Polar Bears feeling good after enduring injuries, rugged schedule

CASTALIA — Margaretta's football team has been through the meat grinder this season. The Polar Bears, who have shut out their last two opponents to improve to 3-5, have licked their wounds and are determined to finish on a high note. "We've had a lot of adversity to overcome," Margaretta coach Gary Quisno said. "We've stayed positive and kept working and we're starting to see some benefit from it. "We're getting guys back. That helps. We're not quite back to normal, but having those guys back helps." "Those guys" include junior Judah Keller, the physical rock of the defense. The 6-foot, 180-pound junior missed three early games with a concussion but has returned to set the tone. The junior is a factor at safety and running back. Margaretta has defeated Calvert (10-0) and Lakota (35-0) the last two weeks. "If they can't score, they can't win," Keller said about the Bears' approach. "That's been our mentality in practice." Having Keller contributing on both sides of the ball has been a huge help. "He's really helped on defense. He leads us in tackles every week and that's been a big difference," Quisno said. "Judah's a player. He's one of our leaders, one of our captains. We expect a lot from him, and we ask him to do a lot." Junior captain Brett Miller leads the Bears with 66 tackles. Keller is next with 53 despite missing nearly half the season. The Bears also have been without quarterback Jake Bouy due to concussion issues while leading rusher Tyson Bailey, who also has played QB, has been injured. Bouy is an athletic leader who has given the passing game a boost. "It was me, it was Tyson," Bouy said, going down the list of injured players. "Judah was finally getting healthy again. It's amazing. Seeing how we've progressed from week to week has been a big boost for everybody." Bouy, Keller and Bailey have all thrown passes, but injuries have made the QB situation murky all season. Bouy has 299 passing yards and Bailey leads with three TD passes. "That was gonna be the big decision, whether we'd be better off with (Keller) at quarterback and Tyson Bailey at running back, or better off with Jake at quarterback and Judah at running back," Quisno said. "Jake got hurt in the last scrimmage and Judah got hurt in the first game so we never got to decide which way to go." A brutal schedule piled on the Bears' injury problems. Margaretta has played a schedule ranked as the third-toughest in Division VI in the state, according to Martin RPI. The five teams the Bears have lost to are a combined 34-5. That includes a close 16-7 decision to SBC River leader Hopewell-Loudon, which is ranked No. 3 in the state in Division VI. The Bears travel to D-VII power Gibsonburg on Friday. Both teams have just one loss in the River. Margaretta finishes the regular season at home against Willard. Margaretta is projected to make the playoffs even if it finishes 3-7, but any wins would improve their playoff seeding. The Bears currently are seeded No. 14 in Region 22. "At the beginning of the season we had so many injuries and a hard schedule," Keller said. "After we came back we got that win against Woodmore (first win on September 20) and it really boosted our morale. Hopewell, we were so close (led 7-0 at halftime). It was definitely a confidence boost that we played that well against the No. 3 team in Ohio." Margaretta is upbeat despite the rough start, and a lot of young players on a young team are getting experience. Bouy enjoys throwing to sophomore receivers Kale Bailey (21 receptions, 309 yards and Carter Luzader (15 receptions, 151 yards) and his brother, junior Zack Bouy. "They're really good," Jake said. "I love throwing to Kale. He's so tall. I love throwing to Carter. He's so good at route-running. My brother Zack, he's so quick and is always open. I can throw it to anyone and I know they're going to catch it. "We're gonna make a run. We have the confidence that has been building every week." The young Bears hope the experience they get in the coming weeks lays the groundwork for a big jump in 2025. The enthusiasm is still there; the wins could soon follow. "We've kept a good attitude," Quisno said. "I don't see anybody who's thinking about winter sports yet. They've stayed the course. Practice has been good, it's just that you're not practicing a lot of times with your whole team."