Bulldogs and Jackets Face Off Friday Evening

By Greg Addington

We have reached the starting line for another high school football season in an environment no one would have thought would have existed back in January.  However, both Coalfield and Wartburg are moving forward with another step to return to a more normal world as the Morgan County rivals kick off the 2020 football season on John R. Dillon Field this Friday evening.

The Bulldogs are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2019 season, missing the playoffs last fall after making a return to the postseason the previous year under Coach Kevin Human.  Injuries and a brutal region schedule kept the Bulldogs on the sideline in the 2019 postseason.  Region foe Meigs County represented the east in the 2019 Blue Cross Bowl but fell to Peabody in the Class 2A title game and Oneida made the quarterfinals before succumbing to the Tigers.

Tyler Davis returns for his senior year after posting strong numbers a year ago.  Saylor Jones, Caleb McCarty, Colby Justes, and Owen Vespie are all graduated, and young players like Ethan Stedam and Chris Flowers are ready to step in and contribute.  Defensively Samuel McCarty and Perrion Cruz return to a defensive unit that has some experience returning to the front seven, but will take the field with a young secondary.

Wartburg probably won’t garner much sympathy in terms of region schedules from Coalfield, who ran a region gauntlet last year including a very good Midway team led by first year coach Ron Treadway, a strong Oliver Springs squad and state runner-up in Class 1A Greenback.  Coalfield also lost several good players to graduation including Peyton McKinney, Daniel Schaar, Dylan Stewart, Isaac Vanwitzenburg and Anthony Foster.  Micah Jackson, Austyn Hensley, Carl Winegardner and Drake Roberts also graduated leaving Coach Keith Henry with Bryson Ridge as the lone returning starter on the line.

Landon Lowe is back from a leg injury that kept him sidelined throughout last season and Cole Hines and Zach Armstrong both played well during their limited opportunities a year ago.  All three are expected to contribute with one of the three expected to assume the starting nod at quarterback, however the focal point on both sides of the ball for the Jackets will be senior standout Seth Lowe.  Look for Dawson Nitzschke, Conner Johnson, and Rommel Conlon to also contribute on both sides of the ball this season.

With no opportunities for preseason scrimmages and no opponent’s scrimmage video to look over, both teams will be a little bit of a mystery to each other and to their own coaches come Friday night.  Davis and Lowe are the knowns, however role players in the 2019 game now have the chance to shine under the Friday night lights in 2020.

Only 750 tickets will be sold for the game – 500 at Wartburg and 250 at Coalfield. Tickets may be purchased through the two schools. An announcement will be made Friday afternoon regarding the availability of any remaining tickets at the gate. There will be temperature checks at the gate and everyone must wear a mask and practice social distancing. If you cannot attend, be sure and tune in to WECO for live game coverage.