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Week 2: Making adjustments

FWB will need great game to beat Olean

OBSERVER Photo by Justin Goetz Fredonia-Westfield-Brocton’s Reid Tarnowski carries the football Friday against East Aurora-Holland during the Badgers’ 41-7 road win. First-year FWB Coach Greg Sherlock knows that his team will need a strong offensive effort against perennial Section VI powerhouse Olean tonight.

Fredonia-Westfield-Brocton coach Greg Sherlock knows today’s trip to Olean will be a tough assignment for his Badgers.

“If we have any thoughts of being in the playoffs, it starts this week,” Sherlock said of the opening Class B2 Division game for both teams. “It’s our first big test… Any little mistake we make this week, we’re not going to get away with.”

The Huskies’ second-year coach, Phil Vecchio, has never lost in the regular season.

Vecchio and his Huskies went undefeated in the 2016 regular season and beat Alden in the playoffs before suffering a 56-35 defeat to Cheektowaga in the Section VI Class B semifinals. Olean defeated local rival Allegany-Limestone 21-6 last week to open the 2017 schedule.

“They are at the top of everyone’s list to win our division,” Sherlock said. “I know their defense is very quick to the ball. They don’t give you a whole lot in the passing game, they hawk that ball well and get to it real quick. … They have a lot of good athletes, a lot of playmakers.”

On offense, the Badgers’ coach has his eye on the Huskies’ senior running back, Dylan Vincent, who scored twice in the Huskies’ victory Friday and ran for 100 yards on 13 carries.

“When he gets running downhill he’s hard to stop,” Sherlock said. “He’s a big bruising running back.”

Over on the FWB sideline, Fredonia’s coach said his team’s depth has already come in handy, during the opening night 41-7 win over East Aurora.

“The lines are getting off the ball (in practice) a little better than they were last week. We played a lot of kids (against East Aurora), so the kids are well rested,” he said. “Nine kids touched the ball last week for positive yardage.”

However, Sherlock thinks his team will need to play better on defense to defeat a high-quality, veteran team like Olean.

“Our defense, I wasn’t happy with last week,” he said. “We’re missing assignments constantly and that will show up against a better team. … This week (in practice), we went back and tried to learn our assignments better. We had coaches tee in on certain individuals and just teach them the game.”

Sherlock expects a boost from the return of wide receiver-defensive end Shawn Horr, who adds to his weapons on both sides of the ball.

“We have a lot of athletes teams don’t know about,” the coach said. “If they try keying on just one person that would be a mistake of theirs.

“The biggest key to the game is the guys standing their blocks until they hear the whistle,” Sherlock concluded.

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