Ryan Adams is never one to want to call out any of his players.
He says they all know they have some room for improvement, but he is looking for one group in particular to step up and help push the Bulldogs in the race for the playoffs.
Friday night against Meigs will be a chance for the offensive line to take the step that Adams wants to see.
If the Bulldogs offensive line finds a rhythm, the running game will also be allowed to have more success.
“If we want to execute our run game against good football teams or be dominant against average football teams, we got to be better up front,” Adams said.
Most of the Bulldogs offensive success this season has come through the air, with quarterback Clay Davis connecting on deep passes to his wide receivers.
In the run game, the Bulldogs have seen the carries split between three players: Mikeel Casteel, Evan Adams and Nate Trainer. All three have had moderate success, but the Bulldogs still need some improvement in the offensive line.
If the Bulldogs can have more big play success on the ground, it will keep opposing defenses from taking away the deep pass the Bulldogs have scored on many times this season.
“We’ve got too many miscommunications up front in order to get the hats on hats that we need to execute plays,” Adams said. “Especially in the run game.”
If the offensive line takes the next step, and the Bulldogs keep winning, there is a good chance they can make the playoffs.
They are currently tied for tenth in the Division III Region 11 rankings, according to joeeitel.com. The top eight teams in each region make the playoffs.
The Bulldogs need some help, however. Both the teams they have played and those they will play have not found a lot of success, with only two teams on the schedule having winning records —
Wellston and Nelsonville-York — and two teams holding .500 records — Canal Winchester and Meigs.
“Our best opportunity in order to make it to Week 11 is you got to get first-level points,” Adams said. “You can only get that by wins.”
