If the playoffs were starting Friday night in Ohio both Shadyside and Bridgeport would be in.
However, neither is willing to take any chances on their current positioning inside Region 23's top eight, which makes their Saturday evening encounter at Perkins Field inside Bill Jobko Stadium that much more important.
"This is a very big game for both teams," said Shadyside head coach Ty Fleming, who's hoping to lead his Tigers back to the Ohio big dance once again. "We're sitting about where we thought we'd be at this point in the season as far as the postseason goes, but we know that doesn't really mean anything after eight weeks."
The Bulldogs have been in a free fall after opening the season with five consecutive wins. The second-half of the schedule has been a murder's row with Bridgeport dropping consecutive nods to Madonna, River and last week's pasting from Beallsville.
And obviously, the road gets no easier for Coach Rudy Vavrock's troops who have a road trip to Cameron in store next week.
"We beat some pretty good teams in the first half of the season who are winning games, which is helping us," Vavrock confessed. "The last three weeks are in the past and our focus is totally on Shadyside, which is another very good team."
The Tigers come into their first of two Saturday road games to end the season off a 41-8 victory over struggling Toronto, which was a nice pick-me-up for the Tigers after they fell to Youngstown Christian the preceeding week.
"I was happy with how our kids responded," Fleming said. "We have to keep it going this week and hopefully we can ride out that momentum the rest of the season."
The Tigers - sitting at 6-2 on the season - boast one of the area's more balanced attacks. Labled as a passing team, Shadyside's got a strong ground attack with a nice mixture of speed and power.
"We have to play a lot faster defensively," Vavrock said. "Shadyside's very quick and can run and throw the ball equally well, so we've got to be ready for that."
The Tigers' offense is triggered by senior quarterback David Bonar who's made the most of his opportunity at quarterback. He's completed 71-of-155 passes for 1,152 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, he's been picked off 13 times. He's ran for 265 yards and three scores as well.
The aforementioned running attack is paced by senior fullback Johnny Merryman who's carried the ball 115 times for 642 yards and 10 touchdowns. He's complemented well by senior tailback Brandon Elliott who's come on the last few weeks after a slow start to the campaign. He's now accumulated 386 yards and five scores on 57 rushes.
The Shadyside passing game features some big-play threats on the perimeter. Senior Nathan Butts leads the receiving corps with 25 receptions for 461 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Dylan Kimble - who's also a threat as a return man and a solid defensive back - has caught nine passes for 217 yards and two scores. Mario Liberati and Merryman are also viable targets Bonar has used this season.
"We have to come out and play with intensity from the get-go," Fleming said. "We know what it takes to be successful, but we've got to execute and continue to play our style of football."
The Bridgeport offense, meanwhile, features a pair of talented running backs with sophomore Chris Smelley leading the way. He's rushed 111 times for 826 yards and 13 touchdowns. Garrett Price has added 529 yards and six touchdowns on 48 carries.
Freshman Cole Smelley handles the offense from the quarterback spot and has played fairly well for his first season at the helm. He's completed 23-of-47 passes for 417 yards and five touchdowns and two picks. C.J. Foose is the Bulldogs' leading receiver with seven catches for 142 yards and two scores.
"We know Bridgeport's got some weapons that we have to be ready for," Fleming said. "The Smelley brothers are dangerous and Price is a real good athlete in the backfield as well."
Vavrock knows his team's going to have do a better job on the offensive side of the ball.
"We need to be able to finish drives," Vavrock said. "We drove the ball down the field (against Beallsville) and we either have a turnover or a penalty, so we have to rid ourselves of mistakes and continue to get better."
Staskey can be reached at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com
