Friday's Game at Lancaster a Big Test For Twinsburg

A hot Wing-T offense will be on the menu Friday night when Twinsburg makes the three-hour trip south to Lancaster to be challenged by another of several playoff contenders on their schedule this season.

Lancaster, playing in Division I, Region 3, has advanced to the post-season six of the past eight years and is coming off a 7-3 season in 2010. The unbeaten Golden Gales are a force on offense, averaging 38 points and nearly 400 yards rushing per game with their deceptive Wing-T offense.

Twinsburg got its offense untracked last week in a and the Tigers' trademark defense will have to play its best game of the season to keep Lancaster in check.

"They're a playoff team with a good coach who has produced a lot of winning teams," said Twinsburg head coach Joe Schiavone. "They're bigger than us but hopefully we'll be able to use our athleticism."

The Golden Gales had four players who ran for 70 or more yards in last week's 41-35 overtime win against Mason. Lancaster finished with 393 yards rushing in a 35-13 season opening win against Logan.

Playing against the Wing-T is no easy task. Preparing for it is nearly as difficult.

"It's tough making our kids do something they're not used to doing," said Schiavone of simulating the Lancaster offense during practice. "The key against the Wing-T is not trying to do too much on defense. The defensive guys need to read their keys without over-pursuing."

The Tigers scored 32 unanswered points after trailing Nordonia 7-6 Friday night under oppressive humidity. Quarterback Jalen Washington completed 11 of 20 passes for 155 yards and touchdowns to Mitch Harrison and B.K. Grewal. Zach Buckeye got in on the fun with a touchdown pass to Harrison while John Barton ran for a pair of scores to give Schiavone his first victory as head coach at Twinsburg.

"It's not about me, it was about our seniors getting their first win of the season," said Schiavone. "I'm proud of them for the way they played."

Washington continues to improve at the quarterback position and is now hitting on 50 percent of his passes for a quarterback rating of 100.00.

"Jalen threw the ball very well," said Schiavone. "He knows he still has some things to learn but he's getting more and more comfortable."

On defense, Dwan Larkins leads the Tigers with 17 tackles after two games while Michael Baker, Ben Bisesi and Dylan Minick all have 16 tackles. They will all have their hands full Friday night with a Golden Gales team that will run, run and run again.

Also on the line are potential playoff points as both teams figure to be in the hunt for the post-season in the coming weeks.

"This is a huge game," said Schiavone. "With our schedule, every game is big."