RICHMOND — Hope springs eternal for the Edison football team.

The fortunes of the Wildcats can only go in one direction this season, as they are looking to get back on track after an 0-10 campaign.

“You learn from adversity,” third-year Edison head coach Shane O’Brien said. “We were really young last year. We had guys out with injuries. There were some different situations. As a result, a lot of underclassmen got a chance to get some playing time last year. That will be beneficial to us this year. We are still young, but we are experienced.

“We lost seven seniors from last year’s team. They all graduated.”

After last year’s disappointing season, the Wildcats were eager to get things started off on the right foot in 2020, but Edison — as did everyone else — ran into a roadblock in the form of COVID-19. The virus brought a lot of things to a complete halt, including school and all high school sports throughout the area.

The Wildcats attempted to make good use of the unexpected time off as a result of the coronavirus.

“It has definitely been a unique experience,” O’Brien said. “We were able to have Zoom meetings. We were able to reach out to the kids through text or phone calls. Once summertime came, we started working out. We had different phases of workouts. It was nice to be able to be with them again. It was something we were looking forward to. We followed all the necessary precautions. We worked in smaller groups.”

There was some light in this time of darkness, as football teams were able to hold their first official practice earlier this month. Edison, along with many schools throughout the Buckeye State, took full advantage of the opportunity to get out onto the field.

Despite all the turmoil going on, the Wildcats actually have managed to increase the size of their roster.

“We have 46 on the roster right now,” O’Brien said. “We have 14 returning lettermen. Our underclassmen are our biggest classes. We have six seniors, 12 juniors, 13 sophomores and 15 freshmen. We have a relative small senior class. Our numbers are in our freshman, sophomore and junior classes.

“Our 14 returning lettermen are being challenged by our freshmen. We have a lot of talent in our freshmen class. They had a lot of success at the junior high level.”

The virus and all of the problems it has caused has been tough on everyone, and it has also made it tough on freshmen adjusting going from junior high to high school. O’Brien said his freshmen have risen to the challenge so far in the offseason.

Edison had difficulties on both sides of the ball last season, as it was outscored, 469-116.

This season, the Wildcats need to find a way to increase their offensive production. They scored fewer than 12 points per game. They managed to score a season-high 35 points in a Week 9 loss against Jefferson County and Buckeye 8 North Division rival Buckeye Local at Cartwright Memorial Field.

Defensively, the team gave up points in bunches, as Edison’s opponents averaged nearly 47 points per game.

Though they recently have been able to step onto the field for practice, the Wildcats have pretty much decided on who all will be starting for the team once the season gets started at the end of the month.

Sophomore Gage Cline and senior Tyler Shrieve are competing to see who will be calling the signals when the Wildcats open up the season

Sophomore Ethan Waggoner and junior Tyler Griffith will see plenty of time at tailback. Senior Vinny Marcino will once again start at fullback.

Seniors Izack McClurg and Jayden Sanders will be the team’s wide receivers, while juniors Kaden Miller and Jacob Cusick will serve as the team’s slot receivers. Sophomore Matt Parson will start at tight end.

Three starters return on the offensive line. Sophomore Jayden Clancey will get the starting nod at left tackle, while either junior Noah Snyder or senior Jacob Fenske will man the left guard position. Sophomore Isaac Firm will start at center.

On the right side of the line, junior Kolten Hanlin will play right guard, while juniors Hunter Russell and Nathan Black battle it out for the starting spot at right tackle. There also are some younger players in the mix for time on the line.

“We want to control the ball,” O’Brien said. “We want to establish the run. We have added some tweaks to our offense which will help our running backs. I think we have a talented backfield. We have three guys who can carry the ball. We are going to have some deception. We are going to use our athleticism and our speed. We are going to be balanced, but we do want to establish the run.”

Edison has made some adjustments on the defensive side of the ball heading into this season, switching to a base 4-4.

On the defensive line, Firm and Russell will start at defensive end, while the tackles will be Hanlin and Clancey.

Griffith and Marcino are the team’s inside linebackers, while Cusick, Miller and Waggoner all will see time at outside linebacker.

In the secondary, McClurg and Cline will be the squad’s starting cornerbacks, while Sanders will start at free safety.

Freshman Mason Montgomery and Sanders are competing for the kicking duties, while Sanders and McClurg are battling it out to be the team’s punter.

O’Brien will be assisted by Jason Fogle, Al Johnson, Bruce Palmer, Mike Collopy, Nolan Marcus and Collin Skeeles.