Toronto taking underdog approach to East Palestine
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EAST PALESTINE -- The Toronto football team is looking to get back on track this week after two straight defeats to conference foes at home.
The Red Knights have lost back to back games after a four-game winning streak, and Toronto hopes to stem the tide as it takes on fellow Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference member East Palestine at 7 p.m. Friday night at Reid Stadium.
The Bulldogs (5-2) enter the matchup having won five straight games after losing their first two. East Palestine is also undefeated in the EAOC as is Toronto's two prevous opponents, Coulmbiana and Lisbon.
The Red Knights enter the game coming off of a 48-12 loss to the Blue Devils at Clarke Hinkle Field. The Clippers defeated the Red Knights 42-7 the week before.
"We have not played well the last two weeks," Toronto (4-3) head coach Eric Meek said. "I am disappointed about that. I love our kids. They are great kids. I enjoy coaching them. We just have to get tougher, and we have to get more physical.
"I thought we played well in the previous four weeks, especially on offense, but in the last two weeks we have not been able to stop anyone defensively, and we have not been efficient on offense."
Columbiana and Lisbon won the battle at the line of scrimmage the last two weeks against Toronto. Against the Blue Devils, Toronto only rushed for 46 yards on 26 carries. Lisbon tallied 358 on 42 carries and seven touchdowns. The Red Knights recorded 82 total yards.
"We just have to keep working and keep getting better," Meek said. "We have to get more physical, and we have to improve mentally. We are going to make changes to our lineup. We are going to move guys around. We are trying to get the guys into the right positions. We have to get more physical on both sides of the ball. I thought we would be more physical than we are, but we are not."
The Red Knights are also being hurt by a lack of overall team speed.
East Palestine enters the game coming off of a 55-7 victory at home over Leetonia. The Bulldogs scored 57 points in wins over Southern Local and Wellsville in the two weeks prior.
"They are athletic," Meek said. "Their quarterback is hard to get ahold of. Their tailback is outstanding. They have good wide receivers. They have scored a lot of points. I think they have the No. 1 offense in the league."
During the winning streak, East Palestine has also defeated United 36-7 and Campbell Memorial 53-26. It began the season with losses to Salem 34-28 and Perry 65-12.
"They are better on offense than they are on defense," Meek said. "They did only give up seven points to United."
In their four-game winning streak, the Red Knights scored 60, 34, 44 and 40 points before scoring 19 in their last two.
"Our offense was clicking," Meek said. "Right now, our offense is non-existent. I said before the season that we are going to be a young team and we are a young team, but that is not an excuse. We are young, but we have to get better. If they are giving a tremendous effort and doing the right things on and off the field, that is all I can ask. We have to get tougher and play more physical."
Toronto made a lot of big plays during the first five weeks of the season, but the Red Knights have struggled in that department the last two weeks.
"We don't have a lot of team speed," Meek said. "When you don't have a lot of speed, it helps to be physical. Right now we don't have either."
It has been a long time since Meek has coached a game at East Palestine, his alma mater.
"I haven't coached a game at East Palestine since 2002," Meek said. "I coached against them for eight years when I was the head coach at Wellsville. It is a very special place to me. It is a great community. It is my hometown. I have a lot of family and friends there. It is a great community, and I am proud to say that it is my hometown. It is a special place. I played football there, and my dad was my head coach.
"Tony Foster (East Palestine's head coach) is a family friend. I have known him since I was young. It is a special play. I am looking forward to going there and playing Friday night."
The game will be the Red Knights first one this season on a turf field.
"It is a beautiful facility," Meek said. "They have tremendous speed, so playing there will help them, but that doesn't matter. You go and play. It doesn't matter if you are playing on a dirt field or a turf field. You just go and play."
Toronto enters play this week in eighth place in the Ohio Division VII Region 25 standings. East Palestine is 15th in the Division VI Region 21 standings.
"We have a sour tatse in our mouths right now," Meek said. "I'm looking forward to Friday night. We get the chance to play against an outstanding team, and we are going to do our best to line up and stop them."