OTTUMWA —
A new season has arrived and hope springs eternal for the Ottumwa football team.
With a new offense, a new league, a new playoff system and a new coach, the Bulldog football team hopes to return to its winning ways after a tough 2011 season. But the Bulldogs will face a stiff challenge when they take on the defending Class 4A state champs West Des Moines Valley tonight in their home opener at Schafer Stadium.
Senior Alex Goodvin will start the game behind center for the Bulldogs. Goodvin threw for 152 yards and tossed three touchdowns in the Bulldogs intra-squad scrimmage last Friday at Schafer Stadium while implementing the team’s new “pistol offense.”
Senior Seth Griffiths will be tapped to start the game at running back and fellow senior Alec Maas will get the nod at fullback.
Griffith’s star shone brightly at the scrimmage; he rushed for 121 yards on 13 carries and scored three of the Bulldogs’ four touchdowns. Kyle Keck and Zach Bowling will both start at wide receiver. Keck caught a pair touchdown passes at the scrimmage.
Far from bemoaning having to start the season against the mighty Tigers, first-year coach Zach Pfantz sees the game as a great opportunity for his team.
“You don’t have a ton of opportunities in your life to do something really great,” he said, “We have a chance of achieving greatness. This would be a huge win for our community and football program.”
Pfantz said you can look at the game in two ways: One is what a tough first game it is and the other is what a great opportunity for Ottumwa. The Bulldog coach has obviously chosen the latter.
But he’s not naive; he knows Ottumwa is the underdog. Last season, the Tigers beat the Bulldogs 42-7 defeat in their season opener and they unceremoniously ended Ottumwa’s season by handing the boys a 49-7 loss in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
“Their offensive line is one of the best offensive lines I’ve ever seen,” Pfantz said. “They have tremendous skill players on offense. Defensively, they are really well-coached.”
Pfantz said the purpose of the “pistol” offense is twofold: To give the Bulldogs a lot of options and to spread the defense out.
“It provides a lot of versatility,” Pfantz said.
In another Pfantz-engineered move, Ottumwa is taking a platoon approach this year. This means that no Bulldog will play on both sides of the ball.
“You can stay fresher, you can get more involved, too,” he said. “You can devote all your practice time to that side of the ball.”
Pfantz’s decision to go with platoons is not just based on strategic calculations: It’s also a way of rewarding players for the hard work they put in this summer. With platoons, Pfantz can reward more players for the sweat, toil and dedication his players put into preparing for the season.
“If our guys are going to work hard in the offseason, we’re going to try and reward them,” he said.
The platoon approach, however, is not set in stone — Pfantz said that some of his players may see action on both sides of the ball.
The good turnout — Pfantz said the varsity squad consists of about 50 players — also gives the Bulldogs’ coach a number of able-bodied athletes to choose from.
Ottumwa Probable Starting Lineup
Offense
QB — Alex Goodvin (6) Sr.
RB — Seth Griffiths (34) Sr.
FB — Alec Maas (19) Sr.
WR — Zach Bowling (9) Jr.
WR — Kyle Keck (11) Sr.
LG — Joey Lee (76) Jr.
RG — John Torres (52) Sr.
C — Kevin Childs (77) Sr.
LT — Lucas Lunsford (72) Jr.
RT — Josh Hudnut (65) Jr.
TE — Clayton Cudworth (84) Sr.
K — Justin Vanderhaar (56) So.
Defense
DE — Kyle Lundy (12) Jr.
DE — Logan McCarty (30) Sr.
DT — Jonah Wright (62) Sr.
DT — Colt La Velle (20) Sr.
LB — Chris Peden (7) Jr.
LB — Titus Weller (35) Jr.
LB — Cole Eklund (46) Jr.
CB — Collin Schulz (2) Sr.
CB — Andrew Altfillisch (8) So.
FS — Shawn Foster (14) Sr.
SS — Tyler Johns (15) Sr.
P — Bryce Ward (88) Sr.
Sports
August 16, 2012
Bulldogs set to face high-powered opponent
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