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INDEPENDENCE -- The Edison football team made plenty of mistakes last week, and the Wildcats are looking to correct those mistakes this week.
Edison (1-0) opened the season with a 34-14 victory against Monroe Central on the road.
"We made too many mistakes," Edison head coach Mike Collopy said. "There is no excuse. As coaches, we did not do a good enough job of preparing our kids. We overlooked some things at practice. We did not do a good enough job of coaching them, and that starts with me.
"We had a good day of practice today. We are working at practice to clean up those mistakes. We want to be disciplined, fundamentally sound and we want to be mentally tough."
This week, the Wildcats hit the road for the second straight week as Edison plays Independence at 7 p.m. Friday night on the road.
The Blue Devils enter the game at 0-1. Independence lost to Columbia, 41-6, last week on the road.
"They had some tough scrimmages," Collopy said. "They lost to Columbia last week. They are a really good team. They went far in the playoffs last year."
The Raiders held the Blue Devils to just one touchdown en route to the win.
"Offensively, they are a spread team," Collopy said about Independence. "They like to attack you on the perimeter with quarterback runs or jet sweeps. They have a good tailback. They run a lot of screens."
Five players recorded at least 10 total tackles for the Blue Devils in their loss to the Raiders. Rocco Ressler led the way with 21.
"Defensively, they like to bring pressure," Collopy said. "They are very aggressive. Their linebackers fly to the ball. The have a lot of skill in their secondary.
"They are going to be a tough test. We are going to have to be prepared if we want to have a chance to win Friday night."
The Seminoles also like to bring pressure on defense, but the two teams do so in different ways.
"It is a little bit different," Collopy said. "Independence has some size. They are quick. They're aggressive. They have a lot of team speed. They have nice athletes at linebacker and in the secondary."
The Wildcats totaled 281 yards of offense – 110 on the ground and 171 through the air – en route to recording their 13th straight regular season victory.
Mason Eisnaugle led the way on the ground for Edison as he ran for 83 yards and two touchdowns in the victory against Monroe Central. Quarterback JD Henderson, who was making his first career start, threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Avante' Hayes and Deacon Rawson each delivered a touchdown reception, and Rawson also returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown.
"Offensively, we are going to have to communicate better within our position groups," Collopy said. "We are going to have to take care of the football. We can't have turnovers. We also have to eliminate penalties. We had a penalty wipe away a touchdown and some big plays.
"Defensively, we are going to have to line up correctly. We are going to have to know our assignments. We're going to have to tackle."
The boys from Jefferson County made it through their first game healthy.
"We made it through healthy," Collopy said. "It's football. You are going to have bums and bruises. You just have to play through them."
The game is Edison's second straight road game to start the season. The Wildcats open the season with three straight games away from home.
"It is a two-hour-and-15 minute ride," Collopy said. "We have a plan in place, but a plan is only good if you execute it. We are going to leave a little earlier. It is a longer drive, but it is not going to be an excuse or an alibi if we don't play well.
"We are going to have to get ready to play a football game. We are going to have to be mentally ready to go.
"We are going to continue to prepare. We are going to have to do a good job on the little things."