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RICHMOND -- Coming off a tough loss to undefeated Toronto, the Edison football team faces another tough game this week against East Liverpool.
The Wildcats and Potters are set to meet at 7 p.m. Friday night out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.
Edison trailed Toronto, 26-25, in the third quarter last Friday night on the road before the Red Knights tallied two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure a 40-25 victory at Clarke Hinkle Field.
In the fourth quarter, Edison's Easton Willoughby was injured, and he had to be carted off the field on a stretcher before being taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Willoughby ended up at UPMC before returning home Saturday.
"First off, anytime a player gets hurt, you want to be there for them as a coach, and especially as a parent, you want to be there for the parents," Edison (2-4) head coach Mike Collopy said. "It's tough. It's something you ever want to see. The big thing is Easton is doing fine. He's OK. Thank the Lord for that.
"With the football, the greatest thing is also the toughest thing. There is contact. There's violence. Most coaches have played football growing up. It's dangerous. Situations like that can occur. We're all just thankful. The team is thankful. Easton is a good young man. He comes from a good family. We are happy he's OK."
Willoughby's mom – Holly – was a multi-sport athlete during her time at Edison.
"His mom was a great three-sport athlete," Collopy said. "She played volleyball, basketball and softball."
This past weekend, the Edison family received a lot of support from schools in the area.
"It's nice," Collopy said. "We live in a small area. There are rivalries. School districts border each other. We know our district borders different ones. It is nice to know that while we do compete against each other and there is a competitive environment, it is nice to know there is respect and people care about each other. You don't want to see that happen no matter if its your program or someone elses. It was good to see that. It was nice to see."
East Liverpool (4-2) enters the game this week coming off a 28-14 victory last week out at Cambridge.
"They are extremely athletic," Collopy said. "They have a lot of speed off the edges. (Dre'Keim) Abercrombie is a Division I recruit. He can wreck plays no matter if you run at him or run away from him. They are really aggressive on defense. They like to bring pressure. Their offensive line is experienced. They have been starting for a while. Their quarterback (Ben Myers) started last year. Abercrombie is great on the perimeter. They have other wide receivers as well. They are dynamic. Defensively, you have to defend sideline to sideline and goal line to goal line. If you are misaligned, they are able to create some big plays."
East Liverpool opened the season by defeating Carrollton, 19-10, and Indian Creek, 48-14, before falling to Salem, 52-21, and Beaver Local, 28-7, in back-to-back weeks. The Potters have rebounded and won their last two games. East Liverpool snapped its two-game losing streak by defeating St. Clairsville, 41-21, at home up at Patterson Field in Week 5.
"They are a spread team," Collopy said. "They will run a zone game with their running back (Xavier Lara). They have a read off it with their quarterback. They have a good running back. He's physical. They want to get the ball on the perimeter to their wideouts. They want to create big plays. It is the same thing with the return game. They have a lot of weapons. Coach (Paul) Cusick has won everywhere he has been. They do what they do well. They utilize their speed."
The Blue-and-White are aggressive on the defensive side of the ball.
"They run a game off the edges with their linebackers," Collopy said. "Their inside linebackers are really tough. Abercrombie is really good. I remember when they had (D'Shawn) Kirby. He's playing at Youngstown State. I remember when Abercrombie was a freshman, you could tell he was going to be really good. Offensively, we are going to have to know where he is at. He's going to make plays whether you run at him or if you run away from him. They have tough hard-nosed inside linebackers. They have a good secondary. They are fast. They have good size upfront."
The game is the first of three-straight home games for Edison.
"It is always nice to play at home," Collopy said. "We have the motto we will play whatever week it is. We will play where we are supposed to play. We are going to prepare the same whether we are playing at home or on the road.
"We had a good day at practice, and we need to have another good day. You have good days of practice by having good reps, by staying consistent and be focused. You have to work to improve. You have to be assignment sound. You want to have a good week of practice. I believe in the old saying that you play like you practice. If you have good practice habits, that will translate over to the game and you will have good game habits."
The boys from Columbiana County have the potential to create big plays in all three phases of the game.
"Defensively, we are going to have to eliminate the big play," Collopy said. "Our kicking game is going to have to be sound. We are going to have to have good punt and kick coverage. No. 4 (Meshach Harris) – their returner – is outstanding. He's slippery. On offense, it's the same story every week. We are going to have to stay on schedule. Penalties and turnovers are never good. We are going to have stay on down and distance. We are going to have to be able to convert on third down. We are going to have to be able to sustain drives. We want to fight from the first snap till the last snap. We want to give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter. Whoever we play, we want to give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter. We want to get to the fourth quarter and see what happens."
The Wildcats defeated the Potters, 34-20, last season on the road.
Edison enters play this week in 18th place in the Ohio Division V Region 17 playoff rankings, while East Liverpool is in 13th place in the Division IV, Region 15 rankings.