New Richmond has had little trouble with Wilmington the past four games.
Since WHS joined the SBAAC in 2017, the Hurricane has lost to the Lions by scores of 35-14 (last year), 27-13, 56-30 and 41-21.
This week, Wilmington travels to New Richmond. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night.
“They are gritty,” WHS head coach Scott Killen said of New Richmond. “I give them a lot of credit for fighting through a lot of adversity early in the season. They went through a span of three or four games where they were searching for an opponent right up to Wednesday or Thursday of that week.”
The Lions found their footing last week in a 54-12 win over Batavia.
After an 0-3 start, Wilmington has won three of its last four, including a 45-7 last week over Goshen. The week before the Hurricane defeated Batavia 49-3.
“It’s definitely frustrating for everyone, not just the coaches, but the players as well,” he said of the start. “We all realize how close we have been to breaking games wide open early but a drop pass here or a penalty can halt the momentum. We have done a nice job of just fighting through it.”
Killen said his defense is completely healthy and available, for now, and WHS has “depth where we didn’t have depth before.”
Regardless of numbers of players involved, Wilmington must clean up its play to contend over the final three weeks. After New Richmond this week, it’s Western Brown and then Clinton-Massie.
“The kids are flying around and locked in to the game plan,” he said. “(But) little things matter. Right now, we can’t afford to not focus on those little things. Every drop, every penalty, every missed assignment can flip the game. We have made the kids aware of this so the attention to detail is a high priority.”
