Sep. 3—Harvey coach Mick Mohner felt a different vibe when he walked into his team's locker room the morning of Sept. 3.

That tends to happen when everybody in the room has the taste of victory in their mouth.

After starting 0-2 — albeit against undefeated Kirtland and Jefferson — the Red Raiders shut down Wickliffe, 49-0, in Week 3. It was a crucial win for Mohner's squad, especially from the emotional standpoint.

"With the lack of success we've had the last 10 or 15 years, sometimes guys don't believe how good they really are and can be," Mohner said. "When we put it all together, they get that taste and believe in what we're telling them. This win give us some momentum. It's huge."

Blaise Collins ran for 173 yards as part of a 332-yard rushing performance. But the impressive part of the game was the Harvey defense, which held Wickliffe and its strong running attack to a total of 18 yards.

"Our defensive line was lights out," Mohner said. "We have three seniors up there we really lean on in Forrest Smart, Tyree Alston and Kaleb Puckett. Linebacker Alexis Rivas had four TFLs last night, too.

"It was a special defensive performance. They set the tone."

Mohner granted his team played two tough opponents in the opening weeks. Kirtland is 3-0 and has outscored the opposition, 107-14, and Jefferson is 3-0 and averaging 47.3 points per game.

"Obviously Kirtland is Kirtland," Mohner said. "Jefferson is pretty good, but we felt that one (a 20-14 loss) is one we should have had. Credit Jefferson, but we have to find ways to not beat ourselves. As long as we can stay out of our own way, we'll give ourselves a chance."

Harvey opens CVC Valley Division play next week on the road against 1-2 Crestwood.