The Wildcats (0-2) will travel to Trotwood-Madison for their final nonconference game of the season at 7 p.m. Friday night at Trotwood-Madison Stadium.
“We’re just working, trying to get better, trying to get one play better each play, just trying to make an emphasis on seizing the moment and with every opportunity that we have, playing with urgency off the bus,” said Wildcats coach Maurice Douglass.
Springfield lost to Winton Woods 21-14 in Week 1 on the road. Last week, the Wildcats fell to Northeast Ohio Division II power Walsh Jesuit 30-6 in Springfield.
The Warriors racked up 203 yards on the ground in the victory, scoring 21 points to pull away in the second half.
“We have a young group of kids that are playing this year, that are in positions that they hadn’t been in before, and some of them don’t know how hard it is to do what it takes to really be in these positions,” Douglass said. “Hopefully they’ve learned the last two weeks that you’ve got to come out and play with urgency for 48 minutes.”
Douglass said there’s been some position battles in practice this week as they look to find the best 11 to play on Friday nights. There may be some personnel changes this week, he said.
“We’re gonna put the best 11 out there whatever that position is, offense, defense, special teams,” he said. “We’re gonna put the best 11 out there. Whatever helps us to get that W.”
Trotwood is off to a 2-0 start with victories over Cleveland Heights at Fairmont. They’re led by a strong group of linemen who play both ways. Several have Division I offers, including seniors JaMarcus Whyce (Purdue) and Justyce Taylor, juniors Jeremiah Nash, Chandler Moore and John Lumpkin II and sophomore Jameer Whyce, who recently received an offer from Ohio State.
“They are beating people up front,” said Douglass, a Trotwood grad who led the Rams to a state title in 2011. “It’s going to be all hands on deck.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Offensively, they’re led by senior quarterback Dallas Shehee, who missed most of last year’s game with an injury. He’s back this season and drove the Rams 95 yards on the final possession of the game against Fairmont, hitting senior Armani Rogers on an 11-yard touchdown with three seconds remaining to set up a game-winning two-point conversion. He scrambled in from three yards out to lift Trotwood to a 22-21 victory.
“I know (Sheehee) will have something to prove,” Douglass said.
Junior safety Darius Dennis and junior linebacker Tyler Carpenter will anchor the Rams defense. They both have multiple D-I offers.
“They got a bunch of kids that got a lot of paperwork on them right now, and they’re doing a good job of performing on the field,” Douglass said. “It’s going to be a street fight, and we got to come out and meet them for 48 minutes.”
This week, the Wildcats will focus on improving fundamentals.
“We’ve got to tackle better,” Douglass said. “We’ve got to block better at the point of attack. We got a block better on the offensive line, and we got to tackle better on the perimeter.”
The Wildcats are looking to avoid starting 0-3 for the first time since 2013. After an 0-2 start last year, they beat the Rams 15-14.
“We’re going to do what we got to do to get the win,” Douglass said. “We’re gonna put the best 11 out there on either side of the ball and special teams as well to get the W.”
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