Highlanders, Wildcats eye first win

The US Marines Battle of the Gridiron Tour makes its way to the west side as Harrison is set to host Oak Hills with both teams looking for their first win of the year.

These schools were their own worst enemies in their openers. Harrison’s errors were due to a lack of discipline while the Highlanders miscues were because of a lack of patience. The mistakes that were made can be corrected.

There is still plenty of time to make the playoffs, but squandering opportunities is going to make that road difficult. This affair will come down to desire. The winner will find out that hard work leads to good things. A victory will be a huge confidence builder.

OAK HILLS HIGHLANDERS (0-1) at HARRISON WILDCATS (0-1)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium, Bill Kuntz Field
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PLAYERS TO WATCH: Sophomore quarterback Jacob Wyocke had four interceptions in his varsity debut. The Highlanders’ signal caller did complete 30-of-46 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns. With his nerves settled, expect him to be much better this week. Classmate Dashawn Lewis was Wyocke’s favorite target. Lewis caught 11 balls for 98 yards in Week 1. He is a huge threat in open space.

Mitchell Hogue has moved quarterback for Harrison after being named Division II, Third-Team All-Ohio at receiver as a junior. Wildcats’ running back Alex Anderson has rushed for 100 yards or more eight times in his last 11 starts. He is the focal point of the offense. Tylynn James does many things well for Harrison. He had 154 all-purpose yards on five touches in the opener.

TEAM TRENDS: This will be the ninth straight season in which these two teams have met with Oak Hills owning a 6-3 advantage over that time. Harrison broke a six-game winning streak by the Highlanders, in this series last fall. Don’t expect a repeat of last season’s 14-7 win by Harrison. This contest has all the makings of a shootout. Oak Hills gave up five rushing touchdowns (six total) before its 2015 season was 17 minutes old.

HARRISON’S KEYS TO VICTORY: Putting pressure on the Oak Hills’ quarterback is a must. If the Wildcats can get Wyocke to make unforced errors it is going to put the Harrison offense in a position to be very successful. Harrison should have an advantage having faced this offense last year when Oak Hills’ first-year head coach Even Dreyer was at Western Brown and that is good news. The bad news is that the Wildcats did not have any luck stopping the Broncos that night allowing 566 yards and seven touchdowns passing in a 50-49 loss.

OAK HILLS’ KEYS TO VICTORY: Taking care of the football and cherishing possessions is priority number one for Oak Hills. The Highlanders got just 10 yards rushing from their running backs last week. They have to establish some sort of rushing attack if they want to stay in this contest.

PREDICTION: HARRISON 30, OAK HILLS 27

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