A couple weeks ago, Blanchester football coach Jon Mulvihill was singing the blues following a 45-0 to Waynesville.
The loss was compounded by several injuries to players that started on both offense and defense.
Now, following a 30-21 win over Norwood in which offensive tackle turned running back Ty Goodwin went for 288 yards on the ground, plus a little good news on the health front, and Mulvihill is in a much better frame of mind.
“There is some light there,” Mulvihill said of his team’s health. “We feel like we can (now) manage through some injuries. We do look to get back at least a couple players from injury this week. Their roles will really depend on their functionality coming back. As much as I want to win this rivalry game and homecoming, player health is more important. I need these guys to be 100 percent.”
Goshen provides the opposition for Blanchester in the annual “King of the Road” battle. Kickoff from Barbour Memorial Field is set for 7 p.m.
“Goshen is going to play a brand of power football,” Mulvihill said. “Their quarterback, Gabe Cope, is leading the league in (all-purpose) yardage, so that will be our focus. Craig McKinney is their middle linebacker and is among the top of the league in tackles.”
Mulvihill said the Warriors are best up front on both sides of the ball, a true challenge to his team’s offensive and defensive linemen.
Last week, the Wildcats played well up front, allowing Goodwin to explode for a big game. There were mistakes along the way, to be sure, but rallying for a win was beneficial.
“We played hard,” Mulvihill said of last week’s game. “That was the good. We didn’t always do what we were supposed to do but the guys played hard. We have a lot of improving to do but it was good to see the players band together and battle through adversity.”
