MARIETTA -Marietta High has one more non-conference game before getting into East Central Ohio League play for the remainder of the season.
At 7:30 p.m. today at Don Drumm Stadium, the Tigers are slated to take on the Gallia Academy Blue Devils, an "old" foe from their Southeastern Ohio Athletic League days.
Both MHS and Gallia own a 1-2 record.
"Our guys need to continue to demand more from themselves and each other," said first-year Marietta head football coach Adam Eichhorn. "We have taken big steps from Week 1 to Week 3, and if that trend continues, good things will happen for our players."
Marietta is coming off a tough 26-21 loss to the Parkersburg Big Reds at Don Drumm last Friday night. This season, the Tigers have had to play catchup in the second half in all three of their games.
Against Morgan in the season opener, Marietta rallied from a two-touchdown halftime deficit to defeat the Raiders, 41-35.
In Week 2, Marietta led Warren at the break, 7-6, but couldn't overcome a 29-0 Warrior run in the second half and fell 35-7.
MHS trailed the Big Reds 13-7 at the intermission and 26-7 late in the fourth quarter before rallying for two touchdowns and reducing the deficit to five.
Recovering two onside kicks in the fourth quarter, Marietta put itself in a position to possibly win, but ultimately came up short.
MHS quarterback Anthony Kimbrough led the Tigers, completing 16 of 39 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns to Quinton Coffield (66 yards), Jaron Binegar (18 yards), and John Henry (15 yards), respectively.
Kimbrough also was his team's leading ground gainer with 82 yards on 20 carries.
Since the series with Parkersburg was resumed in 2009, Marietta has dropped four straight. The Tigers have not defeated the Big Reds on the gridiron since 1990.
Meanwhile, the Mike Eddy-coached Blue Devils kicked off their season with a 52-34 triumph over Athens (2-1), but have dropped their last two decisions to undefeated Licking Heights (3-0) and Ironton (3-0), respectively.
"Gallia has had three very tough opening games this season," Eichhorn said. "Their record doesn't indicate how good of a team they are. On film they are a very disciplined, intense football team.
"They are coming off a playoff appearance last year and obviously are looking to get back on path to get there again this year."
Meadowbrook at Warren
VINCENT -After the pain in The Plains, Warren is looking to regroup and get back on the winning track against visiting Meadowbrook in a non-conference football game at 7:30 p.m. today.
"In athletics and life, you cannot dwell on the past, you must prepare for the present and future," said Warren head coach Andy Schob, whose Warriors (1-2) gave up 636 yards of offense to host Athens in a 66-14 setback to the Bulldogs last Friday night.
"You can learn from it," Schob continued. "Athens was very talented and played lights out, but everyone here understands they need to make improvements from myself, to the coaches, to the players."
While Warren probably won't face too many schools on its 2012 slateas offensive-minded as the Bulldogs (2-1), Meadowbrook (2-1) is also very capable of lighting up the scoreboard. Last Friday night, Jesse Well-led Meadowbrook routed the winless Shenandoah Zeps (0-3), 49-6, on their new turf at Eugene Capers Field in Byesville.
The Colts amassed 404 total net yards, 266 rushing and 151 passing, so Warren's defense will essentially be facing a balanced attack.
"Meadowbrook comes in confident at 2-1," Schob said. "They very easily could have been 3-0. They run multiple formations on offense from double tight, overloaded lines, shotgun 2-back, to spread and empty sets. They make you prepare for different things and are good at each look."
En route to zapping the Zeps, Meadowbrook quarterback Trey Pugh completed 10 of 10 throws for 124 yards and four touchdowns to three different receivers. A mobile signal caller, the 6-foot, 150-pound senior rushed for 44 yards on seven carries.
Pugh's primary targets figure to be Christian Kirkman and Cody Johnston. Jacob Quinn, a 6-2, 195-pound fullback, had two touchdown receptions of 13 and seven yards against Shenandoah.
Meadowbrook's ground game is spearheaded by 5-9, 200-pound junior Clay Lapp, who gained 101 yards on 12 attempts last Friday night.
Andrew Stine, 1 5-8, 135-pound freshman, added 95 yards on 15 totes and two TDs. Overall, Meadowbrook, a Division IV, Region 15 school, is relatively young with only seven seniors on its roster. This season, Meadowbrook has defeated Union Local (0-3) in its season opener and dropped a 36-32 decision to Barnesville (2-1) in Week 2.
