Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
To be the best, you've got to beat the best.
That's a challenge Eastwood faces in its game in week two with Liberty Center, which has finished as the Division V state runner-up in each of the last two seasons, cementing itself as one of Ohio's finest programs.
The Eagles and Tigers both lost a number of key starters from last year, but both teams are expected to compete for a league title and hope to make a run in the playoffs.
The two teams almost met in a regional final last year. Liberty Center beat Oak Harbor, 24-21, in the semifinals while Eastwood lost to Edison, 49-28, on the other side of the bracket.
Region 18 is, in addition to the Eagles and the Tigers, filled with good teams like Oak Harbor, Edison, Genoa and Liberty-Benton, so a victory for Eastwood would likely earn them some valuable computer points.
Third-year Eastwood coach Sam Cotterman, who is 20-5 coaching in Pemberville, knows how he would like his team to approach the game.
"You've got two different kinds of people,” Cotterman said. “Some look at this game and might be scared. With the team we have, and the kids we raise and coach, we look forward to a situation like this. We treat it like a privilege. We're fortunate enough to play in a game that is going to have a really great atmosphere. They're the two-time state runner-up, and if you don't get excited about that, you're not a competitor. If you shy away from that, the game of football is not for you."
Anyone that knows anything about Liberty Center understands that their mindset is to run the ball out of variations of the spread Wing-T, be very physical with a mean, stout offensive line, and the skill-position players are expected to block, too. The Tigers don't hide what they do — they want to run it down the defense's throat.
"When you hear about LC, you think about toughness,” Cotterman said. “You know they're not shy about what they do. They want to run the ball down your throat, hit you hard, (and) block you hard. I've never played or coached against them, but I have scouted teams that have played LC. I've seen them on tape, (and) they're the only team that every time they come off the ball, whether it's a wide receiver or an offensive lineman, they're all trying to physically hurt you or knock you down."
The Tigers, who went 15-1 last season and won the Northwest Ohio Athletic Conference for the third consecutive season, return nine starters while the Eagles return five starters.
Garrison Kruse and Thomas Mohler, the son of the coach, Casey Mohler, return to the backfield, and Max Walker and Kellen Wymer are two of the best offensive linemen on the team.
Eastwood's All-Ohio quarterback Drew Luidhardt broke his arm in a recent scrimmage, but his brother, Brayden, is set to fill in for him.
The Eagles won 11 games last season and fell four yards short of winning the Northern Buckeye Conference, save for its heartbreaking loss to Oak Harbor.
Following the loss to the Rockets, Eastwood finished the regular season up with a win over rival Genoa, 42-27, and beat Archbold, 41-0, before winning one of the biggest games in school history, rallying to defeat perennial power Creston Norwayne, 56-49, in the regional quarterfinals.
The Eagles have made it to the playoffs in six consecutive seasons. Running back Cam Schumaker is back to help lead the offense, and Zach Mullholand and Brayden Brown are two wide receivers that will be expected to contribute. The offensive line will be led by Jack Sensenig (5-11, 240 pounds) and Hunter Lauer (6-2, 260).
Cotterman was encouraged by what he saw out of the younger Luidhardt.
"I thought we had a good scrimmage against Archbold,” he said. “We scored three times, and the defense did a good job. I think we held them to two or three first downs in the first half. I thought we made some improvements, and after dealing with some adversity, I was happy with what we had accomplished in our second scrimmage. It gave us a good feeling.
"Brayden did a good job. He led us down the field for three scores. They were good, long drives."
