By JOSH VARDAMAN
Father Ryan looks to continue building momentum with a home contest against Northeast Friday, while Fairview takes its 1-0 record on the road to battle Creek Wood.
See below for a closer look at those matchups:
Northeast (1-0) at Father Ryan (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday
Head coach Brian Rector is hoping his second game at the reins of the Father Ryan Fightin’ Irish (1-0) is much like the first.
Rector’s home opener in Week 2 against Northeast High School (1-0) comes a week after the Irish ran away from the Hillwood Hilltoppers early en route to a 48-6 win.
“I was proud of the way our guys handled the elements and the environment to be able to do exactly what we asked them to do,” Rector said. “We didn’t make a ton of mistakes on just ridiculously wet conditions … and in those type of conditions, I’m really pleased with that.”
Wet and muddy field conditions made play somewhat difficult at Hillwood, but Father Ryan made an adjustment to try and turn the soppiness into an advantage.
“We didn’t have a vast gameplan due to the conditions,” Rector said. “We pretty much ran the ball every time, only threw the ball about twice, and it worked out for us.”
The Irish ran the ball 36 times for 201 yards. They were led by Jackson Byrd, who had just 11 carries but rattled off 123 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s a really smart kid; he’s a disciplined kid,” Rector said. “He gets better every single week in the vision aspect of things. Certainly, he’s not going to have a game like that every game, but he did exactly what was asked of him.”
Quarterback Jay Shoop also got into the running action, gaining 79 yards on the ground on just eight carries. He got into the end zone twice.
Against Northeast, Father Ryan will hope to keep that high-powered rushing game going. In last year’s meeting, quarterback Zach Pfiefer threw for 205 yards while rushing for 101 more. He scored six total touchdowns (four passing).
In order to have close to the same success this season offensively, the Irish will have to deal with a Northeast defense built around speed. The Eagles gave up just one score in a 19-7 win over Sycamore to start their season.
“They’re big and they are a defense that is super fast,” Rector said. “They are very difficult to block because of their speed … they can cover ground really quick, and that bodes well in high school football.”
On the other side the ball, the Eagles try to play just as fast. They feature a triple option that is designed to keep defenses on edge with multiple looks.
If Father Ryan is going to slow the Northeast option down, Rector said it will have to play with discipline.
“It’s a triple-option veer scheme, and anytime you have that you just have to be super disciplined in your gaps,” he said. “We have to be where we’re supposed to be when we’re supposed to be there, because an offense like that will take advantage of that.”
Though Shoop wasn’t able to showcase his throwing ability against Hillwood in Week 1, the way the Irish were able to run the ball is an encouraging sign for Rector heading into their matchup with Northeast.
With a talented defense and offense that showed how explosive it can be against Hillwood, Father Ryan is hoping to replicate its 41-6 domination over Northeast a season ago.
Fairview (1-0) at Creek Wood (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday
The Fairview Yellowjackets (1-0) are hoping to carry momentum from an exciting season-opening win over rival Page into Week 2 when they travel to Creek Wood (1-0).
The Yellowjackets earned a thrilling 13-10 win over the Patriots in the second installment of the “Battle of 840” rivalry last week. Kicker Jeffrey Perez knocked home a 47-yard field goal as time expired to secure the win.
In that game, Fairview also got a chance to see new quarterback Kam Harris-Lusk in action for the first time since taking over under center this season. He finished with an overall solid game, throwing for 119 yards on 15-of-27 passes completed.
Harris-Lusk’s favorite target was Sam Sanborn, who reeled in nine catches for 62 yards.
Fairview should be chomping at the bit to get their quarterback up against Creek Wood. In the Red Hawks’ 30-26 win at Dickson County in Week 1, opposing quarterback Jacob Murphree lit up the CWHS defense for 314 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-37 passing.
Running back Quinton Poole was, by farm the Red Hawks’ leader on the other side of the ball against Dickson County. He also played a major role in keeping the team going while their defense struggled. He rushed 30 times for 202 yards and three scores.
In last year’s Fairview-Creek Wood matchup, Poole only rushed one time, but it was for 21 yards and touchdown. He was more effective in the passing game, where he led the team with 59 receiving yards on two catches.
Fairview is hoping running back Jake Beathard can replicate the success he had on the ground in last year’s 17-14 loss to the Red Hawks. He finished that game with 98 yards and two scores on 14 carries.
Against Page in Week 1, Beathard rushed 10 times for just 26 yards. He also added 23 yards on five catches.
With Creek Wood’s potent offense that was displayed in Week 1 and Fairview’s stout defense that gave up just 198 total yards of offense to Page, Friday’s matchup is poised to be a close affair in which one side will have to break or at least bend.
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