Wildcats look to bounce back at EL
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EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Edison football team is looking to bounce back after the Wildcats had their 17-game regular season winning streak snapped by rival Toronto.
The Red Knights tallied a late touchdown to defeat the Wildcats, 28-20, last Friday night at the Edison Unified Sports Complex. Edison trailed by as many as 14 points before battling back to knot the score at 20 late in the fourth.
"I was extremely proud of our kids," Edison (5-1) head coach Mike Collopy said. "I was proud of their level of competitiveness. You ask them to play 48 minutes, and we played the whole 48 minutes. We just came out on the wrong side of it.
"I was really proud of our kids. They kept responding, responding. They kept playing, playing. They played to the last whistle."
Edison has put the loss behind them as it turns its attention to getting ready to take on East Liverpool at 7 p.m. Friday night up at Patterson Field.
"Our philosophy is win or lose you have to move on," Collopy said. "You can't get caught up in the positives if you win, and you can't get caught up in the negatives if you lose. For better or worse, you have to move on, and we have done that."
The Potters enter the game coming off a thrilling 62-54 victory against Cambridge last week at home.
"Offensively, they have some weapons," Collopy said. "Their quarterback Gavin Wright is a good player. He can beat you with his arm or his legs. They have a nice wide receiver – D'Shawn Kirby. He's a tight end, but they move him around. They will put him in the backfield, the split him out and he will play in tight. Jaymin Haney is a good running back. He has nice speed. Glenn also plays on the offensive side of the ball. They move him around, and he is dangerous on kick returns.
"They have speed, and we are going to have to defend their speed."
Marquise Glenn showed off his playmaking abilities in a big way against the Bobcats as he turned three kickoffs for touchdowns in the first half, including taking the open kick 86 yards for the first of many points scored on the night.
"He can get the ball at anywhere on the field," Collopy said. "He can run it straight ahead, or he can reverse field. We have to make sure we do a good job with our coverage."
East Liverpool began the season with three straight wins before falling to Beaver Local and Harrison Central.
"Defensively, they are aggressive," Collopy said. "They like to bring pressure. Their linebacker – (Trent) Davis – is an old school football player. He's the heartbeat of their defense. We are going to have our hands cut out for this week."
Winning the line of scrimmage will play an important role in determining the winner of the game.
"Their tackle – No. 77 (John Weyand) stands out on film," Collopy said. "They are well coached. Coach (Paul) Cusick has a track record that speaks for itself."
Turnovers proved costly for the Wildcats in their loss to the Red Knights. Edison is looking to take better care of the ball this week.
"We have to limit mistakes on both sides of the ball," Collopy said. "We can't have turnovers or penalties. We have to sustain drives, and we have to finish in the red zone.
"Defensively, we have to be in the right alignment. We have to know our assignments. We have to play well. They have a lot of speed. We know they are going to get plays, but we just have to keep getting back in the huddle, getting back into the huddle."
The Wildcats enter this week in eighth place in the Ohio Division V Region 17 rankings. On the other side, the Potters enter the game ranked No. 14 in the Division IV Region 13 rankings.
Edison defeated East Liverpool, 49-14, last season at home. The game was the final one for Don Phillips as head coach of the Potters. He resigned as head coach the following Monday, and he was replaced by former Edison assistant coach Jason Duke.
Cusick was hired as East Liverpool's new head coach in January after spending the previous 24 years as head coach at Crestview. Cusick compiled a record of 178-86 with the Rebels.