Nice to beat you; Perkins at Margaretta

While Perkins and Margaretta enter Friday's matchup with contrasting records, both the Pirates' Gary Quisno and the Polar Bears' Rock Farlow have similar ideas about what they want out of the Sandusky Bay Conference opener.

Both teams are looking to get better, and regardless of what happened in the previous three weeks, both are out to rack up conference wins.

"We're just looking to get better," Farlow said of 0-3 Margaretta. "We're doing our best to try and improve that."

So far, the Bears' three opponents -- Lorain Clearview, Western Reserve and Bucyrus Wynford -- are a combined 8-1.

"The big thing is our effort and after that is attention to detail and doing things right the first time and every time," Farlow said.

Perkins, 2-1 after its non-league slate, has won two straight with wins over Toledo Libbey and Norwalk after falling to Bellevue, ranked No. 3 in the Division III Associated Press poll, in the season opener.

But every team is 0-0 heading into league play, Quisno said.

"It's SBC time, so we play them one game at a time," he said. "We're wanting to get off to a good start."

After the offseason coaching carousel -- when Quisno resigned from Oak Harbor before landing the head coaching job at Perkins and Farlow returned to the league after a year at Oberlin Firelands -- it's the first meeting at their new schools between the two longtime colleagues.

"We have so many things of our own, and it's such a good way to get ready for the SBC. I have a lot of good friends there, and my pleasant memories outweigh the bad memories," said Farlow, who won the Division IV state title in 1999, when he and the Pirates beat Quisno's Rockets 21-0 in the state semifinal. But don't expect a hard-nosed coach like Farlow, who coached at Perkins from 1997-2004, to get caught up with emotion.

"It's a moot point because enough time has passed by," Farlow said.

"It was two different situations," Quisno said of the coaching changes. "It's settling in (for me), and I'm sure he's the same way."

Now the two coaches bring their new teams together for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff in Castalia with what may look like mirrored offenses at times. Both squads run the Wing-T, though Quisno said Margaretta will use sophomore quarterback Devin Jones in a shotgun package in the game. But those similarities aren't by accident.

"You watch (Quisno) on film, it's the same guy, you just have to put a different colored shirt on him," Farlow said. "He's been successful for years. There's no flash from his teams because he figures out what's going to work.

"I'm one of the older coaches, but Gary is someone I try to do things like."

So far, Perkins' defensive effort -- especially its run defense, which allows 66.7 yards per game -- is what has Quisno feeling confident. The Pirates have allowed 13 points the past two games, and will have to do the same Friday.

Perkins is looking for more consistency on offense after committing penalties that hindered its momentum -- a no-no in Quisno's book. Three backs -- Paul Priestas, Kyle Finn and Adam Tinker -- share the load, and quarterback Spencer Bryant has thrown two touchdowns in 32 attempts.

Farlow is looking to see his players perform with more confidence after posting seven points the last two games. And the beginning of the league schedule can be just that type of reprieve from a competitive non-league schedule.

"At times I think we're more talented than they believe they are," Farlow said. Though he feels the coaching change has been different for his players, he said the players have handled the adversity of the situation admirably. "They've accepted my coaching style, and I'm proud of them for that. Now I want them to get some success to get a little bit back for their hard work."

The same is true of the Pirates, who were picked to finish fifth in the league but have higher aspirations.

"We want to do well in the league," Quisno said. "And if that's not enough motivation, then we're not ready to play ball."