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SECTION 4 FOOTBALL: BIG RIVALRY GAME AS ELMIRA VISITS HORSEHEADS (2021-09-17)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
Last week was full of emotion for both Horseheads and Elmira’s football teams.

It was opening week. The first home games in front of packed houses in nearly two years, and for the Blue Raiders it was the opening of their new stadium.

Both teams were up to the task in week one, playing up to the level of the excitement surrounding the day.

“They were excited,” Horseheads coach Kevin Hillman said. “There was a lot of things going on with it being the opening of the district stadium and I’m glad they played well enough to get the victory so they could enjoy the experience.”

For Elmira they were happy to start the season with a victory.

“Kids are happy with the outcome of last Saturday,” Elmira coach Jimmy McCauley said. “Kids played hard.”

This week the emotions don’t die down at all as there is a huge rivalry matchup with Elmira traveling to Horseheads for a week two showdown.

A year ago Horseheads won the matchup in the spring, the first time the Blue Raiders had beaten Elmira since the Express became a combined team.

This year Horseheads will look to make it two in a row against Elmira, while the Express will look to bounce back this fall.

Both teams know this game is going to be tough.

“They are a well coached team that will be hungry to come up and beat us at our house,” Hillman said. “If we don’t match their emotion, it could be a long day. They are a physical team on both sides of the ball and will beat you up as the game goes on. We need to really be focused on both sides of the ball if we want to have success in the game.”

Elmira knows they face a tough road test in Horseheads.

“Horseheads looks good,” McCauley said. “We need to play our best. It is a night game, under the lights.”

For the teams there are positives to take away from the opener.

“Defensively I thought we played real well,” Hillman said after his team shutout Vestal in the opener. “We made some big plays and got turnovers in key situations. Offensively the offensive line really stepped up in the second half and controlled the ball, keeping Vestal off the field.”

Both teams know there are things they can also work on after the first game.

“Need to take advantage of opportunities when they come our way,” McCauley said.

For Horseheads, while the results were good last week, there were still some things Hillman noticed that they need to clean up.

“We still need to do a better job of being assignment sound defensively,” Hillman said. “We got lucky with some plays and getting turnovers. As the season goes on teams will get better and we will have to as well. Offensively we need to be able to throw the ball and challenge teams down the field. If not, we will find it tough to move the ball. Some other guys are going to need to step up offensively and make some plays.”

The Blue Raiders know having the home crowd behind them could be big against a team like Elmira.

“It’s nice to be able to be home to play in front of our fans and especially the Rowdy Raiders,” Hillman said. “Their excitement can be infectious to our players. We need that so our players can feed off that. Elmira will be ready to go and we need to be as well.”

WHEN HORSEHEADS HAS THE BALL
The Blue Raiders know that they ran the ball well in the opener. They also know they have to be more balanced this week.

“Being able to spread the ball around and not be one dimensional,” Hillman said.

While Horseheads wants to spread the ball around this week, the Express know they have to be ready for the Horseheads rushing attack.

“Stopping them from running the football,” McCauley says as a key.

WHEN ELMIRA HAS THE BALL
The Express dominated on the ground in the opener, and they know they had to do that again this week.

“Keys will be running the football,” McCauley said.

For Horseheads, they know they have to do their assignments and not get caught up with the misdirection that Elmira can run.

“Each position on defense needs to focus on their keys and not what’s going on in the backfield,” Hillman said.



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