Creek looks to build off big win in Week 1
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WINTERSVILLE -- The rivalry between Indian Creek and East Liverpool will be continued on the gridiron this week as both football teams enters this week's annual rivalry game coming off season-opening victories.
The Redskins will be looking for their third-straight win against the Potters as the Buckeye 8 North Division rivals meet at 7 p.m. Friday night at Kettlewell Stadium.
Indian Creek opened the season with a 49-36 victory against conference and league rival Cambridge, Thursday night at home.
"Our effort was really good," Indian Creek (1-0) head coach Andrew Connor said. "The kids played really hard. We had one drive on offense where we shot ourselves in the foot. That was the third drive of the game. Defensively, we gave up some big plays in the second half that we did not give up in the first half. Overall, I was pleased with how we play. We are a young team, and I thought we played well, and I thought we played hard."
East Liverpool opened the season by defeating Carrollton, 19-10, Friday night at home up at Patterson Field.
"We went to game," Connor said. "They return a lot of kids. They have gotten better. They are bigger. Their defense impressed me.
"The big thing with their offense is they run a lot of open sets. Offensively, they have Ben Myers at quarterback and Xavier Lara at tailback. They run a lot of RPOs and veer. They want to run the ball, and they run it well. They have some bigtime receivers in Tyler Kirby and Dre'Keim Abercrombie. Meshach Harris – No. 4 – is also good. They want to get out in space. That worries me. They want to get out in space, and their kids are good in space."
The Warriors scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game against the Potters, but the Potters held to the visitors to just three points the rest of the way.
"They have a three-man front," Connor said. "A lot of teams do. They have three really-big down linemen. Their linebackers fill really well. They attack. They do a lot of stunts. They have an experienced secondary. With that experienced secondary, they do not give up a lot of big plays. Carrollton had a hard time moving the ball. After scoring a touchdown on their first drive, they didn't really move the ball at all. Their defensive is quick. They get to the ball. They tackle well, and they are pretty physical."
The Warriors ended the night with 210 yards of total offense. Carrollton ran for 99 yards on 30 carries, while throwing for 110 yards. The boys from Carroll County completed 8-of-17 passes in the loss.
East Liverpool is known for having some big players upfront on its lines, and this season it is no different for the Potters.
"They do have some big guys," Connor said. "They are physical. Their gameplan is they want to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. They were able to do that against Carrollton."
The Redskins led the Bobcats, 49-20, late in the third quarter before the boys from Guernsey County tallied 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter after the outcome had already been decided.
Indian Creek is looking to have another strong outing on both sides of the ball this week.
"We need to be consistent on offense," Connor said. "We are going to have to stay in situations where we are not behind the chains. If we are behind the chains, that is not good for us. We want to establish the run and build off the run. Our passing game was pretty good last week, and we want to build off of that this week. We cannot have any bad penalties or turnovers.
"Defensively, we don't want to give up any big plays. They want to make big plays, but we need to keep them on schedule. We have to make them drive the length of the field and force them to make a mistake. We have to be able to tackle in space. If they are able to get their guys into open space, we are in trouble. We have to play physical. We have to play smart. They do have some good athletes. We are going to have to play with the same effort we played with in Week 1."
Indian Creek defeated East Liverpool, 37-19, last season on the road. The Redskins held on to defeat the Potters, 20-14, in 2023 at home.