East Liverpool’s D’Shawn Kirby knocks the ball away from Salem receiver Aidan Lucc

EAST LIVERPOOL — The year was 2002. Gasoline was $1.36 a gallon. Kelly Clarkson won American Idol in its first season, and “A Beautiful Mind” won the Academy Award for best motion picture.

It was also the last time an East Liverpool Potter football team began the season unbeaten at 3-0. Until Friday night.

The Potters remained perfect on the season Friday evening at Patterson Field after recording a 28-0 win over longtime Columbiana County rival Salem in the 99th all-time meeting between the two schools.

East Liverpool now leads the tight and entertaining series, 49-48-2.

“Very proud of where we’re at,” said new East Liverpool coach Paul Cusick. “The one thing we had to do tonight is we had to play an ugly game, it wasn’t a pure game, but we played ugly and we won. We made enough plays and we had to get gritty and that was the question: Can we do that? And we responded tonight.”

“Paul’s doing a fantastic job,” said Salem coach Ron Johnson. “They’ve given up seven points on the season and they’re a 3-0 football team.”

The Potters’ win also snapped a Salem nine-game winning streak in the series.

“I didn’t know that, but I’m learning all the history down here and I’m proud to be a Potter,” said Cusick. “This program and this community deserves it.”

The Potters were once again led by quarterback Gavin Wright, who accounted for 213 total yards, including 50 on the ground to go along with a 10-of-16 passing performance for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s amazing (to be 3-0),” said Wright. “We just came out with more intensity (in the second half after leading 7-0 at halftime). We got our heads straight in the locker room and just went to work.”

With the setback, Salem — which is minus several starters, including standout Ross Davidson, who is lost for the season following knee surgery — fell to 0-3.

“We’re playing hard and doing the best that we can,” said Johnson of his injury-riddled team. “Here’s the deal: We have three guys who are four-year lettermen, two guys who started as freshmen and neither one of them have taken a snap for us this year and they’re out for the season. We have another four-year letterman that we got a game and a quarter out of (now lost for the season) and we lost our starting center.”

In a defensive-dominated first half, neither team scored in the first quarter. East Liverpool broke through near the end of the first half when the Potters drove 58 yards to find the end zone on an 11-yard look-in pass from Wright to receiver Quintin Conrad. Kicker Kamdin Miller added the PAT boot and the Potters forged a 7-0 lead with just 56.3 seconds left before halftime.

The Potters led in total offense, 117-88 at intermission. Michael Harty had a first-half interception on defense for East Liverpool.

The Potters got a huge shot of momentum at the outset of the second half when speedster Marquise Glenn cradled in a punt, skillfully dodged several Salem tacklers and set sail down the left sideline on a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown, giving the Potters a 14-0 lead following Miller’s PAT kick with 9:56 left in the third quarter.

“That (punt return) was huge,” said Cusick. “Marquise has been close (to breaking one) all year and he got his opportunity and that got the momentum going, that changed the game. He changed the game for us.”

With its two-touchdown cushion, the Potters closed out the win with two fourth-quarter scores on a 1-yard bolt over left tackle by running back Trent Davis and on a 35-yard scoring pass from Wright to a wide-open Dorian Burchett with 5:45 left in the game. Burchett led all Potter receivers with three catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.

“He (Wright) has to be our point guard and distribute the ball to our playmakers and we made enough plays tonight, so we’re happy with where we’re at, but we still have to get better,” said Cusick.

“He (Coach Cusick) means a lot, he came to this program and helped us bring it back,” said Wright. “He’s really turning this thing around.”

Salem’s two best drives of the night ended on the Potters’ 25 and 10-yard lines as East Liverpool held the Quakers on downs.

Leading Salem’s offense was quarterback Cletis Monroy with 61 yards rushing and 86 yards passing.

“We had opportunities tonight, we just didn’t get it done,” said Johnson. “We are playing our tails off as hard as we can play with the hand that’s dealt us, but it’s very important for us as a program to focus on what we have, not what we don’t. We don’t have a lot of our weapons, our morale builders, we don’t have them and we’re not going to have them.”

Johnson said it’s crucial that his team keeps working hard and staying positive.

“It’s important that we focus on what we have, play as good of football as we can play because that’s what we’re in charge of is to play great football and just keep battling, keep fighting,” said the Salem mentor. “It’s not going to be easy and it’s not intended to be easy, but we just have to take the high road and keep doing the right things with our guys and our guys have got to be keep playing hard and have pride in wearing the red and black, play to the best of their ability and sooner or later it’s going to pop for us.”

Game notes

¯ East Liverpool’s last win in the Salem series prior to Friday occurred in a 20-14 triumph over the Quakers at Patterson Field in 2013.

¯ In 2002, the Potters began the season with wins over Cardinal Mooney (21-6), Oak Glen (24-7) and Salem (31-21). That was the last time they began a campaign at 3-0 prior to Friday night’s win.

¯ The Quakers hit the highway to Stark County next Friday when they play the Canton Central Catholic Crusaders at 7 p.m. at Lowell Klinefelter Field.

¯ East Liverpool turns around and plays another Columbiana County rival Friday when the Potters make the short trip to Beaver Local to face the arch-rival Beavers at 7 p.m.

“It’ll be a battle, a backyard brawl and all that stuff and it will be fun,” said Cusick.

S: 0-0-0- 0– 0

EL: 0-7-7-14–28

SCORING

EL–Quintin Conrad 11 pass from Gavin Wright, 56.3 2nd (Kamdin Miller kick)

EL–Marquise Glenn 58 punt return, 9:56 3rd (Kamdin Miller kick)

EL–Trent Davis 1 run, 11:56 4th (Kamdin Miller kick)

EL–Dorian Burchett 35 pass from Gavin Wright, 5:45 4th (Kamdin Miller kick)

SAL EL

First downs 9 16

Total yards 181 295

Rushes-yards 34-85 30-132

Passing 96 163

Comp-Att-Int 9-15-1 10-16-0

Punts 6-34 -38

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 7-60 4-25

——

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING — Salem, Cletis Monroy 22-61, Marcus Phillips 8-24; East Liverpool, Gavin Wright 7-50, Jaymin Haney 10-22, Blake Adkins 1-3, Trent Davis 6-30, Kasen Ramsey 2-10

PASSING — Salem, Cletis Monroy, 9-15-86-0-1; East Liverpool, Gavin Wright 10-16-163-2-0

RECEIVING –Salem, Derek Oesch 3-34, Hunter Prendergast 2-17, Marcus Phillips 2-15, Will Harmon 1-17; East Liverpool, Dorian Burchett 3-71, Quintin Conrad 2-13, D’Shawn Kirby 1-4, Michael Harty 2-47, Blake Adkins 2-10

INTERCEPTIONS — East Liverpool, Michael Harty