Indian Creek has faith in Mazar
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WINTERSVILLE -- After opening the season with a dramatic, come-from-behind win over Cambridge, the Indian Creek Redskins are back at Kettlewell Memorial Stadium to host Buckeye 8 North rival East Liverpool.
"It really doesn't matter what happened in Week 1. It's a Buckeye 8 North game that goes way back rivalry-wise between the two schools, back to the beginning of Indian Creek," Redskins coach Andrew Connor said. "I expect a hard-fought game with them. They are a much-improved team."
The Potters were 14-7 winners over Shadyside in Week 1 but lost senior running back Jalen Moman to a knee injury after he scored both touchdowns. Connor, though, was quick to point out the Potters, who the Redskins defeated 27-0 in last year's meeting, have more than just Moman.
"Their quarterback (Peyton Reed) is shifty," Connor said. "He can throw really well, and he can take off when he wants to. They have a good mix this year between the pass, the quarterback run and lining up and just trying to run it down your throat."
Indian Creek had a key injury of its own in the opener, losing senior quarterback Brennon Norris. Connor said Norris is out for the near future. Junior Sam Mazar, who led the Redksins' comeback, will get the nod Friday night.
"This is the tough part of being a coach," Connor said of seeing Norris go down. "(Norris) did everything we asked him to do and was a leader in the offseason.
"The athletic ability of Sam is tremendous. He will try to build off what he showed us in the fourth quarter against Cambridge."
Wellsville at Edison
RICHMOND -- The Edison Wildcats started the season with a 39-13 loss on the road at Southern, but first-year coach Shane O'Brien thought his team got better as the game went on.
This Friday night, he hopes his team continues to improve when it faces Wellsville in its home opener.
"Wellsville has a lot of really good athletes," O'Brien said. "They have a lot of speed. Containing those athletes is going to be a good challenge for us. Our guys battled (in Week 1). We played better in the second half. I was glad to see they never gave up and kept fighting. We're going to try to keep that momentum going from that second half and keep trying to get better every week."
O'Brien, an Edison alum, is excited to coach his first game in front of the Wildcats home crowd.
"I think the guys are ready to come back home and defend our home turf," he said. "It is going to be exciting. There should be a lot of familiar faces there, and it will be exciting to get to coach and for our guys to play in front of everybody."
A positive from Week 1 for Edison was the passing game, with Anthony Sinicropi completing 20 of 27 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Toronto at Bridgeport
ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- After a tough, season-opening loss to rival Catholic Central last Friday, the Toronto Red Knights go on the road to face Bridgeport in Week 2 in a game that will be played at Red Devil Stadium in St. Clairsville.
"We did some things that were positive that we can take away from week one," first-year Toronto coach Josh Franke said. "I don't think we played to our full potential. Catholic Central is a tough team for anyone to open with. Now that we have a game under out belt, I feel like we can settle down a little bit and learn."
He knows Week 2 won't be easy, either, after the Bulldogs lost a close game to Madonna, 40-36, to open its season.
"They have a heck-of-a quarterback," Franke said of Bridgeport senior Nick Kusic, who threw for three touchdowns in Week 1. "We are going from seeing one great quarterback (Central's Justin Hartzell) to seeing another great quarterback, who is athletic and can throw the ball well. Our defense is going to be tested again on Friday night."
Franke's star quarterback of his own, Nate Karaffa, is still day-to-day after sitting out the opener with a knee injury.
"We won't know until late in the week (his status for Friday)," Franke said. "He was at practice (Monday) and moving around a little bit. I hate to keep dangling the carrot, but he is day-by-by right now."
Buckeye Local at
Union Local
MORRISTOWN -- Buckeye Local coach Roger Herbert returns to Union Local on Friday night, where he spent time as an assistant before taking over the Panthers last season.
"We scouted them against Monroe Central, and I thought they looked good," Herbert said. "Their quarterback (Cal Kildow) moved around. They are well-coached, and they spread the ball around to a lot of different receivers. We will have to be ready for that this week.
"They have a lot of young guys and new starters this year, but I think they are going to play hard. I have nothing but respect for their staff. They will have them prepared for us Friday night."
Herbert felt like his team had a few key missed opportunities in its Week 1 loss to Martins Ferry before the Purple Riders eventually wore them down. He hopes they can build on some of the positives.
"We played hard against Ferry," he said. "We had a few missed opportunities. We just needed to execute a hair better. We battled to the end, and we've got to keep that momentum going into Week 2. The kids are ready for Week 2.
"We've got to string some drives together this week. The big key for us is to string positive plays together."
Bell at Harrison Central
CADIZ -- The Harrison Central Huskies battled a tough opponent in Garaway in Week 1, but ultimately that game got away from them in the fourth quarter.
This Friday, the Huskies open the home portion of the schedule with Bell, who makes the trip to Cadiz from the Washington, D.C., area.
"They are an extremely athletic team," Harrison Central coach Anthony Hayes said of the Griffins. "They have good size and big kids up front. They are extremely athletic on the perimeter, and their quarterback is an incredible athlete. They have a wide receiver that is about 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3 and can run like a deer.
"They like to pin their ears back and come right at you on defense. We are going to have to be extremely fundamentally sound when we play them on Friday night."
Hayes, who made his head coaching debut in the opener, is looking forward to making his debut at home.
"I'm excited," he said. "I really don't know what my emotions are going to be sitting in the locker room in the pregame and taking the field at Wagner Field. It something that I have dreamed about since the day I graduated high school."