AMBOY – It seems the first week of the high school football season is always the toughest because everything is new.

New players. New positions. New outlook or expectations for the season.

For the Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio gridiron Clippers, it was the same business as last year, a victory.

The defending 8-Man Illinois Football Association state champions hosted the team they beat in the state game, Ridgewood (in Cambridge), in this year’s Week 1 contest on Friday, Aug. 30.

Nothing was new with a 36-8 victory.

“We made a few mistakes you’re going to make Week 1 no matter who you’re playing. Our kids came out and played really well, especially our defense,” said Amboy coach Scott Payne. “Ridgewood had the ball inside our 10-yard line four times and our defense stopped them. That’s always a positive when your defense can step up and make plays when their backs were against the wall.

“Ed Frey played a great game at linebacker. Dillion Merriman had an exceptional at defensive tackle. He was in the backfield most of the night. Caleb Yanos did a good job at defensive end. We thought those guys would do a good job in new positions this year, and on Friday, they did an exceptional job.”

The defense held Ridgewood quarterback Owen Anderson to 3-of-5 completions for 32 yards, while Roy Sandberg had 12 rusing attempts for 96 yards and the Spartans lone touchdown.

Offensively, besides a few plays, the Clippers looked like it was further in the season than Week 1.

“We had a couple mental mistakes, missing blocks, and out of position type things, but overall, they played well and made adjustments throughout the game,” Payne said. “I thought we blocked well, we could have been better, but we’ll get better throughout the year.

“We had three guys over 100 yards of rushing, so that speaks for how our offensive line played. We have really good speed on the outside, so we’re still able to spread them out when we have to or need to and throw the football.”

Senior Josh McKendry rushed for 129 yards and three touchdown on eight carries, senior Brayden Klein rushed for 110 yards on 12 attempts and hauled in a 11-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Eddie Jones, while senior Quinn Leffelman had 100 yards on 15 carries.

Jones (4-of-4, 67 yards, two touchdowns) also found Yanos for a 56-yard scoring strike.

Now it’s on to Week 2 and the first road trip as the Clippers will hop on the bus for Sciota to take on West Prairie at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7.

“Cambridge is a very good football team again this year. I know they lost a lot, but they still have a lot of great players on their roster,” Payne said. “They’re going to win a lot of ball games this year. It’s great for us to start 1-0, but on Saturday morning it was time for us to get ready for West Prairie. We haven’t played them before.

“They have a good tailback, a QB who is a good runner with a good arm, and big guys on the line. We get an extra day of practice this week because our game is on Saturday. That’s a huge positive because it gives us more time to work on things and clean up some things. We’re going to be able roll Saturday.”