CADIZ — The Indian Creek and Harrison Central football teams come into their annual matchup fresh off wins .

The Redskins remained undefeated on the season as Indian Creek defeated Buckeye 8 foe Bellaire, 52-32, at Kettlewell Stadium.

“It is important to keep winning, and it is important to respond to adversity,” Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor said. “We faced some adversity, and our kids responded really well. The bottom line is at this time of the year, you have to keep winning football games, and we have been able to do that.”

On the other side, Harrison Central defeated Weir, 30-14.

“We started really fast,” Harrison Central (2-4) head coach Anthony Hayes said. “The kids did a nice job. We had some mental hiccups. We had them on the hook and we had a chance to close them out early, but we had some breakdowns. We got stagnant, but we were able to regroup. We did a better job in the second half.”

After starting the season off at 0-4, the Huskies have captured wins in back-to-back weeks.

“We had two really good weeks of practice,” Hayes said. “We focused on us and not on our opponents. We have tried to get better individually, and that will help us collectively. We have had good mental focus. We focused on how we can get better and how to make that happen. That is what we have been working on. I think that has been the biggest change.”

The Redskins are set to put their undefeated record on the line when they take on the Huskies at 7 p.m. Friday night out on the road.

“They are 6-0 for a reason,” Hayes said. “They are a good football team. They have a good senior class. They have good underclassmen. They’re big. Their quarterback does a heck of a job. He is multidimensional. He does a great job. Their quarterback creates problems for us. Defensively, you want to focus on stopping the run, but if you do that too much, he can hurt you over the top.”

Offensively, both teams are led by their senior quarterback.

Ian Starkey is the signal caller for the Redskins.

“Offensively, they want to run the football,” Hayes said. “They do a very good job at it, but you also have to keep your eye on their quarterback. If you focus too much on stopping the run, he has big play capabilities. If you keeping loading the box with eight or nine guys and you don’t account for the quarterback, he can make some big plays throwing the ball.”

Senior Brady Hyre is the man behind center for Harrison Central.

“Their quarterback is explosive,” Connor said. “He can run and throw. They have gotten better each week. Early in the season, they played some close games, and with a play here or a play there, their record would be different.

“They have got some good kids. Coach Hayes does a great job. It is a rival. We are going to have to be ready to play Friday night.”

The Huskies are looking to create some mismatches when they are on offense.

“They use different formations,” Connor said. “They try to create mismatches with their line up front and with their skill guys outside. Their quarterback can run and throw. He can take off and run with the football. He presents a lot of trouble for us. We want to keep him in the pocket. We are going to have to contain him when we blitz. We can’t give up the big play.”

The Huskies have played well on defense the last two weeks.

“They do a lot of things defensively,” Connor said. They switch fronts. Sometimes, they are in an even front. Sometimes, they are in an odd front. They will bring pressure. They will run blitz, and they will pass blitz. When they blitz, we are going to have to pick them up and not let them through. We are going to have to be well prepared.”

The Big Red’s 32 points is the most points the Redskins have allowed so far this season.

“They do a nice job up front,” Hayes said. “Their physical. Their linebackers are very athletic. I think one thing that gets overlooked is their secondary. I think their secondary is really good. They do a good job of playing the scheme coach Connor wants them to play. They attack the ball in coverage. They don’t miss open-field tackles. Defensively, they are sound.

“We are going to have to try and create some mismatches in the running game and in the passing game.”

Creek seems to have the advantage in the size category.

“We are a little bigger than they are,” Connor said. “Our offensive line is bigger. We have good size on our offensive line. Defensively, I would say we are about even. They have a big offensive line. They’re athletic. They’re quick. Size-wise, I would say we have a little bit of an edge.”

The Huskies are going to have to overcome their size disadvantage if they want to come away with their third straight win this week.

“They are much bigger than we are,” Hayes said. “They are bigger than we are as are most of the teams we play. We are going to have to focus on the things we can control like attitude and effort.”

Both teams know what they are going to have to do to come away with the win Friday night.

“One thing we have to do, is we have to take away the big play,” Connor said. “We have to make them drive the field. We cannot give up big chunks. We are going to have to make them work.

“Offensively, we want to establish our running game, and we want to establish running between the tackles. We want to mix in the pass. We are going to have to pass the ball. We are going to need to stay in front of the chains. We can’t have any turnovers, but we need to create some turnovers. That is the recipe we have been using, and it is the recipe that has been working for us.”

The Huskies know they are going to have to capitalize on their scoring opportunities if the want to knock the Redskins from the ranks of the unbeaten.

“When we get the ball into the red zone, we are going to have to put it into the end zone,” Hayes said. “Teams talk about explosive plays. We want to create some explosive plays, but defensively, we are going to have to minimize explosive plays when we have them in 3rd-and-long, or when we have them behind the sticks. We are going to have to get off the field on defense. They want to run the ball, and we have to be able to get off the field.

“Offensively, we are going to have to take advantage of our lineups up front, and we are going to have to do the same thing with the guys on the outside as well.”

Indian Creek is currently ranked third in the Ohio Division IV, Region 15 rankings, while Harrison Central is ranked 22nd in the Division IV, Region 17 rankings. The top 12 teams in each region make the playoffs with the top four teams in each region receiving a bye in the first round.

The Redskins defeated the Huskies, 46-14, last season at home.