High school football is almost here, and this first game of the season is a highly anticipated rematch for defending state champs St. Edward High School.
The guys are back in the grind, working hard for Saturday’s matchup against Glenville.
“The game is a big game, obviously the holy war,” said senior reciever Quincy Jones. “They’re kind of ranked above us in couple of polls, so that should be a great game.”
The teams duked it out in last year’s regional semi-finals, St. Ed’s 42, Glenville 22.
The Eagles are ranked No. 7 nationally, but the team graduated 15 starting players this year.
“They will be sorely missed, but we have some really talented and great kids coming up that we’re really proud of,” said head football coach Rick Finotti. “I’m really impressed with their work ethic and their team unity.”
Coach Finotti said despite the loss, the team plans to learn from past mistakes.
In last year’s matchup against Glenville, the Eagles were down 16-14 at the half.
“I guess the big thing that you look at is what was successful, and even though you win, you know there are things you could have improved upon,” he said. “Some guys playing hesitantly. We trust our instincts a little bit more. We’re athletic, and we need to realize we can do the things we need to do to be successful against a team like that.”
Saint Edward High School plays Glenville at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.