Marion Harding will provide Columbian's defense with something it has yet to see this season - the triple option.
"It's something you just don't see very often," Tornadoes' coach Brian Colatruglio said. "You have to prepare for that; it's important you have all three phases taken care of. You've got to have somebody on the quarterback, somebody on the fullback, somebody on the pitch every play, every formation, every motion."
The biggest cog in the Presidents' offensive machine is fullback L.J. Scott.
"They're fullback, he's a man," Colatruglio said. "He's an extremely tough, physical runner who has some speed when he gets in the open field."
While Columbian is undefeated after three weeks, Marion Harding comes in at 1-2. The Presidents fell to Mansfield Senior last week; Columbian beat the Tigers in week two.
Colatruglio said the Presidents have had some problems dealing with the pass.
"Defensively, they play some young guys in the secondary, they've struggled against the pass a little bit," Colatruglio said. "Obviously, we want to run the ball. It's what we do, it's who we are. But we need to be able to mix it up a little bit, and maybe take advantage of some matchups there."
A key to the passing game likely will be the play of quarterback Mike Rohrbach, who completed 14 passes for 201 yards in last week's win over Fostoria.
"Last week I thought our passing game was real sharp, and looked as good as it has," Colatruglio said. "It's not that (Rohrbach) didn't play well the first two games, but just the situation, score and time sometimes ... we ran the ball a lot.
"Last week we unleashed him a little bit. He made the plays, and he threw the ball the way he has in practice."
Columbian's offensive line has been a strength for the team through three games, and Colatruglio said Marion Harding's defensive line should provide a good test.
"Marion Harding, they've got good size, they're pretty physical inside, and it's a good matchup," he said. "They're strengths are kind of our strengths as well, so it's always interesting to see who can impose their will there at the line of scrimmage.
"Our offensive line has done a phenomenal job; we haven't allowed a sack in three weeks," Colatruglio said. "Obviously, our success running the ball has been pretty good ... football is still won up front."
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
