Edison looks to stay perfect, hosts Akron North
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RICHMOND -- The Edison football team is focused on Akron North.
The Wildcats and the Vikings are set to meet at 7 p.m. Friday night at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.
Edison enters the game undefeated and coming off of a 34-0 victory against Oak Glen last Thursday night at home. The Wildcats got off to a slow start against the Golden Bears as they were held scoreless into the second quarter before pulling away for the victory.
"I think we found the answer to the reason why we are getting off to slow starts," Edison (4-0) head coach Mike Collopy said. "We will know Friday. It is something we have attempted to fix. It is a concern. We want to start better."
North enters the game with a record of 1-3, and the Vikings have lost their last three games. North opened the season with a 28-0 victory against Coventry, however, Twinsburg (58-14), Cuyahoga Falls (26-12) and Southeast (30-6) have all recorded wins against North.
"Offensively, they like to run the ball," Collopy said. "Their coach does a good job of getting the ball into their playmakers hands. They are fast. They have a lot of team speed. They are the fastest team we are going to play this season.
"Their quarterback is a good athlete. Their tight end is 6-3, 230. They like to get him the ball. Their wide receivers are able to get the ball outside.
"Defensively, their defensive line is quick. They get to the football. Their linebackers are athletes, and the guys in the secondary are athletes."
The Vikings like to pressure the quarterback, however, the Wildcats have played teams all season that like to bring pressure.
"They like to bring pressure," Collopy said. "They are extremely fast. They get to the football."
The boys from Jefferson County have scored at least 34 points in all four games this season, and the Silver-and-Black are looking to have another big night on that side of the ball.
"We have to be assignment sound on the offensive line," Collopy said. "Offensively, we are going to have to take what the defense gives us. We are going to have to utilize our strengths."
Edison has been solid in all three phases of the game so far this season.
"Our kickoff coverage was good last week," Collopy said. "We are working on our punt return unit. We have gotten off to a good start. We are working on PATs. We are working with our long snappers. What we are doing in practice is not carrying over into games. That is something we have to fix."
Edison enters play this week ranked No. 7 in the Ohio Division V Region 17 rankings, but the Wildcats are not looking past the Vikings.
"They have exceptional team speed," Collopy said. "They have athletes on both sides of the ball.
"We are not looking further ahead than this week. Our focus is where our feet are. We had a good day of practice today (Monday), and we want to come out and have another one tomorrow.
"You have a plan for what you want to do. Hopefully, we will continue to have good days throughout the rest of the week.
"Every battle is won before you fight."
As a result of playing the Golden Bears Thursday night, the Wildcats have an extra day to prepare for the Vikings.
"It is always nice to have an extra day," Collopy said. "Today was a typical Monday. We have a plan in place. We just have to continue to execute. We want to get better as the week goes on.
"You have to be hungry and you have to be humble. You have to have the mindset that you want to improve. We have made strides.
"You hit the nail on the head with us starting slow. We identified the problem. We just have to go out and execute."
After opening the season with three straight home games, the Wildcats are in the midst of playing three straight games at home. Meanwhile, North opens the season with seven straight road games before playing two of its final three games at home.
Edison is looking to continue its winning ways in the regular season. The Wildcats have won 16 straight regular season games.