Wellington Looks To Build Defensive Presence in 2017 To Continue Increasing Win Total

The Wellington Dukes put together some nice wins over the course of a 2016 season that saw them finish 5-5. Led by an explosive offense that averaged 33.7 points per game, the Dukes never had a problem scoring points. But often times with a defense that allowed 26 points per game, it’s going to be tough to win many games. Taking over for Sean Arno, first-year head coach Roy Moore is looking to tighten up the defensive side of the ball, something he has a lot of experience doing.

Moore is a defensive guy and he knows it, embracing the opportunity to improve that side of the ball.

“We’re gonna use the Baldwin Wallace 6-2 defense. We’re gonna be more aggressive and do really well. The kids are picking up pretty quick.”

That defensive scheme Moore is referring to goes back to when he was the Baldwin Wallace linebackers coach from 1986-2013. Moore had success there as well as Midpark High School, as the Comets went 47-19-1 while he served as the defensive coordinator from 1980-1986.

As for the offense, Moore keeps it simple. “We’re pretty much where we want to be.”

“I think we want to be more ball control. We like to score points, we want to score as many points as we can. But at the same time, we want to control the time of the game, how long we have the ball so that when we turn it over they have less time to score and less time to get back in the game.”

Brandan Sorg, Mason Wright, and Parker Rieske will be some key names to watch for on the Dukes, as Moore stated that most of his team will be doing double-duty during the year.

“We got a lot of kids that are gonna go both ways that are gonna help us, we just gotta keep them in shape and not let them get tired. We have a lot of two-way players.”

Wellington opens up the season at home against Normandy this Friday.

 

*Wellington Dukes 2017 Football Schedule*

Home 8/25 Normandy

Home 9/1 Mapleton

Away 9/8 New London
Home 9/15 Clearview                

Away 9/22 Lutheran West

Away 9/29 Buckeye

Home 10/6 Firelands

Away 10/13 Keystone

Away 10/20 Brookside

Home 10/27 Black River