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MARTINS FERRY -- After a trip to Bellaire last week, head coach Andrew Connor will lead his Redskins back south on state Route 7 into Belmont County to visit Martins Ferry on Friday night.
With Creek at 1-5 and the Purple Riders at 2-4, it will be a battle of two teams that need a win.
"I expect to see a couple of hungry teams, I think both teams have had some bright points, but both of us haven't been able to make enough plays to get over the hump," Connor said.
Leading Ferry is a familar face to Connor -- former longtime Harrison Central grid boss Justin Kropka.
"We talk all the time and I consider him a close friend," Connor said of Kropka. "We've faced each other a lot of times going back to when he was at Harrison Central.
"His team are always well-coached and they do all the little things right. He's got a good coaching staff and you can tell they always play hard. They like to run the ball, and that is something Justin has always done no matter where he's been.
"They play good defense and they try to make you make mistakes. We're going to have to be very aware of what they're doing. We have to have a good week of practice to be ready for them."
Though Ferry won its first two games and has since dropped four-straight, Connor knows their schedule has been tough.
"They play a tough schedule and when you watch them play … they battle everyone hard," Connor said. "The longer he's there, the more he'll institute what he does and you can see the kids have bought into it very quickly, they play with a lot of energy and passion -- and that comes from him."
The key for the Redskins to get back in the win column will be to put all four quarters together after having a couple recent games get away in the second half.
"We have tried a lot of different things and one of the things we decided to do this week when we watched film was to show the kids all of the positives," Connor said. "There have been a lot of positives, maybe not to the outside viewer, but to us as a staff. We feel like we just have to keep working. There is no easy fix, the only way to fix it is hard work.
"We still feel like we are headed in the right direction and we're close, we just need to put a whole game together and play four quarters. That is the goal right now -- get ourselves where we need to be to play four good quarters of football."