Wilmington makes the trek to Batavia Friday night and a matchup of teams that started the year promising but have since fallen off.
The Hurricane (4-3, 0-2) will meet the Bulldogs (4-3,0-2) at Holman Stadium. Kickoff for the SBAAC American Division matchup is set for 7 p.m.
“Batavia is a wing-T team that likes to run the ball,” WHS head coach Scott Killen said.
However, what the Bulldogs do on either side of the ball is not foremost on Killen’s mind.
“This week is more about us and putting pieces to the puzzle together and finding players who are going to step up and fill in where needed,” he said.
Both WHS and BHS started the season with 4-1 records prior to entering American Division play. Since then, however, Wilmington has lost to New Richmond and Goshen (teams that are a combined 13-1) while Batavia lost to Clinton-Massie and New Richmond (also combined 13-1).
Last week’s loss for the Hurricane was 52-17 to Goshen. Wilmington played without no fewer than six starters, including quarterback Brady Evans and all-around standout Dylan Beaugard. The Hurricane then lost top runner DJ Ames in the first half.
“We had too many mental mistakes against an undefeated team that ended up costing us in the end,” said Killen. “We had five turnovers and several missed assignments which is unacceptable against a good team.”
Killen said Conner Mitchell and Craig Schiff have stepped up the past couple of weeks for WHS.
“There are several other young players who are getting thrown in the fire and are gaining valuable experience,” the coach said.
