Preview: Wayne at Miamisburg

It’s is a historic night at Miamisburg as they host Wayne in the inaugural game at Holland Field in this week’s U.S. Marines Battle of the Gridiron Series showdown. For the past nine decades Vikings football had called Harmon Field home. Now a new era begins for the Miamisburg program.

Holland Field at Miamisburg High School

Head coach Steve Channell would like nothing more than to christen the new residence with a win over the Warriors who have been the Division I state runner-up the past two years. A rowdy home crowd could be a huge advantage for Channell’s troops.

Miamisburg will take any help it can get. Wayne has owned the Vikings over the last two campaigns. A year ago the Warriors posted a 42-spot on Miamisburg by intermission and the running clock ran for the entire second half. Two years ago Wayne cruised to a 45-3 romp over the Vikings. The Warriors are always well-prepared under the guidance of head coach, Jay Minton. His squads always seem to thrive not wilt in situations like this.

WAYNE WARRIORS (2-0-1) at MIAMISBURG VIKINGS (3-0)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m., Holland Field
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PLAYERS TO WATCH: The line play on both sides of the ball will take center stage. Miamisburg OL Josh Myers is headed to Ohio State. His classmate OL Cody Lamb has verbally committed to Cincinnati. Having two major recruits on the offensive line is a luxury very few Division II teams have and it shows in the Vikings vaunted ground
attack.

The 2016 Wayne Warriors defense takes a rest.

Myers and Lamb haven’t had many problems at the varsity level but Wayne DL Mazon Walker has been a thorn in their side. In the two games that Walker has started anchoring the Warriors d-line he and teammates have combined to hold Miamisburg to just 2.2 yards on 66 carries and 9-33 for 88 yards through the air.

Walker has been a dominant force but DE Alex Reigelsperger and LB DeWayne Morris are just as disruptive in their own ways. All three are talented enough to be include in the conversation for the 2016 Southwest District Defensive Player of the Year.

A pair of sophomore’s under center Wayne QB Rashad McKee and Vikings QB Tate Vongsy have been playing like veterans. They are taking what opposing defenses give, relying on the upperclassmen to do their jobs and not trying to do too much or force the issue. McKee has thrown three touchdown passes and no interceptions in each of the past two games. Vongsy has only thrown just 17 passes completing 14 of them for 329 yards with four touchdowns on the season.

TEAM TRENDS: In the 23 regular season games with Walker as a starter at nose tackle Wayne has gone 21-1-1. The Warriors defense has eight shutouts, held six other foes to nine points or fewer and given up 21-29 points just three times in that span.

Miamisburg has run 105 plays on offense and scored 20 touchdowns. On 91 carries the Vikings are averaging 10.4 per tote with 16 trips to the end zone. There have been 10 runners who have had at least one carry of 11 yards or more including eight who did it last week’s win over Thurgood Marshall.

WAYNE’S KEYS TO VICTORY: The reason for the Warriors success against Miamisburg the past seasons has been their ability to get off the field on defense. In those two victories Wayne held the Vikings to a combined 6-31 on third and fourth down conversions (19.3%). That formula hasn’t changed. The Vikings haven’t seen competition as fast and athletic as Wayne. That could be a huge advantage early on for the visitors if it takes time for Miamisburg to adjust to what just hit them.

MIAMISBURG’S KEYS TO VICTORY: The Vikings must keep the chains moving. They want to avoid getting down early. That could really affect the players psyche and have them questioning if they can really beat Wayne. The longer Miamisburg stays in the game the more the confidence grows. Add in the crowd factor and anything could be possible if that scenario comes into play.

Prediction: WAYNE 35, MIAMISBURG 20

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