STRONG START — Andrew Connor has guided Indian Creek to wins in four of its first five games and will look to put another one in the win column when his Redskins travel to Bellaire on Saturday. - Michael D. McElwain

BELLAIRE — The recipe for success is simple but effective for the Indian Creek football team.

The Redskins followed that recipe once again last week, and it once again paid dividends as Indian Creek held on to defeat Brooke, 30-24, last Friday night at Brooke Memorial Stadium.

“It was a battle,” Indian Creek (4-1) head coach Andrew Connor said. “Brooke has a new coach, and he knows what he is doing. He had his kids ready to play. He’s a college coach. He knows what he is doing.

“Our kids did what we asked them to do. They found a way to make plays. We were able to make a big stop at the end. It was a rivalry game. Both teams played hard. we just made one more play than they did.”

Indian Creek had to off a late charge by Brooke to pull out the victory just as it had to do in a Week 2 victory against East Liverpool.

“One of the things we talked about during the offseason was we have to find a way to make big plays and defensively we had to find a way to prevent big plays,” Connor said. “Defensively, we have gotten job done. We have gotten the job offensively. We got a good game from our special teams. We emphasized keeping focused and doing what we do well. We played hard.”

This week, the Redskins will look to continue their winning ways as Indian Creek is set to take on Buckeye 8 rival Bellaire at noon Saturday down at Nelson Field.

“They’re very good,” Connor said. “They are 4-1. They have the same record as us. They have a lot of speed. They put a lot of pressure on you. They score in bunches. We are going to go down there Saturday afternoon, and we are going to have to be ready to play.”

Bellaire defeated Cambridge, 26-6, last Friday night out at McFarland Stadium.

The Big Reds have a lot of speed, and the boys from Belmont County utilize that to their advantage.

“They are kind of a mix,” Connor said asked if Bellaire looks to run or throw more. “They have a lot of speed, and they like to utilize that speed. They run a lot of jets, stretches and sweeps. They have excellent speed, and they try to use that. They had a good quarterback who can throw. They have receivers who can run. They are balanced.”

So far this season, Bellaire has defeated Buckeye Local, 38-6, Bishop Tonnos, 16-13, and Brownsville, 41-0. Bellaire’s lone loss came against Barnesville as the Shamrocks defeated the Big Reds, 50-6.

“They have speed on defense,” Connor said. “They are quick to the football. They set in their base 4-3. They use their quickness. Their linebackers get after it. Their secondary does a good job in coverage. Their defensive line is quick. They hit the gaps. They make plays behind the line of scrimmage.

“They are a very good football team. They play well. They are well coached. We are going to have to play our best to compete with them Saturday afternoon.”

Bellaire’s speed makes the Big Reds quite dangerous in the return game.

“It does,” Connor said. “They opened the game against Cambridge with a kickoff return for a touchdown. We are going to have to stay in our lanes. We are going to have to know what we are doing. The last thing you want to do is to give up a big play before your defense even has a chance to step onto the field.

“It is something we are going to have to work on at practice. We are going to have to stay in our lanes. We are going to have to know what we are doing. We are going to have to go down and make a tackle.”

This season, Indian Creek has defeated Cambridge, 41-13, East Liverpool, 20-14, and Weir, 52-7. Indian Creek’s lone loss came at the hands of Union Local by a score, 27-26.

Both teams have some big boys up front on their lines.

“They have some big kids on their offensive line,” Connor said. “I would say we are evenly matched.”

Nelson Field added lights meaning the Red-and-Black can now play home games on Friday nights, however, this week’s game was always scheduled to be played Saturday afternoon.

“It has always been Saturday afternoon,” Connor said. “We just do what they tell us to do.”

Nelson Field is a grass field, however, the Red-and-Gold are comfortable playing on that surface.

“We have played on grass,” Connor said. “We played Union Local on grass in Week 3. It wasn’t that long ago. We can practice on grass. I told the kids not to make it a bigger deal than it is.”

Indian Creek will look to use its old familiar recipe to lead the Redskins to another win this week.

“We are going to have to stick to the same recipe that has worked for us,” Connor said. “Offensively, we are going to have to stay in front of the chains. We want to run the football. Our passing game is coming along. We have to avoid penalties. I thought we had some penalties that hurt us last week. Defensively, we are just going to have to do the same things we have been doing. We are going to have to tackle well, and we are going to have to stop them from being able to make big plays. Bellaire can score in bunches. We have to take away the big plays. It is the same recipe for us this week.”

Indian Creek is in 15th place in the Ohio Division III, Region 11 rankings.

Bellaire is in 15th place in the Ohio Division V, Region 17 rankings.