Northwood football coach Ken James knows his Rangers are in for a battle against Delta.

“They looked awfully darn good,” he said of their performance in the Shoe Bowl earlier this season. “It will be an interesting game.”

The matchup will be the first between the two schools in a few years. Now, Northwood and Delta have agreed to a one-year deal before Gibsonburg joins the league next year.

“We both have a similar weird off week,” James said in explaining why the matchup worked out.

Coming off a tough loss to Hopewell Loudon, the Rangers took on Edon before the Delta game.

“We’re practicing real hard this week,” James said after the Hopewell loss. “You never can tell how the kids will react to a loss. We’re going to do the best we can win or lose and put the loss behind us.”

James said his defense has played really well each game this season, and he has a big, experienced offensive line for the battle against Delta.

Three seniors, Tyler Johnson (5-10, 243), Matt Miller (5-8, 267), and David Bogart (6-3,217) – along with sophomores John Segura (6-1, 214) and Justin Rohrs (6-2, 228) – anchor an offensive line that that doesn’t have anyone under 200 pounds. Johnson also plays on the defensive line.

It was an offensive line that even gave Division I St.John’s Jesuit fits in the trenches during the preseason Shoe Bowl contest at Ottawa Hills, which the Titans won by a touchdown.

On the offensive side of the ball, Northwood senior halfback Zach Bermejo is averaging 9.4 yards per carry from the halfback spot.

“He’s been our biggest contributor on offense,” James said.

Junior split end Mike Schlicher has had four big catches for 56 yards, while senior linebacker Mike Prothero is the second leading rusher with six yards per carry (20 carries, 121 yards).

James pointed to an abundance of turnovers that the team is working to correct.

“Obviously we didn’t play well last week,” he said. “We need to make sure to heal physically and mentally.”

While the Rangers and Panthers haven’t met in a few years, James is familiar with the Panthers based on Delta’s matchup against Rogers at the Shoe Bowl.

“They run the same things they did when Mike Vicars was there,” James said, “and they do a really good job of that.

“They have a really good program. For us to have an opportunity to play them, it’s exciting.

Delta will be the last non-league matchup of the season for the Rangers before heading into conference play. James has high hopes for the matchup.

“For us, it’s a chance to play a (big) out of league game,” he said. “We know it will be a battle. The guys are competing in practice. We have to get through (Edon) this week, but the kids and fans will be excited and looking forward to it.”

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