Streaks looking to earn respect

SANDUSKY — After an ugly season opener, Sandusky football coach Jamaris Brown wants his Blue Streaks to be the aggressors when they face rival Fremont Ross on Friday at Strobel Field. "We gotta come out and throw the first punch. We can't sit back," Brown said. "I don't feel like they respect us and we've gotta use that to our advantage — use that anger, bottle that up and use that for positive energy." The Streaks were pummeled by Amherst Steele in Week 1, dropping a 48-6 decision while giving up 420 rushing yards. Sandusky will put that game in the rear view and try to break a four-game losing streak to Ross. "We gotta have a sense of urgency," Brown said. "I don't think we played up to the Sandusky football standard last week. The intensity is turned up 10 times this week." The Little Giants are coming off a 13-9 win against Tiffin Columbian in which they didn't score in the second half. Sandusky didn't score in the last 45 minutes against Steele. The Streaks' only points came on an early 68-yard touchdown pass from Dale Johnson to Dante Shipp Jr. That big play accounted for more than half of Sandusky's total yards in the game. The inexperienced Blue Streaks trailed 35-6 at halftime and managed only 26 rushing yards and six first downs in the game. "We gotta be able to run the ball," Brown said. "Nothing else can open up till you're able to get three, four yards, those simple yards. We do have a good quarterback, we've got some skill guys, but it can't be a track meet. We're not deep enough to do that." Ross limited Columbian to 207 total yards and just 42 on the ground. Senior linebacker Cade Reineck made 10 tackles. "I believe our defense is one of the best defenses we have had since I have been here," 10th-year Ross coach Chad Long said after last week's win. The Little Giants belittle their nickname. Sixteen players on their roster are listed at 225 pounds or more — seven at 275 and up. "They're always big and their coaches do a great job with those linemen," Brown said. "They always cover you up and if you let them, they can lay on you for a long time and it could be a long game. We don't want it to get that way; we want to dictate." Ross started a new quarterback last week in junior Breylen Garza. Senior Stephen Reiter scored both Ross touchdowns. "They're very coachable and do what they do," Brown said. "They don't try to change for anybody. They know they've got big boys up front and they're gonna use them." Senior Mykell Ott and sophomore Denarea Swain each made seven tackles last week to lead Sandusky's defense, which gave up 501 total yards. "You gotta be able to stop the run and run the ball and we weren't able to do either and the scoreboard showed it," Brown said. Sandusky's last two losses to Ross have been close — 21-15 in 2023 and 21-14 last year. The Streaks' last win in the series came in 2020 — a satisfying 36-30 triumph in a game that was played Nov. 6 at Strobel Field, four weeks after Sandusky dropped a first-round playoff game at Norton in a patched-together COVID season. "They beat us four times in a row," Brown said. "They saw us last week so they're probably thinking we're not a very good football team."