Week 3 Football Preview: McClain looking for 2nd win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — After a bounce-back win over Unioto last week, the McClain Tigers are looking for their second straight win, but to do that, they will have to defeat the East Clinton Astros on Friday night at McClain Field.
East Clinton will be a member of the South Central Ohio League next season, but this year they represent the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference. They are three-time defending champions of the league, but this season has been bit of a tough start for the Astros.
EC opened up the season with a 41-7 loss to Waynesville, but the Spartans proved to be more than a quality team as they took down the Clinton-Massie Falcons 17-2 and their 33-game regular-season winning streak with them last week.
In their second game of the season, the Astros were held to 32 rushing yards in a 35-12 loss to the Adena Warriors. McClain also has a loss to Adena this season by a score of 31-0. They were held to 23 rushing yards against the tough Warrior defense.
"They are a much better team than what their record indicates,"
McClain head coach Randy Closson said. "They (EC) have played two good teams this season.
“Waynesville beat Massie, and we had our struggles against Adena as well."
EC (0-2) had two touchdowns last week, both passes from sophomore Dalton Floyd to senior Will Henderson. The scores came in the second and fourth quarters on 18-yard and 5-yard receptions by Henderson.
"East Clinton is a very talented team," Closson said. "They have good athletes, good offensive players, and on defense, they are very aggressive."
Not including this season, the Astros have made a trip to the playoffs two of the past three years, including last season.
On the offensive side, the Astros are balanced, and depending on the matchup, will run a spread formation to an unbalanced offensive line to get to the power running game.
"They (EC) throw the ball well, and with their variety on offense,
they will stretch a defense out," Closson said. "They make it where their opponent can't focus on just the pass or the run."
Defensively, the Astros are an aggressive 4-4 defense that will put pressure on the ball.
"They are well-coached defensively, very physical and they have a lot of skilled players that will pose a challenge," Closson said. "Though they are aggressive, they will blitz depending on the game situation.
"They also have some very good linebackers."
Some of those defensive players include: Matt Blackburn, Henderson, Nate Witkemper, Floyd, Matt Ison, Hayden Knisley and Ricky Habermehl.
McClain (1-1) gained some much-needed confidence with their defeat of the Shermans, which can go a long way as the season continues to inch toward league play following this week of non-league games across the board of the SCOL.
"We have gained some confidence, and let's hope it carries through the week to Friday," Closson said.
One of the big improvements that led to the 14-point win last week was the offensive and defensive line play of the Tigers.
On offense, the line blocked for a total of 224 yards of offense, including 189 yards of rushing.
"Our line play was improved," Closson said. "We have to continue to improve there each week because if we don't, teams will key in on it."
It is also the week of the Highland County Fair as school is not in session throughout the entire county, which means a change of routine for everyone involved.
"We are trying to have as normal of a schedule as possible," Closson said. "It is a distraction, and some of our routines are different, but we have to adjust to it."
Though next year this will count towards the league standings, the Tigers and Astros are no strangers to one another because the past several seasons they have scrimmaged each other in the preseason.
"It is kind of exciting playing them on a Friday night. We have familiarity with them, and Coach (Matt) Hodge is a good coach and will have his team ready to play," Closson said.[[In-content Ad]]
East Clinton will be a member of the South Central Ohio League next season, but this year they represent the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference. They are three-time defending champions of the league, but this season has been bit of a tough start for the Astros.
EC opened up the season with a 41-7 loss to Waynesville, but the Spartans proved to be more than a quality team as they took down the Clinton-Massie Falcons 17-2 and their 33-game regular-season winning streak with them last week.
In their second game of the season, the Astros were held to 32 rushing yards in a 35-12 loss to the Adena Warriors. McClain also has a loss to Adena this season by a score of 31-0. They were held to 23 rushing yards against the tough Warrior defense.
"They are a much better team than what their record indicates,"
McClain head coach Randy Closson said. "They (EC) have played two good teams this season.
“Waynesville beat Massie, and we had our struggles against Adena as well."
EC (0-2) had two touchdowns last week, both passes from sophomore Dalton Floyd to senior Will Henderson. The scores came in the second and fourth quarters on 18-yard and 5-yard receptions by Henderson.
"East Clinton is a very talented team," Closson said. "They have good athletes, good offensive players, and on defense, they are very aggressive."
Not including this season, the Astros have made a trip to the playoffs two of the past three years, including last season.
On the offensive side, the Astros are balanced, and depending on the matchup, will run a spread formation to an unbalanced offensive line to get to the power running game.
"They (EC) throw the ball well, and with their variety on offense,
they will stretch a defense out," Closson said. "They make it where their opponent can't focus on just the pass or the run."
Defensively, the Astros are an aggressive 4-4 defense that will put pressure on the ball.
"They are well-coached defensively, very physical and they have a lot of skilled players that will pose a challenge," Closson said. "Though they are aggressive, they will blitz depending on the game situation.
"They also have some very good linebackers."
Some of those defensive players include: Matt Blackburn, Henderson, Nate Witkemper, Floyd, Matt Ison, Hayden Knisley and Ricky Habermehl.
McClain (1-1) gained some much-needed confidence with their defeat of the Shermans, which can go a long way as the season continues to inch toward league play following this week of non-league games across the board of the SCOL.
"We have gained some confidence, and let's hope it carries through the week to Friday," Closson said.
One of the big improvements that led to the 14-point win last week was the offensive and defensive line play of the Tigers.
On offense, the line blocked for a total of 224 yards of offense, including 189 yards of rushing.
"Our line play was improved," Closson said. "We have to continue to improve there each week because if we don't, teams will key in on it."
It is also the week of the Highland County Fair as school is not in session throughout the entire county, which means a change of routine for everyone involved.
"We are trying to have as normal of a schedule as possible," Closson said. "It is a distraction, and some of our routines are different, but we have to adjust to it."
Though next year this will count towards the league standings, the Tigers and Astros are no strangers to one another because the past several seasons they have scrimmaged each other in the preseason.
"It is kind of exciting playing them on a Friday night. We have familiarity with them, and Coach (Matt) Hodge is a good coach and will have his team ready to play," Closson said.[[In-content Ad]]