Blanchester simply had no answer for Washington’s Gio Thomas and his receivers last week in the Blue Lions 58-42 win over the Wildcats.
But be wary, BHS faithful. Head football coach Brandon Sammons says the quarterback his squad will see this week may be a step above Thomas.
“I think the kid we’ll see at QB this week is a better QB in general,” Sammons said.
Blanchester will visit Mariemont for a non-league game that is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.
The Warriors opened their season with a 35-24 win over Oakwood. Mariemont quarterback Wally Renie passed for 81 yards and a touchdown and ran for 103 yards and two scores.
Gio Thomas had 413 yards and six touchdowns passing for Washington last week against the BHS defense.
“They (Washington) did have two excellent receivers that at least one of them was the best athlete on the field, hands down, and possibly that we’ll see all year,” said Sammons.
While Sammons was not pleased with the outcome, he wanted a tough foe in the opener to help formulate a plan to make his team better the rest of the year.
“Better to know right off the bat the issue and what needs fixed, than keep guessing and, in critical moments later, not be sure what we have,” he said.
While it is easy to see 58 points and realize the defense had a tough night, it might not be so plain to see the offense had its issues as well despite putting 42 on the Barbour Memorial Field scoreboard.
In the first 7:24 of the game, the Wildcats scored three touchdowns on just 10 offensive plays. In the next 22:32 of game time, Washington allowed Blanchester just 14 yards of offense and two first downs.
“We have to be able to keep momentum going and not make mental errors that kill drives,” said Sammons. “(Brayden) Sipple and our offense started lights out. That was fun to see. Our specials played well.”
As for the defense, Sammons said, “We have to be able to contain better and rally, and make tackles.”
BHS will face a balanced Mariemont squad – 160 passing yards, 194 rushing yards in opener.
“Mariemont is sound and well-coached,”Sammons said. “They don’t have the athletes to rely on like WCH but when a team plays well and sound, that is just as difficult to defend and prepare for. They have a few dudes that are tough to defend.
“We’ll have to be patient this week to get our scoring opportunities. They are physical (on defense) and play well together. Their specials are good but we feel have some areass we can get after, in all facets of the game.”
Mariemont defeated Blanchester 34-0 in 2017.
