Creek back at home hoping to build on Week 1
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WINTERSVILLE -- The Indian Creek football team answered some questions last week against Cambridge, and the Redskins are looking to continue their winning ways this week.
Indian Creek is scheduled to meet Buckeye 8 North Division rival East Liverpool at 7 p.m. Friday night inside Kettlewell Stadium.
The Redskins enter this week coming off of a win, while the Potters are looking to pick up their first win of the season.
Indian Creek opened the season with a 41-13 victory against Cambridge last week at home.
"I think we answered some questions," Indian Creek (1-0) head coach Andrew Connor said. "The first was how would we handle adversity? A couple of times our defense was put in terrible spots, and I thought we answered the bell big time.
"It was important for us to be able to handle sudden change situations. In the first half, we went for it on fourth down and didn't get it. In the second quarter, we had a turnover, and the defense came up with a stop. That was very important.
"The second was how would we handle the physical play up front? Our guys up front did a great job. Our backs did a great job of blocking and running. We were able to give a lot of guys carries and it worked out well."
East Liverpool, on the other hand, enters this week's game fresh off a 20-13 loss to Carrollton last week up at Patterson Field.
This season, the Potters are once again led by standout quarterback Gavin Wright.
Wright completed 20-of-32 passes for 240 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his team's loss to Carrollton. Wright also ran for a 1-yard touchdown to open the scoring in last week's game.
"Last year, he hurt us with two really-long passes," Connor said about Wright. "I thought that was the difference in the game. We are well aware of him. He is going to be the focal point of our defense."
For the Blue-and-White, Blake Adkins tallied six catches for 134 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Carrollton limited East Liverpool to just 31 yards on the ground on 20 carries en route to the win.
"They run a lot of RPOs," Connor said about the Potters. "They are able to read what the defense gives them. We have to be smart about what we do. We cannot give up any big plays. They look for the big plays. They are a big play offense. They have a lot of speed. They can change the game in a hurry."
The boys from Columbiana County allowed 250 yards of offense last week. The Warriors ran for 169 yards on 38 carries, while throwing for 81 yards.
"What we showed the guys on film is their front four do a really good job of occupying the linemen and their two inside linebackers run downhill quickly," Connor said. "They are good in the run game.
"For us, we want to run the football. We want to be able to mix in the pass. We want to be able to throw it as well as being able to run the football.
"I thought Ian Starkey did a great job in his first start at quarterback. He made some great plays. He managed our passing game. I look for him to get better every week."
East Liverpool's speed in the return game is a concern for Indian Creek.
"They do such a good job with special teams," Connor said. "They can really flip the field in a hurry. They do a good job with their coverages. They have a lot of speed in the return game. They were close to breaking a couple of kick returns last week.
"Special teams is something we have put a lot of emphasis on. It is something we are going to continue to work on."
Both teams have big offensive lines.
"We are about the same," Connor said. "They have a big offensive line, and we have a big offensive line. It is the same thing on the defensive side. I would say we are about even."
The Redskins are going to need to take care of the football in order to win their second game of the season.
"We can't have any turnovers," Connor said. "We had a couple last week. We have to stay away from those. We are going to have to stay in front of the chains. We are going to have to be able to run the football. Defensively, we can't give up any big plays."
East Liverpool defeated Indian Creek, 27-7, last season at home.