Green coach Dan McDavid sees a dangerous team that has all the finer characteristics of a Bob Ashley coached squad.
“Bob’s been coaching a long time and he always gets the best out of his players and you can see that in this team,” McDavid said. “They’re well-coached and execute very well.”
Ashley shared the love towards the Green coach.
“They are a very well-coached team and have some very tough kids they send out there,” Ashley said. “It will be a challenge for our guys to play in front of their crowd.”
Notre Dame’s offensive attack has become more diversified as the weeks have gone on. Ashley says his offensive can adapt to what the opposing defense gives them and last week that meant steady doses of game-breaker Kevin Lewis as he rushed for 85 yards and received 82 more with three touchdowns over Oak Hill last week.
“We always plan on getting Lewis 10-15 touches per game because of the different things he can do,” Ashley said. “He’s a special talent that gives us a different look on offense,” Ashley said.
It’s a look that McDavid and his staff have spent time studying.
“We saw a lot of sweeps from Lewis from last week just taking advantage of his speed on the outside and we know we need to find him before every snap,” McDavid said. “It will take a good fundamental defensive effort with us playing smart and tackling well.”
The Green coaches have also taken notice of Titans quarterback Michael Mader who completed 10 of 12 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown last week.
“They have some good players on offense and their quarterback does a good job of distributing the ball and throws a nice ball,” McDavid said.
Besides playing at home, the Bobcats have another advantage as their offensive line returns both senior tackles, 300-pounder Casey Frazier and 250-pounder Chris Vestal, from the injuries that have kept them out previously.
“It will be a big boost to have those two back up front and help us get a little more push than we have had,” McDavid said.
After watching the tape of win over Oak Hill, the Notre Dame coaching staff determined their week of practice would focus on adding a few more wrinkles, improving tackling and better ball security.
“Last week we had two fumbles in the red zone and combine that with some poor tackling and that’s what kept them in the game,” Ashley said. “But our kids are responding well and I think the key to this week will be less missed tackles and doing our best to figure them out and making adjustments because they have a good coaching staff.”
McDavid also felt his team needed to improve their ability to bring down the ball carrier after last week’s 13-7 loss to Waterford.
“We know we need to improve fundamentally on defense and tackle better if we are going to win,” McDavid said.
Game time is at 7p.m. at Green.
BOB STRICKLEY may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 203, or bstrickley@heartlandpublications.com.
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