Homecoming: Tigers Looking for Inspired Effort Before Home Fans

Nobody ever said it was going to be easy.

Twinsburg's football team knew it had a rugged schedule before the season ever kicked off. The Tigers, now 2-2 after , are looking for a big effort for Friday night's home opener with Brush.

"It will be nice to put the blue uniforms on this week," said head coach Joe Schiavone as his team hopes to benefit from the home field advantage. "We know with our schedule we have to take it one week at a time and we know there's still a lot of football left.

"We lost a tough game against Stow but there's no reason to put your head down and sulk about it. Our senior leadership has been great and there is always something you can learn from a loss."

The Tigers dug a deep hole at Stow last week, trailing 14-0 at the intermission. The second half belonged to Twinsburg as John Barton scored on a seven-yard TD run and a Ben Bisesi interception set up a 39-yard scoring pass from quarterback Jalen Washington to B.K. Grewal.

"We had a problem stopping their running game in the first half," said Schiavone. "They were keeping our offense off the field but our offense came back and did a great job in the second half."

In overtime, Tre Jones scored on a five-yard run on a clutch fourth-down play. Frank Candau's 25-yard field goal gave Twinsburg the lead in the second overtime before the Bulldogs scored the game-winning touchdown.

"We knew going in that Stow was a very good football team," said Schiavone. "Our kids have great character and I know they will rebound."

Brush has lost Louisville recruit Kevin Houchins for the season due to an ACL injury, but the Arcs have several other talented skill players. Brush is 1-3 with losses to Eastlake North, Madison and Kenston and a victory over Valley Forge.

"They are very athletic and highly skilled," said Schiavone. "They can turn a minimal gain into a score at any time. We have to be very disciplined on special teams and defense."

The Tigers are ranked 21st in the first Division I computer poll with several marquee games remaining on the schedule against such powerhouses as Solon and Mentor.

But Twinsburg is focusing on only one opponent – the team it plays Friday night.

"We had a tough loss to Aurora and our kids came back and handled it well the next week," said Schiavone. "We're going to keep plugging away and concentrate on playing fundamental football."