AUBURN – Ask any fan or student who some of the key players are on the Edward Little football team. Troy Barnies, Jon Demers and Chris Ringer will be popular answers.

Ask those players, their coach and even an opposing coach who they believe are the most important players, the answer will be much different.

“I am 100 percent confident in all of my linemen all of the time,” said Barnies, the team’s starting quarterback. “We’re all seniors; we’ve been together for four years. I trust all of them.”

Demers ran for 176 yards, Ringer ran for 98, and Barnies threw for two touchdowns behind that line, leading the Red Eddies to a convincing 25-0 season-opening win over the Cony Rams at Walton Field on Friday.

“We came out with a game plan that was pretty much to run the ball straight ahead,” said Demers. “We stuck to that; we all did it and came through as a team.”

Seven of Demers’ 17 carries went for more than 10 yards, including six of his first eight, punctuated by an 18-yard scamper to the right side with 1:46 to play in the first half.

“That was actually a faulty play,” admitted Demers, “but the fullback gave me a couple of good blocks, and I cut it back the other way.”

That touchdown marked the final points scored by either team all night.

“The whole game was up front,” said Cony coach Tom Hinds. “Their quarterback’s a good player. We know that. Their No. 1 back runs a 4.5 forty and weighs 200 pounds, and we know that, but the game was won and lost on the line tonight, especially in that first half. They got their first possession on the 50, and they didn’t throw the ball once and scored in something like eight plays.”

When Demers wasn’t pounding out his share of the workload, Ringer was mixing things up, too. He managed a touchdown on a 10-yard run to cap the Eddies’ opening drive, putting the home team ahead 7-0.

The first of Barnies’ two touchdown passes came with 2:40 to play in the first quarter when he hooked up with wideout Josh Martin from 22 yards out.

His second was a 9-yard toss to his brother, Travis, five minutes into the second quarter. Despite the win, and the optimism shown by the team and their new head coach Darren Hartley, the Eddies are also staying humble after the impressive win.

“One really isn’t anything right now,” said Barnies. “Last year, we started out 2-0, too. I’m glad we got the first win, but now we have to continue with it.”