2024 WBL talk
- Thread starter the_beezer
- Start date
Celina 42 Van Wert 14
Game was somewhat competitive in the first quarter and a half. Celina moved the ball at will in the air and on the ground. Van Wert missed a lot of tackles and had very few TFL and maybe 1 sack. Van Wert’s offense is the QB running or the QB passing to #10. Van Wert finished with 4 interceptions, 3 in the red zone. Van Wert had about 4 long passes as well as Celina’s safety was nowhere to be found. The score should have been 42-7, but some dumb play calls by Celina’s coaches and terrible clock management allowed Van Wert to score with 23 seconds left in the first half to make it 21-14. Celina adverted disaster as they stopped the Van Wert offense in the 2nd half to run away with the victory.
Game was somewhat competitive in the first quarter and a half. Celina moved the ball at will in the air and on the ground. Van Wert missed a lot of tackles and had very few TFL and maybe 1 sack. Van Wert’s offense is the QB running or the QB passing to #10. Van Wert finished with 4 interceptions, 3 in the red zone. Van Wert had about 4 long passes as well as Celina’s safety was nowhere to be found. The score should have been 42-7, but some dumb play calls by Celina’s coaches and terrible clock management allowed Van Wert to score with 23 seconds left in the first half to make it 21-14. Celina adverted disaster as they stopped the Van Wert offense in the 2nd half to run away with the victory.
WBL Week 3 Final Scores
Wapakoneta 42, Ottawa-Glandorf 14
Kenton 37, Elida 0
Celina 42, Van Wert 14
Defiance 14, St Marys 10
Bath 49, Shawnee 23
WBL Standings
1. Wapakoneta -- 3-0 (2-0)
1. Bath -- 2-1 (2-0)
3. Celina -- 2-1 (1-1)
3. Shawnee -- 2-1 (1-1)
3. St Marys -- 2-1 (1-1)
3. Defiance -- 1-2 (1-1)
3. Kenton -- 1-2 (1-1)
3. Ottawa-Glandorf -- 1-2 (1-1)
8. Elida -- 1-2 (0-2)
8. Van Wert -- 1-2 (0-2)
Wapakoneta 42, Ottawa-Glandorf 14
Kenton 37, Elida 0
Celina 42, Van Wert 14
Defiance 14, St Marys 10
Bath 49, Shawnee 23
WBL Standings
1. Wapakoneta -- 3-0 (2-0)
1. Bath -- 2-1 (2-0)
3. Celina -- 2-1 (1-1)
3. Shawnee -- 2-1 (1-1)
3. St Marys -- 2-1 (1-1)
3. Defiance -- 1-2 (1-1)
3. Kenton -- 1-2 (1-1)
3. Ottawa-Glandorf -- 1-2 (1-1)
8. Elida -- 1-2 (0-2)
8. Van Wert -- 1-2 (0-2)
PreacherZay
Active member
Van werts qb is an amazing athlete, but bad things happen when you put running backs in a throwing position.
Celina is so weird. I think sometimes we just cripple under the pressure of big hype. I think we play better when there’s no expectations. Last week against st Mary’s shouldn’t have been that bad, but we seem to either dominate or get dominated, no in between. I don’t know if it’s a coaching thing or what but the mindset needs to be go in and play hard every game, every play. Last year we made it to the state semis and beat some very good teams, yet 2 of our losses were by more than 20 points, it amazes me. I feel like good teams shouldn’t be losing by that much
Celina is so weird. I think sometimes we just cripple under the pressure of big hype. I think we play better when there’s no expectations. Last week against st Mary’s shouldn’t have been that bad, but we seem to either dominate or get dominated, no in between. I don’t know if it’s a coaching thing or what but the mindset needs to be go in and play hard every game, every play. Last year we made it to the state semis and beat some very good teams, yet 2 of our losses were by more than 20 points, it amazes me. I feel like good teams shouldn’t be losing by that much
It is definitely head scratching. Unfortunately it will only get worse, or back to 2021 standards, with Hemmelgarn gone next year. There is a reason the head coach was fighting for his job at the end of 2022.
PreacherZay
Active member
I didn’t know he was leaving already, that’s incredibly concerning. I hope we can get a solid replacement, we definitely need more guys who come from winning programs.
I don’t think it’ll get as bad as it was before 2022 though. Not only does the talent that we have coming up seem a lot better than previous years, but we also have a decent coaching staff outside of just Hemmelgarn now too. He’s definitely a major part, but pretty much all of the previous coaches but Bader and Baucher got wiped that year, so as long we got these other newer guys still for a few years, I think we’ll be alright. It’ll definitely be interesting though to say the least.
Didn't really follow the games all that closely this week, but reactions to the final scores:
Wapak and Celina were routs. They did what we expected them to do.
The Kenton-Elida score... what the heck. Every week the team we think is the worst in the WBL gets a win (Shawnee in week 1, OG in week 2, and now Kenton in week 3). Impressive win by Kenton and confused at what the problem is in Elida. So, maybe Elida's the worst? Yet, Elida gets O-G next week so we'll see.
Defiance-St Marys is another I'll need more info on and look forward to the Hirn recap. I know Defiance's first score was right before halftime and a 2-pt conversion to lead 8-7 at the break. SM pulled ahead 10-8 before Defiance converted on a 4th down trick play in the 4th quarter for the go ahead touchdown. What exactly happened to this vaunted St Marys ground game? I didn't expect Defiance to keep them out of the end zone this much. I take it St Marys also wasn't successful with the forward pass? Congrats to Defi on bouncing back from a tough 0-2 start and get this big win at home. Defi is a quality team if they just put all the pieces together.
Bath-Shawnee. Shawnee actually held the early lead in this one 10-0 before Bath's offense lit up the scoreboard. Bath 2-0 in WBL play for the first time since 2003 according to WOSN. Bath may be the Celina of this season in terms of underdog surprise team. Welsch accounted for four touchdowns in this game (3 on the ground, 1 through the air). Bath very well could keep this rolling as their next few contests are against: Kenton, Elida, and O-G, before going head-to-head against Celina in week 7.
Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
WBL is one hard league to figure out, except maybe for Wapak.
The Defiance-St. Marys game was kind of a tale of two halves. St. Marys controlled the ball in the first half, helped by recovering an onside kick after its TD, which occurred with a few minutes still left in the first quarter. St. Marys elected to receive the kick off, punted after maybe one first down, then Defiance might've gotten a couple first downs before punting. Then St. Marys scored. St. Marys missed a 54-yard FG attempt in the 2nd - I think the strong wind gave them a false sense of hope, I was surprised they attempted it. Their kicker is good but he didn’t even make it to the end zone on the attempt. St. Marys also fumbled on 4th down fairly deep in Defiance territory in the 2nd quarter to kill a drive, before the FG attempt I think. Defiance finally got a sustained drive going and scored with just under a minute left before half, aided by some St. Marys penalties, one of which negated an interception. Defiance then went for two and converted after St. Marys had an offsides on the PAT, I believe.
In the second half, Defiance started off strong but the story all game was both teams moving the ball fairly well and defenses forcing stops after a while. St. Marys ripped off a long run fairly early in the 4th to get to the Defiance red zone, but the defense held and St. Marys converted the FG to go up 10-8. Defiance then moved the ball well and came up short on 3rd and 3 or so, from the 9, with about 3-4 minutes left. It was the only designed run for Zipfel all game I think. Defiance elected to go for it, and player of the game Anthony Wilder (about 190 rushing yards and the game-winning TD pass) threw a pass that looked like was a one-handed catch by Noah Gomez. St. Marys then returned the kickoff out to the 50 with still 3 or more minutes left and got a first down or two maybe, but then on 3rd down, after maybe surprisingly electing to throw on 2nd and 10 & having a pass fall incomplete, the St. Marys QB threw a deep pass into the strong wind, basically a jump ball, that was intercepted by Defiance with about 1:30 left – but on the 1. There was almost a safety on the first play, a run up the middle – which actually might not have been the worst thing for Defiance – but then a 9-yard pass and short run out of bounds got Defiance a 1st down with maybe 1:20 left, and Wilder ripped off an 80-yard run up the middle to seal it but lost his balance before getting to the end zone after breaking a few tackles, otherwise it would’ve been 21-10.
Penalties really killed St. Marys, something like 10 for 70 or 80 yards – Defiance had maybe 6 or 7 as well but were more of the 5-yard type. Thanks to that last 80 yard run, if not before it, Defiance finished with more total yards. St. Marys attempted more than double the two passes it attempted in the first two games, but only threw for maybe 30 or 40 yards. Both teams threw one interception for the only turnovers, I believe. It was a nice old school football game.
In the second half, Defiance started off strong but the story all game was both teams moving the ball fairly well and defenses forcing stops after a while. St. Marys ripped off a long run fairly early in the 4th to get to the Defiance red zone, but the defense held and St. Marys converted the FG to go up 10-8. Defiance then moved the ball well and came up short on 3rd and 3 or so, from the 9, with about 3-4 minutes left. It was the only designed run for Zipfel all game I think. Defiance elected to go for it, and player of the game Anthony Wilder (about 190 rushing yards and the game-winning TD pass) threw a pass that looked like was a one-handed catch by Noah Gomez. St. Marys then returned the kickoff out to the 50 with still 3 or more minutes left and got a first down or two maybe, but then on 3rd down, after maybe surprisingly electing to throw on 2nd and 10 & having a pass fall incomplete, the St. Marys QB threw a deep pass into the strong wind, basically a jump ball, that was intercepted by Defiance with about 1:30 left – but on the 1. There was almost a safety on the first play, a run up the middle – which actually might not have been the worst thing for Defiance – but then a 9-yard pass and short run out of bounds got Defiance a 1st down with maybe 1:20 left, and Wilder ripped off an 80-yard run up the middle to seal it but lost his balance before getting to the end zone after breaking a few tackles, otherwise it would’ve been 21-10.
Penalties really killed St. Marys, something like 10 for 70 or 80 yards – Defiance had maybe 6 or 7 as well but were more of the 5-yard type. Thanks to that last 80 yard run, if not before it, Defiance finished with more total yards. St. Marys attempted more than double the two passes it attempted in the first two games, but only threw for maybe 30 or 40 yards. Both teams threw one interception for the only turnovers, I believe. It was a nice old school football game.
And I am happy to provide it! Thanks for the plug.
Also losing Colton Mabry didn't help matters for the Riders who at times just couldn't get past that Bulldog D line.
We talk a lot about 50/50 balls in sports and Defiance probably won 95% of those opportunities tonight....hopefully they rebound for next week because they'll have to strap it up with the big bad wolf in the league.
Bulldogs Pick Up First Win - Michael Hirn
DEFIANCE - Friday night Defiance found one big play to push ahead and stay there in a 14-10 win over visiting St. Marys. Trailing 10-8 and starting at their own 20 following a 28-yard field goal by St. Marys kicker Bradley Triplett, the Bulldogs began their march to take a late lead. Triplett 28 yd
michaelhirn.com
I recall 10+ years ago Mark Kunz with Channel 44 would call it the wild wild Western Buckeye League. I think it’s safe to resurrect that term for this season.
Could potentially be looking at a Van Wert squad being 1-5 overall and 0-5 in the league through week 6. Out of all the teams, Celina has a more favorable mid season schedule, though it won’t be easy, it’s not a meat grinder that Van Wert will have or even St Marys the next few weeks.
PantherSkin
Well-known member
My opinion is that this is the weakest the WBL has been in many years. I believe Wapak is the best team in the league, I don’t think they are as good they were the last two years. Their O and D lines, running game and special teams are not where they were they last couple of years at this point. I could see Wapak losing a game or do, and their postseason run will most like end after a game or two. After Wapak is seems like the league struggles wit consistency.
I can understand your point to a degree. Let’s take a look at 2023 though. Defiance defeated Wapak in week 2 last year and went on to lose 17-0 to Celina, but Celina lost the next week 30-3 to Wapak. St Marys in 2023 started 0-4 and finished 7-5. Van Wert was up and down last year as well.
I can see the league playing out similar to last year, with the exception of Van Wert. Wapak has a test this next week with St Marys and then finish week 10 at Celina. No team will finish 0-10, but that means several will finish 3-7 to 5-5 if bottom half continue to duke it out.
What also makes the WBL unique is no one team is a basement dweller every single year. In the last 10 years, minus 2020, Bath finished last 3 times, Shawnee 2, and then Van Wert, Shawnee, Defiance, Elida, and Kenton. If any of the schools are basement dwellers, it is Bath, but they have made strides the last 2 years. Celina, OG, and St Marys have all spent time in the bottom in the last 10 years too.
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the_beezer
Active member
Both lines have gotten better each week and I guess you have not seen Mullen run yet. Wapak does not have a big leg kicker but makes his extra points
I think I missed something. When did this injury happen? Hopefully it's short term for the Riders.
I don't remember seeing a player hurt, but he didn't play in the second half.
Wapak will likely lose no more than one regular season game at most and finish with a high seed and favorable draw. Two playoff wins at minimum.
You sound silly making a sweeping statement that the WBL is weak 3 games in.
Wapakoneta will win plenty of games and will make a run in a weakened region 12.
St. Marys will unfortunately win some playoff games.
Bath will win some playoff games.
Celina will win at least one playoff game.
Defiance will absolutely win 1-2 playoff games.
Shawnee will give some poor higher ranked team all they can handle.
If Ottawa manages to make it in, they will give a D5 team plenty of fits simply because they are an athletic big football team that runs the ball well and has great playaction.
A sweeping statement of the league being weak is a silly statement, and i urge you to know ball just a little bit better.
the_beezer
Active member
Heard it was a concussion
Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
WBL is a definition of parity with maybe the exception of Wapak though SM may beat Wapak next week. The MAC and NWC are very top heavy with the same teams usually ruling the top 2 - 3 spots every year. With the WBL you have bigger schools and each school for the most part has athletes and it's hard to play at your best each week, so upsets happen.
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Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
I have had my doubts about the WBL in the past but this year I watched St. Marys rush for 400 yds. on what I think is a decent St. Henry team. So, I question that statement or opinion.