northmont. The OCC schedule should be a little lighter for the Cats, not much though. Weeks 4 and 5 bring difficult tests such as Westerville Central and Dublin Scioto.

The midway point of the schedule doesn’t make it much easier on South. 2008 OCC- Capital division co-champion Dublin Jerome is week 6, adding to the stress for South. A 4-2 record would be a great success up to that point in the season. The softest part of the schedule is Marysville in week 7. The major rivalry for the ‘Cats is pushed to week 8 (due to stupid OCC scheduling) against Westerville North. Rounding out the schedule is Olentangy (Week 9), and another 2008 co-champion in Olentangy Liberty in Week 10.

The prediction for this team would have to be 6-4, 7-3 at the best. The road in the beginning is very difficult, and if they can survive by getting 4-2, 5-1 out of those first 6, they would be on lock for the playoffs. At this point, a 6-4 record could be better than a 7-3 team with a softer schedule. The computers love teams like South, taking risks by scheduling big names in the non-conference.