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EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Indian Creek football team opened the season with a victory for the first time since 2019, and the Redskins are looking to continue their winning ways this week against East Liverpool.
The Redskins and Potters are set to face off at 7 p.m. Friday night up at Patterson Field.
Indian Creek (1-0) enters the game coming off of a 35-25 victory against Cambridge on the road. The Redskins scored all five of the their touchdowns on the ground en route to the win against the Bobcats.
"I thought it was a good indication of all of they work we put in over the summer," Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor said about his team's performance. "We tried to work on the issues that we had."
The Redskins had difficulty at times finishing drives last season, however, the boys from Jefferson County did a good job of that against Cambridge.
"This year, we have experience on the offensive line," Connor said. " We return all five starters on the offensive line. Zion was able to finish some runs. We hope to be more consistent, and that will allow us to finish drives."
Zion McGee collected 249 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against the Bobcats. Also, quarterback Zach Byard delivered 109 yards, and Gavin Pownall produced two rushing touchdowns.
East Liverpool (1-0) enters the game coming off a 50-0 victory against Minerva at home.
"They have a lot of speed, and they're physical," Connor said about the Potters. "Defensively, they are very physical. Offensively, they have lot skilled players. They are going to present major issues for us."
The Potters ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions, while throwing for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Gavin Wright tallied 245 yards through the air while throwing four touchdowns against Minerva. The touchdowns covered 89, 34, 10 and 30 yards.
"Their quarterback has made great strides," Connor said. "He's like a point guard in basketball. He does a good job of distributing the football. He can hand it off, or he can pull it out. He can throw it to his wide receivers. He runs the offense."
Dorian Burchette hauled in an 89-yard touchdown, Blake Adkins delivered a 34-yard score, D'Shawn Kirby recorded one from 10 yards and Quintin Conrad contributed a 30-yard touchdown reception.
Running back Jaymin Haney scored on runs of 22 and 28 yards.
East Liverpool's defense forced five turnovers -- four fumbles and one interception -- en route to the victory. The Potters returned one of the fumbles for a touchdown. Michael Harty recovered a fumble and rumbled 10 yards for a touchdown for East Liverpool's second touchdown of the night.
"They are physical on defense," Connor said. "They stress takeaways. They do a good job with that.
"I have know Coach Kusic for a long time. He's a successful coach."
Paul Cusick is in his first season as head coach of the Potters.
The Potters will try to put pressure on the Redskins.
"They are an odd stack team," Connor said. "They'll blitz their inside linebackers. They will play man, but they are mostly a zone team. They are like an umbrella. They are fundamentally sound."
Kamdin Miller also kicked a 22-yard field goal for the Potters.
Indian Creek will have to continue to once again finish drives to have success this week.
"I was proud of our effort," Connor said about his team's victory last week. "I thought our effort was outstanding. We had a good game plan. We followed that plan, and we were able to execute.
"When we get the chance, we are going to have to score. We are going to have to finish drives. We cannot afford to leave points on the scoreboard. When we have the opportunity, we are going to need to score.
"Defensively, we are going to have to tackle. That is something we have been stressing. Also, we cannot give up big plays.
"We are also going to have to focus on our special teams. Our special teams are not where we need them to be. We are working on that at practice."
The weather could play a factor Friday night as it supposed to be hot out.
"We have done a good job with our conditioning," Connor said. "Our two-a-days were up tempo. We did a good job with our weightlifting. We really worked on our conditioning."
Indian Creek defeated East Liverpool, 26-14, last season at Kettlewell Stadium. The game was the first of seven straight losses by the Potters. East Liverpool finished the season with a record of 2-8.