Week 2: East Clinton at Cedarville

0

On the surface, a 77-7 loss is a difficult pill to swallow, regardless of the competition.

But East Clinton head coach Jeremy Yankey was up front with his players in his post-game assessment.

”We got the opportunity to play one of the better teams in the entire state,” said Yankey. “From that we learned that we have a long way to go until we can be considered as such.”

But there were some good things to build on.

“I think as a coach you try to find good and bad in every game,” he said. “We tell our players there are mistakes made in every game, learning from them is what makes you better. Finding something good is not easy in such a lopsided game. We were happy that we only had three penalties for 15 yards. We were very pleased that we had 23 pass attempts without giving up a sack.”

This week, the Astros travel to Greene County to face former Kenton Trace Conference rival Cedarville. The Astros and Indians are scheduled to kick things off at 7 p.m. Friday night.

Cedarville opened the 2018 season with a 36-6 loss at Mississinawa Valley.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools since East Clinton’s 43-7 victory in 2004.

“It is exciting playing Cedarville again,” said Yankey, who faced the Indians each season during his playing days in Lees Creek. “Personally my favorite was 1989 Week 10. We beat 8-1 Cedarville 20-0 to finish 10-0.

“Coach Steve Olds as a senior led EC to its first trip to the playoffs in 2002 and a 9-1. That season EC got a hard-fought 14-12 win over a good Cedarville team.”

But these Indians aren’t the Jim Villinger Indians of days gone by. Cedarville is 2-28 the past three seasons.

Still, Yankey realizes his Astros are in no position to overlook any team so this matchup should be a good one.

“Cedarville is the same team they have been for more than 40 years,” Yankey said. “They like to run the ball out of the T-formation and split backs.

“Defensively they are a 4-4 team that will mostly run a man coverage. They do have a good kicking game and can pin you deep with a strong-legged kicker.”

East Clinton’s Brody Fisher (34) runs the ball against Clinton-Massie in the season opener for East Clinton.
http://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2018/08/web1_FB1_ec_brodyfisherEC-1.jpgEast Clinton’s Brody Fisher (34) runs the ball against Clinton-Massie in the season opener for East Clinton. Mel Arnold | News Journal

By Mark Huber

[email protected]

WHO: East Clinton (0-1) at Cedarville (0-1)

WHERE: Cedarville High School

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday

Reach Mark Huber at 937-556-5765, via email [email protected] or on Twitter @wnjsports

No posts to display