FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2000
Tornadoes, Redmen to tackle question marks
By Dave Feltner
Staff Writer
Question marks surrounding the Columbian and Fostoria football teams are plentiful.
The Tornadoes graduated 28 seniors and 19 of 21 starters from last year's 8-2 team, while the Redmen didn't win a single game last year.
So why are both these coaches heaping on the praise for the other? Well, it's probably because they're smart.
About the only thing Columbian doesn't return is experience, and the Redmen, while going winless for the first time since 1961, bring back most of its skill players from a team that still managed to pile on plenty of points last year.
The two teams will renew this rivalry, which started in 1900, 7:30 p.m. tonight at Fostoria's Memorial Stadium. The Redmen own a 42-26-3 all-time record, but the Tornadoes have won three in a row and four of the last five.
"A lot of their kids have been starting two, three and four years, so they're definitely the more experienced team, like we were last year," Columbian coach Steve Gilbert said. "Moving (former running back, Micheaux) Robinson to wide receiver really gives them a weapon on the outside.
"(Dane) Bringman's another weapon on the outside and they've got two really good fullbacks," he said. "It's a team that has a lot of different weapons to work with."
Grine, who enters his fourth year with the Redmen, returned the kind words.
"We're not sugar-coating this to the kids; this is big game for us," the Fostoria coach said. "It's imperative we get off to a good start because we feel like this is the most important game of the year for us. It's a game with two schools that have great tradition that are only 15 miles a part. We're really impressed with what coach Gilbert has done over the the past six or seven years.
"Watching (Columbian's) scrimmage on film, we were really impressed with their offensive line," he said. "They also have a great fullback and, of course, we remember the Krupp kid."
Surely, Gilbert could have had one of the best-kept secrets in Northwest Ohio had that "Krupp kid" not tortured the Redmen last year.
Pressed into extended time due to starter Jeremiah Johnson's injury, Brett Krupp ran for 184 yards and three TD's against Fostoria.
The big play has been a staple of this rivalry in recent years. In 1997 Columbian returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, in 1998 the Tornadoes broke the first play from scrimmage for a TD and last year TC forced seven turnovers and blocked a punt.
The turnovers ended up being a foreshadowing to the rest of the season, as the Redmen handed the ball over 49 times last year.
"We averaged 280 yards per game last year, and that's with all those turnovers, not to mention the penalties and people going in the wrong direction and things like that," Grine said. "We have to take care of that, and the other big thing is our mental focus. We felt that, as games progressed last year, we just didn't keep our focus. We made plenty of big plays, but we didn't react well to adversity."
Columbian quarterback Mike Buckner gets the keys to the Tornado offense, and will have Krupp and fullback Steve Lee behind him. Wide receiver Drew Hanley and tight ends Adam Oster and Michael Perna should be top targets.
The Fostoria offense features plenty of experience in the backfield. Fullbacks Pedro Campos (5-10, 205) and Jeremy Bennett (5-11, 200) are bruisers and tailbacks Bryce Moore (6-1, 165), Luke Pixley (6-0, 175) and Lee Vitte (5-8, 155) will all likely get carries.
The quarterback will either be Treyvon McBeth (5-10, 160) or Jason Wagner (5-10, 160).
Columbian, on the other hand returns just two starters on the whole team in Hanley and linebacker Jarrett Fuller.
"We have two kids that have started a Friday night game, and that's it," Gilbert said. "It's probably as young of a group as we've put on the field. But the only thing we don't have is experience. We have talent, and I know our kids will play hard. We just have to grow up quickly.
"They're so new to that atmosphere so we have to react to any kind of adversity in a positive way," he said. "We can't get discouraged. We have to realize the game is 48 minutes long, and we have to play for 48 minutes."