Published: August 27, 2008 11:57 pm         

Woodrow facing tough task Friday

A home game — finally —and the state’s top high school player is coming to town.

John H. Lilly is a happy man.

His Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles host Huntington and its stellar quarterback C.J. Crawford Friday night as the new football season opens with a bang at Van Meter Stadium.

“It’s going to be exciting. A lot of great athletes are going to be on the field,” the veteran coach said. “What more can you ask for?”

Crawford brings star power to the contest, having been named the state’s top football player by Rivals.com.

Currently being recruited by Wake Forest, Virginia, Marshall and West Virginia, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior runs the 40-yard dash in a cool 4.38.

“He’s both a passer and a slasher,” Lilly said. “We’ve got a job ahead of us.”

Crawford also made the news over the summer by transferring to Nitro High School. That fell through, however, and he returned home to Huntington.

Other top Huntington players include sophomore running back Gary Fielder, senior end Joey Christian and 270-pound tackles Eric Stanley and Robert Redman.

Playing their first season under coach Zach Wilson, the Highlanders finished 1-9, including a 29-22 loss to the Flying Eagles at Huntington.

Lilly expects the rematch to be just as tough.

“They’re a nice football team, although their record didn’t show it,” he said. “They’re explosive, and they’ve got everybody back.

“If we execute and play hard-nosed, physical football, we’ll be fine. But we have to play our style of ball, not their style.”

Woodrow, 5-5 last year, will answer Crawford & Company with its own potent attack, keyed by veteran quarterback Ryan Stafford, running back Vashawn Wood and promising sophomore receiver Rakeem Fowlkes.

“We think we have explosive kids too in Wood and Folkes,” Lilly said. “People will be very excited to see this caliber of football on one field.”

The Flying Eagles have added some new wrinkles to their attack, going a little more wide open and using a no-huddle offense.

“We’ve done it in two-minute drills, but never exclusively the no-huddle,” Lilly said. “We might crawl before we can walk, but the kids are pretty excited about it.”

Best of all, Woodrow gets to open at home for the first time since 2005.

“It’s always fun to have your opening game on your home field,” Lilly said. “I believe it will be an exciting one.”