Eagles prep for Prep
GROVE CITY — When Grove City High football coach Jeff Bell rattles off the strengths of the Erie Cathedral Prep football team, he nearly runs out of breath.
“They have a great tailback and quarterback,” Bell said. “They have great receivers and tight end. Their offensive line is huge, their special teams are good — they have great return guys, kicker and punter. Boy, they are good.”
And that's the challenge facing the Eagles this week as they prepare to play the Ramblers in the District 10 Class AAA championship game at Slippery Rock University: finding a weakness, any weakness.
Simply put, Bell says with an anguished chuckle, there are none.
Prep (7-4) dismantled Oil City 56-6 in the semifinals last week as tailback Anthony Jordan rushed for 146 yards and five touchdowns, and had five receptions for 125 yards and another score.
The six touchdowns set a school record.
But he's just one of many weapons the Ramblers can deploy.
Quarterback Damion Terry has passed for 1,355 yards and 13 touchdowns. Prep also has four players who have rushed for more than 300 yards.
And then there is Jordan, who has gained 587 rushing yards, 483 receiving yards and has scored 15 touchdowns.
“They are definitely the best team we have faced all season,” Bell said. “I'm not sure they aren't the best team in District 10.”
Most will scratch their heads at that statement. Grove City is 11-0, after all, and Prep has four losses.
Upon a closer look, though, those four losses came against strong opponents: Quad-A Erie McDowell, Ohio power Cleveland St. Ignatius and two teams from New York with a combined record of 19-3.
The Ramblers' average margin of victory this season is 40 points.
Finally, though, that may be a weakness for Prep: The Ramblers haven't played a game decided by fewer than 10 points.“Blowing people out, that's what they like to do,” Bell said. “They like playing with a big lead. The times when they fell behind, they didn't play as well. Maybe it got in their heads.“We've been in some close games,” Bell added. “If we can stay close, or get a lead, maybe we can frustrate them.”Part of that equation will be the 1-2 running back punch of Wes Phippsw and Erik Record.Phipps leads the Eagles with 941 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns. Record has added 903 yards and 12 scores.“We're going to try to keep the ball out of (the Roavers') hands,” Bell said.Grove City won't be shy about flipping to the back pages of the playbook, either, Bell said.“We're going to run some plays we've practiced, but haven't used in a game this season,” Bell said. “We're not going to hold anything back.”Grove City hasn't had much success against Prep.Last year, the Ramblers beat the Eagles in the district final 47-21. In 2008, Prep routed Grove City 45-21 in the first round of the playoffs.But this Eagles' team has the speed to match up against the Ramblers, Bell said.“I have a lot of faith in our kids,” Bell said. “They've been doing it all season.”
