Atlantic heads to Glenwood for final game of 2013 season
By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / Oct. 25, 2013
ATLANTIC – The Trojans hit the road this week for their final game of the 2013 season, hoping to secure a victory and perhaps play spoiler to Glenwood’s chances of breaking into the playoffs.
Atlantic (1-7/0-5) has lost seven straight, and a victory in Week 9 would do the program some good.
“We’re looking forward to another opportunity to send our seniors out with a win,” Atlantic head coach Nick Ross said this week. “They’ve been great leaders for our program, and they do everything the coaching staff asks of them. We really want to send them out on a positive note.
“At the same time, it’s always good to try to build something positive at the end of the year to increase the motivation and excitement for the offseason.”
Glenwood (4-4/2-3) has a shot at clinching a playoff spot, albeit through a complicated series of events. If the Rams do their part with a win over the Trojans (by at least 13 points), Glenwood could fortify the fourth spot with a Creston win over Lewis Central and an ADM victory over Harlan.
Glenwood brings to the table a physical and fast run-oriented team that insists on feeding opposing defenses a steady dose of its option attack.
“They’ll run the same plays over and over and over again and hope that you bust your assignment on the option so that they can hit a big play,” coach Ross says.
Senior running back Spencer Smith leads the Glenwood ground game with 987 yards and 10 touchdowns on 122 attempts, making for an average of 8.1 yards-per-carry.
Containing Smith will become a priority for the Trojans’ defense, a unit that has been good at stopping the run at times.
“You need to stop him before he gets started,” coach Ross says of Smith. “If he gets out in the open field, then he’s tough to catch him and get a hold of him. With him, we definitely need to be assignment sound, and get a good fit on him right from the start.”
Another target for the Trojans’ defense is senior quarterback Corey Bertini, an athletic back who is as much of a dual threat as can be expected from an offense that runs the option almost exclusively.
As a runner, Bertini has 553 yards and 12 TDs on 132 carries (4.2 YPC). As a passer, he is completing 51 percent of his attempts (62-of-121) for 808 yards.
Whether he runs or whether he throws, he’s another player the Trojans need to keep an eye on.
“If he was in a different style of offense, he’d be a heck of a passing quarterback, he’s a very good athlete,” coach Ross says of Bertini. “He’s tough to deal with.”
Glenwood snapped a three-game losing streak with a 28-17 victory last week over Lewis Central. The Rams are averaging 30 points-per-game, and is surrendering 28.5.
Atlantic is coming off a 42-7 loss at Harlan last week.
After breaking down film from that game, the Trojans will try to draw on the positives they saw, and try to carry them over into this week. Coach Ross says the Trojans were fairly sound assignment wise, and didn’t do much to hurt themselves through penalties and mistakes.
That’s something the team will look to continue against the option-orientated Glenwood offense.
“I think we are becoming more assignment sound, and that’s very important for us to have against an opponent like Glenwood,” coach Ross says. “To beat these guys, you need to play good, sound, option-defense, and hopefully that will lead us to some success this week.”
Atlantic is averaging just 8.6 points-per-game, while surrendering on average 33.6.
Offensively for the Trojans, senior running backs Logan Steffens and Jake Dvorak lead the ground game, combining for 675 yards on four touchdowns on 157 attempts. Quarterback Joe Walker has completed 47 percent of his pass attempts for 779 yards.
The Trojans talk about it every week, and this one is no different. Atlantic will look to run the ball and stop the run.
“More than any other week, we need to be able to stop the run,” coach Ross says. “And we need to be able to run the ball whenever our offense gets going. That will open up our play action pass, and a lot of other things.”
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