Niles, Edwardsburg ready for rivalry clash

EDWARDSBURG — The Niles Vikings and Edwardsburg Eddies – two of Southwest Michigan’s best football teams this season – are gearing up for a rivalry matchup with Wolverine Conference implications.

The Eddies will host the Vikings at 7 p.m. Friday at Leo Hoffman Field. Riding a five-game win streak, the Vikings (5-1,4-0) are aiming to remain atop the conference standings with Paw Paw and the Eddies (4-2, 3-1) are looking to rebound from their 21-7 loss to the Red Wolves and keep its hopes for a conference championship alive.

“It started Monday with taking a deep dive into looking at ourselves and film and pointing out the areas we need to be better at,” said Edwardsburg coach Dan Purlee. “We felt like we didn’t execute at a high level Friday and didn’t play with the effort we needed to against a really good Paw Paw team. We’re just going to continue to do what we do but pay a little more attention to the details and just keep keeping things upbeat and as intense as possible in practice this week trying to get better.”

“We’ve still got two really good games here with Edwardsburg and Paw Paw,” said Niles coach Scot Shaw. “The second half of our season is obviously much tougher than the first half so we’ll really get a good measure of ourselves in the next three weeks – what we are, who we are and how good we can be.”

Niles is averaging 44.7 points per game while giving up an average of 11.3. On the ground, the Vikings are averaging 359 rushing yards per game using its flexbone offense.

“Niles has got a good mix of big, strong kids up front, they’re physical, they get after you similar to Paw Paw,” Purlee said. They’re an aggressive team and they’ve got some really good athletes, too. They’re going to be a challenge. We have our hands full but we’re excited about the opportunity.”

“We just have to stay true to what we do and who we are,” Shaw said. “Obviously if we put points on the board that’s a big plus for us. I don’t like ‘7 to 7’ games because that’s probably not what favors us but I think if we can stop them a few times and then convert those into scores, I think that that will help us. I’m not saying we will do that – that would be in a perfect world.”

The Vikings know that the Eddies will be ready to play in front of their home crowd.

“(Edwardsburg’s) athletic and they’re physical and as always, offensively they come off the ball well and carry out fakes,” Shaw said. “They run the trap really well again and defensively, I think they may be a little bit better than they were last year. They get really to the ball and are pretty good up front.”

The Eddies are averaging 38 points per game under the command of senior signal-caller Joe Lundgren, who stepped into the starting role in Week 2 following Zeke Pegura’s injury.

“He just always has a ball in his hand and he’s very coachable,” Purlee said. “He just wants to be on the field and contribute in any way he can. He’s done a nice job running our offense; he doesn’t have a ton of experience quarterbacking in our system but has picked it up really quick and we’re very pleased with the way he’s handled the situation.”

“It’s been fun,” Lundgren said. “I’ve enjoyed it. I’m comfortable, I did it last year and the year before a little bit. I think I’ll be ready (for Friday’s game).”

Lundgren (five total touchdowns) has been able to get the ball in the hands of Eddies playmakers including Grant Griffin (six touchdowns), Carson Cebra (six touchdowns), Grady Ostrander (nine touchdowns) and Brody Schimpa (five touchdowns). The Eddies are hoping to avenge last year’s 49-0 loss to the Vikings.

“We’re short players but we’ve got people stepping in and we gotta do our jobs this week,” Lundgren said. “Last year was a tough loss, but we’ll be better and we’ll be ready.”

Leading the way both on offense and defense for the Vikings is Sam Rucker, who has tallied 12 touchdowns as well as 25 tackles and three sacks on defense. Peyton Gordon, Paul Hess, Brenden Olsen and Elijah Norris are also big play threats for the Vikings.

“Every time (Sam) touches the ball, he’s a threat to score,” Shaw said. “Defensively, he really has been good since his freshman year. He’s around the ball making plays and he just brings a sense of urgency to everything and we ask everybody to try to match his enthusiasm and his quickness and desire to get to the ball. He’s a good leader by example.”

Rucker praised his offensive and defensive line for allowing him to be successful on the field.

“We have a great offensive line and a great defensive line,” he said. “They’ve been able to bounce stuff out to me on offense and I’ve been able to make moves off of them because they’re getting their guys. It’s all the line.”

Shaw added that Ward Cheney and Max Rucker have impressed as underclassman, as has sophomore lineman Evan Williams who was called up from junior varsity earlier this season.

“Ward Cheney at linebacker has done an excellent job so far,” Shaw said. “Max Rucker’s a lot better at tight end and our offensive line, all those guys are kind of back but we’ve moved up (Williams). He’s played really well the last three or four games. Everybody knows their role and they do their jobs. We’ve got a lot of experience.

“A lot of our guys have played a lot of football.”

For the Eddies, last season’s 5-5 finish has served as motivation throughout the season.

“You look at our senior class and they really had a strong offseason and were hungry to turn things around this year,” Purlee said. “It’s been a really dedicated, committed group. We’re senior heavy this year and unfortunately, we’ve had a few key injuries but next man up. We’ve had some guys step in and do a good job for us. We’ve got a hungry senior group.”

“We’ve been way more into practice for sure,” Lundgren said. “We’ve been doing way better. Our assignments have gotten way better. We’ve been having good energy and gotta bring it this week.”

A win on Friday night would provide a boost of momentum for either team as the regular season nears its end.

“We just need to come out as physical as we did last year,” Rucker said. “We can’t take anything easy – that’s been our mindset all year. Last year was a whole different team and this year is different so we just got to keep on keep up that intensity.”

“It’d be huge because we know that’s a team to beat,” Lundgren said. “If we beat them, our momentum going into the playoffs – we’re gonna be tough to beat. We’ve got a lot of confidence.”

The post Niles, Edwardsburg ready for rivalry clash appeared first on Leader Publications .