LOGAN — For one week, the Logan Chieftains lost some of their focus and intensity… and they came very close to paying the ultimate price for those indiscretions: a football loss.

But taking their narrow two-point victory over Zanesville two weeks ago to heart, the Chieftains came out a focused, determined group last Friday at Marietta, and the proof quickly found its way onto the Don Drumm Stadium scoreboard. Logan led 27-0 less than nine minutes into a game they wound up winning easily, 49-14.

So the undefeated Chiefs (7-0) know very well they cannot afford to overlook an improved Warren Warriors (4-3) team this Friday (7:30 p.m. kickoff) in Logan Chieftain Stadium.
“It’s that time of year… the kids are excited and doing a lot of speculating about the (Southeastern Ohio Athletic) league and the playoffs,” said Logan coach Dale Amyx. “And that may the biggest task we as coaches have, to keep them focused on the task at hand.”

The Chieftains survived that 16-14 SEOAL scare from Zanesville to rout Marietta. And the final result could have been worse… Logan led 41-0 at halftime and the second half was played with a running clock, which continued to count down even after out-of-bounds plays or incomplete passes once the officials marked the ball ready for play.

It’s indeed an exciting time for the Chieftains… and there have been plenty of distractions in recent weeks as they continue to receive attention not only regionally but state-wide as well.

But it could be worse.

“At least (those distractions are) because we’re winning games,” Amyx said.

In order to continue their winning ways Friday night, the Chieftains will have to contend with a Warren offense that runs the wing-T… something they haven’t seen this season.

“Warren’s a good, solid football team,” Amyx said. “They’re capable of moving the ball on the ground. They’re a typical wing-T type of football team with a lot of misdirection. We have to play it like an option (offense) and play assignments.

“Our defense has to be disciplined,” he added. Warren coach Jim Pifer “is doing a really good job with their program. They’re fundamentally sound.”

To defeat the Warriors and claim their school-record 27th-straight SEOAL victory, the Chieftains will have to contend with some good Warren skill players.

“Their fullback is a good skill kid,” Amyx said. “They try to get the ball to him, and he’s one of their top receivers even coming out the backfield. When you play a wing-T team, the fullback is the man you usually have to stop. Their quarterback is a good athlete who throws and runs the ball well.”

On defense, Warren runs a 4-3 base “but will jump out of that, try to find something that works and go with it,” Amyx noted. “They are aggressive on defense.”

After an early-season rash of injuries, the Chieftains are finally close to 100 percent physically, other than the typical bumps, cuts and bruises that coincide with being two months deep into the season… and the end result has been they’ve been able to develop quite a bit of depth on both sides of the ball, especially on the offensive line.

“Offensively we’re going with the same lineup we’ve been using, but we’re able to run a lot of guys in there,” he said.

Seniors Weston Andy and David Schneider, starters on the offensive line a year ago who missed the early part of the season due to illness and injury, respectively, are gradually working their way back into the lineup and are seeing more and more time on the field with each passing game.

Andy threw a terrific block last week to help spring tailback Clay Morgan for a second-quarter touchdown after he caught a short screen pass from quarterback Patrick Angle.

“That helps us keep guys like Mac (Cary Maclaughlin, who plays on both the offensive and defensive lines) fresh,” he added. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Weston is good enough to be a starter, but we’ve been successful (starting Derek) Shirey and Mac and we don’t want to change now. (Andy and Schneider) understand that it’s a team effort.”

The Chieftains play their final home game of the regular season Friday. Senior Night/Parents Night, always an emotional time for the players and their families, will be observed prior to the game.

Of course, the Chieftains are hoping to secure a week-11 Division II playoff home game, depending upon what happens over the next few weeks. But there are other priorities before that.

“For now we know we’re playing for the league championship every time we step onto the field, no matter who we’re playing,” Amyx noted. “We need to worry about ourselves and our opponent, week in and week out, no matter who the opponent is. All of our goals are still in front of us.”

     Fewer penalties: Although the Chiefs turned the ball over three times last week at Marietta — none of which came back to haunt them, fortunately — at least they didn’t make things worse on themselves in other aspects of the game. Logan was only called for two penalties — a pair of five-yarders for illegal procedure, and one of those doesn’t count statistically because it came prior to an extra-point kick.

“We’re really addressing that in practice,” Amyx said. “Hopefully we’ve settled down and worked that out. I feel good about that. A lot of that is in the focus… it’s just a mental thing like forgetting the snap count or something like that. Hopefully those kind of things get better the further you go into the season.”

Warriors on the warpath: Warren is above .500 this late in the season for the first time since 1999, when the Warriors were also 4-3 after seven games en route to a 6-4 finish. That was the last time they finished a season with a winning record. After back-to-back 0-10 seasons in 2002 and 2003, the Warriors have shown steady improvement and are coming off back-to-back 3-7 seasons. They were 4-6 in both 2000 and 2001.

     Hit the road: The Chieftains finish the regular season with two road games. They play important SEOAL contests at 5-2 Jackson and 5-2 Chillicothe in weeks nine and 10, respectively, as they seek their fifth-straight conference title and a third-consecutive playoff berth.

Logan should easily make the playoffs by winning its final three games and has an excellent chance at hosting a playoff game in the process.

“To stay in the top four of the region (which is good for a home game in the opening round) we need points and need to play teams with winning records. (Playoff Region 7) is definitely one of the toughest regions in the state,” Amyx said. “We know teams like Louisville and DeSales (ranked one-two in Region 7) are traditionally tough football teams.”
 

Read More in the Logan Daily News.