Eisenhower head football coach Jim Penley talks to his team after last week’s 41-0 victory over Cochranton. Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger

Fresh off a 41-0 season-opening win over Cochranton, the Eisenhower football team welcomes Cambridge Springs in another important region game.

With the Blue Devils downing Kennedy Catholic last week 35-18, tonight’s game would appear to be strength vs. strength — the Knights’ defense against a very potent Cambridge Springs offense.

“They run the football exceptionally hard,” Eisenhower coach Jim Penley said. “And that’s the basis of their entire game. They run a lot of ‘ace,’ two tight-end football, and Coach Liberty has always been good at it.”

The Knights shut down Cochranton almost completely last week, allowing only one first down, 8 yards passing and 31 yards rushing on 24 carries.

Meanwhile, Eisenhower’s offense was led by senior tailback Benji Bauer, who rushed for 134 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns. As a team, the Knights amassed 261 yards on the ground on 39 carries. Junior quarterback Shawn Pascuzzi was 3 of 7 through the air for 54 yards and a touchdown to senior wide receiver Wyatt Lookenhouse.

“They have a tremendous secondary with a lot of experience,” Penley said of Cambridge Springs. “They play physical on the defensive line. We have to win the line of scrimmage.”

The Knights scored in all facets of the game last week. Defensively, Bauer scored on an interception, and senior Keegan Eckstrom added a punt return for a score.

Cambridge Springs has always been a tough, physical game. They are ranked number three in Erie in single A for a reason,” Penley said. “We are going to have to play our best and not make a couple mistakes we made last week to be able to beat them.”