RICHMOND — It has been a rough two weeks for the Edison football team, however, all is not lost as the Wildcats still have plenty of things to play for.

Edison put up quite a battle last week against undefeated Toronto, however, the Knights proved to be too much as they left Richmond with a 48-34 victory.

“I thought we played hard,” first-year Edison (3-3) head coach Anthony Pierro said. “I thought we played physical. We just could not get off the field on third down and that hurt us. We have to tackle better, and that is something we are working on at practice. We had a hard time getting off the field. It was a hard fought game. We want to get back on the right path again.”

Edison quarterback Nolan Haught made his first start at the position since he was in eighth grade.

This week, Edison faces a test in the form of Canton Central Catholic. The Crusaders (0-6) are winless on the season, however, the visitors from Stark County have played six quality opponents to start the season.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night at Edison. It is also homecoming night for the Wildcats.

“They use a couple different formations,” Pierro said about the Crusaders’ offense. “They love to throw screens. That is something we struggled against last week. Our kids continue to fight. They continue to work hard. It is going to be a hard fought game. Hopefully, we are able to come out on top.”

Canton Central Catholic enters this week’s game fresh off a 21-0 loss to Louisville at home.

“Defensively, they do a couple of different things,” Pierro said. “They will play two high safeties, and they will play man-to-man. Nolan was able to get into a rhythm last week. He played really well. We are looking to build off of that. We are going to give him more responsibility. They are fast, and they are physical. That is their strength. We are going to have to move the ball. When we have a drive, we are going to have to execute. We are going to have to be able to score points.”

So far this season, Canton Central Catholic has lost to Perry (4-2), 41-14, Mogadore (5-1), 22-7, Orrville (4-2), 28-7, Salem (3-3), 49-20, and Alliance (5-1), 42-7.

“We are going to continue to do the same things,” Pierro said about his team’s offense. “We have two really good running backs we need to give the ball to. We got pass happy last week. We were down, and we had to try and score quickly. We want to run the ball. We want to run the ball to set up the pass. We have to finish drives. We have to put points up on the scoreboard. Defensively, we are going to have to get off the ball on third down.”

Pierro, a graduate of Big Red, is familiar with the Canton Central Catholic as Big Red played the Crusaders five times from 2004 through 2007, including a memorable regular season game Oct. 19 2007 when Big Red quarterback Dwight Macon threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Jeremy Banks on the last play of the game enabling Big Red to come away with a 35-34 victory on the road. Big Red also defeated the Crusaders in the playoffs that season. Big Red won all five meetings in those years.

“They are going to be a challenge,” Pierro said. “They are 0-6, but they would beat most teams around here, or they would lose a close game. It’s a difficult test. We’re shorthanded. We’re 3-3, the playoffs are still possible. ”

The Wildcats are expecting the Crusaders to put up quite a fight this week when they come to town.

“We have to get off the field on third down,” Pierro said. “We are going to have to win close games. We cannot afford to get into high scoring games. Our offense is not built for those type of games. We have to win the time of possession. We are going to have to score on offense. We cannot afford to have any three-and-outs. We can’t allow them to have any big plays. If we do those things, we are going to give ourselves a chance to win the game.”

There is a lot of excitement and activities surrounding homecoming, and it can be difficult for team’s to properly focus on the game at hand and not get caught up in all the hoopla surrounding the event.

“It’s hard, especially nowadays,” Pierro said. “The kids are hungry for a win. We want them to enjoy the weekend and enjoy the day. We are working hard at practice. A win would change our environment. We want to keep our season alive.”

Edison is ranked 11th in the Ohio Division V, Region 17 playoff rankings. The top 12 teams in each region make the playoffs with the top four seeds receiving a bye in the first round.