TAILBACKS — Harrison Central’s Jacob Quito and Indian Creek’s Zion McGee look to lead their teams when the Huskies travel to Kettlewell Stadium to battle the Redskins Friday night. - Nick Henthorn/Michael D. McElwain

WINTERSVILLE — The formula for success remains the same for the Indian Creek football team, while Harrison Central is looking to get back on track.

The Redskins and Huskies are set to square off at 7 p.m. Friday night at Kettlewell Stadium.

The Redskins picked up a big win this past week as Indian Creek defeated Bellaire, 40-26, this past Saturday afternoon down at Nelson Field.

“I thought the kids played through a lot of adversity,” Indian Creek (5-1) head coach Andrew Connor said. “We played a physical football team. We are trying to find our identity. We want to play good hard-nosed football, and we want to play it the right way. Our lines on both sides did a great job. When you run the football 70 times with success, it all starts with the guys up front. You have to give credit to the big guys.”

The Redskins ran for 320 yards and five touchdowns in the victory against the Big Reds.

“Our offensive line has taken the mantra of wanting to play hard nosed and physical,” Connor said. “They want the game to be in their hands. They have done a great job. We utilize two tight ends. We run the wishbone. We have that lead blocker in the backfield.”

On the other side of things, Harrison Central enters this week game against its Buckeye 8 rival coming off of a 41-0 loss to undefeated St. Clairsville this past Friday night at home at Wagner Field.

“There are positives we can take from that game,” Harrison Central (1-5) head coach Anthony Hayes said. “You never want to lose, but our kids played hard. I thought we had one of the better weeks of preparation going into that game.

“We are going to try and build off the little things. We are looking to improve. The big thing is, you never want to lose by a score like that, but we prepared hard for the game, and we played very hard.

“We are looking to build off that. Indian Creek is a very good football team. They are well coached.”

The Huskies have lost five straight games after opening the season with a win.

“Harrison Central plays hard,” Connor said. “They are well coached. They are having to deal with a lot of injuries. They have good size. They are a typical Coach Hayes football team. St. Clairsville is a good team, and Harrison Central battled them. One of the things that really standout is how hard they play.”

The Redskins have won three straight games after suffering their lone loss of the season by one point on the road against an undefeated team.

“Indian Creek is very aggressive,” Hayes said. “They are what you would expect from a Coach Connor team. Indian Creek is a good team. They are having a great year. We know about the task that lies ahead.”

The Redskins have had a lot of success running the football this season.

“They hang their hat on running the football,” Hayes said. “That is their trademark. They are a typical Indian Creek team. One different thing this season is their quarterback throws the ball really well. He manages the game well, and he is also good in the running game. They have a lot of weapons.”

The wishbone offense can be tough to stop.

“They are patient with it,” Hayes said. “You are going to have attrition on defense. They are patient with it. They may not see results in the first quarter or in the first half, but their offensive line is going to wear on you. They have good size. They mix in different running backs. They are highly efficient at it. They have the extra blocker in the backfield. They outnumber you.”

The boys from Harrison County have shown the ability to run and throw the football so far this season.

“Harrison Central has shown a couple different things,” Connor said. “They have been run orientated. Their tailback is injured. Mykel Quito is a good running back. They run a lot when he is healthy. He missed the St. Clairsville game due to injury. They threw the ball more against St. Clairsville. They were in a lot of passing formations. We are going to have to be ready for both.

“They have good skill guys. They can run a lot, or they can throw a lot. They can do a lot of different things. We are going to have our hands full. We are going to have to be prepared for both.”

Defensively, the Huskies have allowed 38 or more points in each of the past five weeks.

“Defensively, they run a base 4-3,” Connor said. “They are big up front end to end. They rotate a lot of guys in. They start big, and they can get bigger. Their linebackers fill in well. They have a nice secondary. They are able to cover the pass.”

Indian Creek’s defense has allowed 24 or more points three times this season.

“They are very physical,” Hayes said. “Their linebackers get after it. They attack the line of scrimmage. They rotate defensive linemen into the game. They always have some fresh big boys in there.”

Throughout the season, the Red-and-Gold has had success offensively moving the ball on the ground, chewing up the clock and scoring points, while also doing a good job defensively by limiting the big plays of their opponents.

“We want to stay in front of the chains,” Connor said. “We want to mix in the pass. We have been throwing the ball better. We want to continue to work on our passing game.

“We want to run the football. We are not shy about it. We want to run the football, and we want to run it well. We run the wishbone. It is an old-school offense. It is not flashy. It is something we do well.”

Having played this past Saturday, the boys from Jefferson County had one fewer day to prepare for this week’s game against their rivals.

“You squeeze everything together,” Connor said. “It’s a short week. We knew that going into this game. We are not going to make any excuses. We knew this when the schedule was made. We are going to have to be ready to go out and play a football game.

“We are going to have to be at our best. Harrison Central is going to give us its best. They are going to come down Route 22, and they are going to want to play a football game. They are going to have to come out and play hard. We’re going to have to ready because they are going to be ready.”

The Huskies have been hard hit by injuries this season.

“We know the task that lies ahead,” Hayes said. “We are going to have to get the kids prepared to play a football game. We have experience in dealing with this. We experienced this in 2021. We lost double digit players to injuries. You always feel bad when injuries end a kids’ season, especially when they are seniors.

“We are going to have some young guys step up. They are going to get the opportunity to play and to make plays. We just have to continue to get better.

“You always hate to lose seniors to injuries, especially when they end their season. They shouldn’t end their season because of injuries.

“We have some young guys. We are going to have to simplify things for the young kids.”

Indian Creek enters play this week in ninth place in the Ohio Division III, Region 9 playoff rankings. Meanwhile, Harrison Central comes into this week ranked 25th in the Division V, Region 17 standings.

“When the chips our down, you have to have guys step up,” Hayes said. “Football games are won or lost at the line of scrimmage. We are going to have to coach our guys up. We are going to have to put them in the best position we can. Indian Creek is 5-1. They are an outstanding football team.”

The Huskies defeated the Redskins, 32-6, last season at home.

Harrison Central has defeated Indian Creek in each of the past three seasons. The two teams did not play in 2020. The last time the Redskins defeated the Huskies was back in 2019 when Indian Creek defeated Harrison Central, 35-7, on the road.

“Defensively, we are going to have to get off blocks,” Hayes said. “We are going to have to make tackles. That has been our Achilles’ heel.

“Offensively, we have not started the same offensive line in consecutive weeks all season. We have had to use different players. We are going to have to get them ready. We are going to have to simplify things.

“We are going to have to do some different things. As coaches, we are going to have to put our creative caps on. Being in this position is not fun. We have had to face a lot of adversity. We are going to have to coach our kids up. We are going to have to be ready to play.”