Friday’s game
What: Northwest (5-1, 2-0 SWOC) at Edgewood (5-1, 2-0 SWOC), 7 p.m.
Where: Kumler Field, 5005 State Route 73, Trenton
Last meeting: Northwest won 28-20 in overtime in 2014
Edgewood High School’s football team enters its Week 7 matchup in a much different position than a year ago.
The Cougars already have secured at least a .500 season after winning two games in 2014, but with matchups against the three other Southwest Ohio Conference leaders coming up, they have a chance to take another big step.
That starts Friday when Edgewood (5-1, 2-0 SWOC) hosts Northwest (5-1, 2-0 SWOC) in a game featuring two of the four teams still unbeaten in conference play. The other two teams — Harrison (4-2, 2-0 SWOC) and defending champion Mt. Healthy (4-2, 3-0 SWOC) — also meet Friday.
“It’s big,” Edgewood coach Scott Clemmons said. “You look at the schedule and take it one week at a time, but it’s that time of the year where the top teams in our league — us, Northwest, Harrison and Mt. Healthy — are all going to play each other in the next four weeks. There’s no easy games there.”
Northwest has made the playoffs three straight years but needed overtime to beat Edgewood last year (28-20) before going on to finish 6-4 in the regular season. The Cougars had just won their second game the week before that matchup and ended up losing their final four.
Clemmons said his players are enjoying the quick turnaround this season, and it’s come thanks to “execution, buy-in and camaraderie.”
The Cougars are led by quarterback Drew Reckart, who has 896 yards passing, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Eddie Driskell has been the leading receiver with 342 yards and five touchdowns on 10 catches, and running back Dakota Schramm (566 yards, eight touchdowns on 83 carries) adds balance. On defense, Zach Smith leads with two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and Paul Donisi has three sacks.
“They look big and physical, as they usually do, but they seem to have more offensive weapons this year,” said Northwest coach Nate Mahon, a Hamilton High graduate. “Their fullback, quarterback and wide receiver are all very capable of carrying or distributing and making plays, so we’ll have to stop those three guys. They are one year bigger, one year stronger. They play clean games and are going to be hard to beat.
“We’re excited for Friday night. I tell our kids these are the games you play for. We’ve made the playoffs three years in a row, and we’re going to have to beat Edgewood if we want to keep that going.”
Statistically, the Knights, averaging 387.7 yards and a league-best 35 points per game, are similar to the Cougars, who average a league-leading 403.6 yards and 34.6 points while surrendering 16.2 per game.
Junior quarterback Brandon Shelton, a second-year starter, leads the Knights’ shotgun spread offense, passing for 843 yards and 11 touchdowns, with David Martin (308 yards and four touchdowns on 13 catches) his top target. Junior running back Devonte Faulkner adds 698 yards rushing and 10 scores in his first year as a starter.
Clemmons said keeping Northwest’s offense off the field with sustained drives will be key, but he’s most concerned about the Knights’ defense, which has forced 10 turnovers, including two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
“Defensively, they are very stingy,” Clemmons said. “They are ball hawks. They create turnovers and take advantage. Ball security is going to be huge, and when we have opportunities to get into the end zone, we have to take advantage. It should be a good game.”
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