ERIE, Pa. -- Huntington's indoor football team is locked in on business at hand as they take on the Erie RiverRats in an American Indoor Football Association tonight.

"We're more focused," said coach Carlos Clayton, in his second week as head coach after Teddy Keaton resigned on April 26. "Last week was a learning process. We've refined things more this week."

The Heroes underwent a mini-makeover in late April because players weren't being paid. New owner Brent Blankenship settled that issue, but Keaton stepped down the next day. Ten players left the team.

Many of the skill players stayed with the Heroes. The makeover came in the offensive and defensive lines. New faces up front are guard Chris Hughes and center Jesse Carmen. The team had just one practice prior to last Saturday's 34-26 loss to Fayetteville.

"We've had good practices," Clayton, an assistant under Keaton, said. "The new guys saw what's going on. We've put more in. We're more sound going into this game. There's not as much disarray. When we get solidified up front, we'll be OK."

One bright spot for the Heroes (5-3) last week was kicker Jason Cherry. He had 14 points -- two extra points, three field goals and three "unos" (kickoffs through the upright on the receiving team's end).

"That was really huge for us," Clayton said. "I was really proud of him."

Erie made some roster moves since the Heroes beat the RiverRats, 54-24, on April 11. The biggest is at quarterback where former University of Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford is now running the offense. The left-hander hit Brandon Jackson with a 6-yard TD pass with 14 seconds left to give the River Rats a 50-48 win over Canton last Saturday.

Rutherford completed 16 of 37 passes for 152 yards and two scores and ran for 39 yards and two more touchdowns.

"He's a good player," Clayton said of Rutherford. "We'll play some games with him."

Erie (6-2) leads the Eastern Conference's North Division by a half-game over Reading.

The RiverRats have scheduled a promotion today to honor all moms on the start of Mother's Day Weekend.