Indian Creek hits the road for tough matchup with Red Devils
SAINT CLAIRSVILLE -- The Indian Creek Redskins got back in the win column last week with a 36-0 shutout of Buckeye 8 rival Buckeye Local and are back on the road after splitting a pair of home games the past two weeks to face a tough challenge in another Buckeye 8 rival, the St. Clairsville Red Devils.
"I think it has developed into a really good rivalry between the two of us," Indian Creek coach Andrew Connor said. "We have had some really good games in the past, and we finally broke through last year. The kids are very excited about the game."
The Redskins (3-1) opened up this season with a pair of impressive victories on the road over Cambridge and East Liverpool, giving Connor confidence in his team's ability to get the job done away from Kettlewell Memorial Stadium.
"I think it did a lot for us," he said. "Any time you get a win somewhere that's away from the normal surroundings you have at your home place, your own locker room, that whole feeling you get away from home is big. I think opening on the road was good for us, and hopefully it will help us when we go down to St. Clairsville on Friday night."
The Red Devils (3-1) are 1-0 at home this year, that victory coming in a high-scoring showdown with Meadowbrook, 49-38, in Week 3. St. Clairsville is coming off of a 30-15 win at rival Martins Ferry last Friday.
"Our picture becomes more clear with each day we go to practice, but we're still a work in progress each day," St. Clairsville coach Brett McLean said. "We've definitely learned a lot about ourselves from the start of the season until now. We're continuing to develop our identity."
Indian Creek won last year's matchup 30-13. This year, both teams come in with identical records, and Connor expects a good matchup.
"Both teams are playing well," he said. "Both teams are fundamentally sound. It should be a great atmosphere for a Friday night football game."
Indian Creek is averaging 271.5 yards on offense per game, putting up an average of 105.3 yards on the ground and 166.3 through the air.
The ground game is led by Trevor Fante, who has 301 yards and eight touchdowns on 86 carries, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Jakih Scales has 67 yards on 30 carries.
"He's responded well to being our feature back," Connor said of Fante. "He seems to have a knack when we get down there close to the end zone, to find his way into the end zone, which is an important trait because you want to be able to capitalize when you're in the red zone."
Through the air, Brennon Norris has completed 50-of-91 passes for 656 yards with three touchdowns and two picks. Norris, who is averaging 164 yards per game through the air, also showed his ability to run the ball and be a dual threat last Friday, breaking free for a 42-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, his first rushing touchdown of the season.
"He improves every week," Connor said. "He adds a different dimension because it's not the same old we're going to run the ball. We are able to do some different things. Hopefully he continues to open things up for us offensively and give us some dimensions that we haven't had before. It's become a nice dual threat for us, run and pass, and today that's important."
Devin Eakle leads the way for the Redskins catching the ball, hauling in 20 passes for 301 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while averaging 15.1 yards per catch. His twin brother, Devon Eakle, has nine catches for 151 yards, averaging 16.8 yards per catch.
"They have matured into some good receivers," Connor said. "Not only do they catch the ball, that's something everybody can see that's watching the game. I think the important thing is they've done a good job of becoming good route runners and getting themselves open. They help Brennon, and Brennon has helped them. They've worked in sync."
The challenge the Red Devils are going to have, according to McLean, is figuring out which of the Redskins weapons to stop.
"They run and throw the ball effectively," McLean said. "They're playing more kids than anyone we've seen all season, and they're difficult to defend because there is fresh speed on the field at all times. They have so many kids involved that you really can't find a tendency to hang your hat on. And they run from spread sets, so tackling becomes such a priority. It's a smart offensive game plan and they definitely have the weapons."
The Red Devils' offense is averaging 36.8 points a game, while the St. Clairsville defense is surrendering an average of 28.7 points.
The Redskins are averaging 28 points per game, while the defense has been a strong point, giving up just 10.5 points against on average while pitching a pair of shutouts. It is allowing an average of just 150.8 yards against per game, 72.5 on the ground and 78.3 through the air.
Connor expects an interesting matchup between a good defense and a good offense.
"We've been impressed with them," Connor said. "We think that they're a little more run-oriented than maybe they have been in years past. When we used to play St. C., they used to be a little more wide open, not that they can't be. They are very physical and have about three running backs that can carry the football, and their quarterback is good at running the ball. We are going to have to really emphasize taking away their running game."
(Sports writer Seth Staskey contributed to this article.)