GLENDALE - Recovering from a careless loss against Seaton last week, Moon Valley High School hopes to regain its momentum Friday against Washington.

Last season, Moon Valley left Washington in the dust as they swept the score board for a 23-0 win.

Moving forward from the tough loss against Seaton, Moon Valley head coach, Seth Millican, said that the main focus for Friday’s game will be preparation.

“Well I wish it was surprising but it really wasn’t the way the kids prepared,” Millican said. “So we need to focus on the fact that they did not prepare well and try to get them to prepare better every week. I think they took it a little lightly and once things started to get hard they fell apart. We need to focus on keeping everyone together and working hard.”

Alongside their focus for preparation, Millican stated that he hopes to see fewer interceptions and penalties on Friday.

Junior running back Kaylan Elzy and senior wide receiver Bobby Carlon work closely with safety and running back coach, Bryce Wright.

Wright has been focusing on significant factors this week with Elzy and Carlon.

“With Kaylan we’ve been working on the fundamentals of finishing his runs and protecting the ball,” Wright said. “With Bobby were trying to get him to trust his speed on the edge. We’ve got to get him to have confidence in himself.”

Wright hopes to see the offensive line execute, and he made a particular point that he wanted Moon Valley to show “courage” on the field.

Since last season, Moon Valley lost their star quarterback, Nathan Pollard, and multiple dominate upper class players.

Being a predominately pass heavy team, this season has brought greater challenges for Moon Valley.

“It’s a totally different offense this season,” Millican said. “It looks similar, but they were much more spread last year. We have a different quarter back who’s only a junior, last year they had a senior quarterback going into his third year, so it’s different. We’re just trying to get our short passing game.”

Moon Valley junior Isaiah Sidewick has been filling Pollards shoes with more confidence each game.

Having a new quarterback comes with new talent. Millican stated that Sidewick looked good in the first game, but was rattled during Moon Valley’s game against Seaton.

Millican has been working closely with Sidewick to make sure that he is more comfortable in the pocket on Friday.

When asked about following behind Pollard, Sidewick stated that Nathan was a huge contributor to his football success.

“Nathan was actually a big part of my football knowledge. He taught me a lot about the game and about a lot of things I didn’t know. He really boosted my confidence and mindset for games,” Sidewick said.

To avoid repeated mistakes from last week’s game, Moon Valley has been watching Washington film in order to gain a better understanding of its offensive and defensive lines.

Washington so far has an 0-2 record for this season; however, that hasn’t steered Millican away from the possibilities for Friday.

“Washington has skilled guys all over the field. Their fast. If you miss one tackle they can score so we just need to have strong fundamentals all across the field,” Millican said.