The Gridiron 2019 by Herald-Star

Aug. 28, 2019

The Index Features

Cover Story: Area head coaches discuss the importance of high school football rivalries............... 6 Saccoccia, Big Red celebrating first championship together 35 years ago.......................................... 7 Our sports writers give their thoughts on high school rivalries.............................................................. 8 Weir’s Filberto details what college coaches search for.......................................................................... 18 Agresta learning the Crusader, Steubenville way...................................................................................... 26 Madonna’s Sessi recovers from broken leg................................................................................................ 29 Indian Creek makes improvements to Kettlewell...................................................................................... 38 Brooke changes logo, helmet design............................................................................................................ 43 Edison upgrades, improves locker room...................................................................................................... 49 Chaney ready to take Oak Glen to the promised land.............................................................................. 58 Toronto’s Leasure makes most of starting opportunity........................................................................... 64 Mitchell ready to shine for Harrison Central............................................................................................... 70 Buckeye Local changes schedule, attitude................................................................................................... 76

The Teams

Steubenville Big Red ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Weir Red Riders ................................................................................................................................................. 16 Steubenville Catholic Central Crusaders ..................................................................................................... 22 Weirton Madonna Blue Dons ........................................................................................................................ 28 Indian Creek Redskins ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Brooke Bruins .................................................................................................................................................... 40 Edison Wildcats ................................................................................................................................................. 48 Oak Glen Golden Bears ................................................................................................................................... 54 Toronto Red Knights ........................................................................................................................................ 60 Harrison Central Huskies ................................................................................................................................ 66 Buckeye Local Panthers .................................................................................................................................. 72 St. Clairsville Red Devils....................................................................................................................................111

The Extras

2018 stats ...................................................................................................................................................... 96-97 Off the Field Talk....................................................................................................................................... 91, 102 Weekly high school schedule ...................................................................................................................... 109 OVAC schedule ................................................................................................................................................. 110 Meet the coaches ..................................................................................................................................... 112-114 THANK YOU: This publication would not be possible without the combined efforts of many members of the staff, including: The Herald-Star/

Weirton Daily Times sports department staff of Joe Catullo, Andrew Grimm, Ed Looman, Ralph Cox and Aaron Petchal; Michael D. McElwain; the newsroom, led by Ross Gallabrese; the advertising department, led by Denise Delatore; the sports departments of the Times Leader and The Intelligencer; and th e coaches, players and athletic directors for their cooperation at all media days. A special thank you to Newbrough Photo, Action Images and Rich C ernansky for their support, kindness and tremendous help during the media days. We hope everyone has a successful and safe football season.

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CLASH OF THE RIVALS Area coaches discuss the importance of high school rivalries

By JOE CATULLO For The Gridiron

Whether a school is in Ohio or West Virginia, every schedule is 10 games long, and every game has some type of meaning. What makes high school football great is every team has at least one game it circles and looks forward to the most, no matter how long it has to wait. Those are the rivalry games. Without them, what would high school football look like nowadays? “It kind of reminds you of what went on around here for decades,” Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor said. “You look at a lot of the schools who have played against each other forever and ever. It brings back memories for those who have their kids playing and is just a cool thing to keep track of how those have gone over the past decades. For us, we’ve played Edison every year since we’ve been a school. It’s just special when those two teams who are close in proximity play one another. They even know each other better now because of the impact of social media and the travel teams that they’re on.” “No question rivalries make high school football even more exciting,” Steubenville head coach Reno Saccoccia said. “Those are the nights that it’s a great feeling when you win and, if you lose, you can’t get that taste out of your mouth,” Brooke head coach Mac McLean said. Proximity is the No. 1 reason for the game’s biggest rivals. And, it’s what makes rivalries around this area even more special. “High school rivalries are one of the best parts about the game, especially with the way how everybody’s connected with social media,” Edison head coach Shane O’Brien said. “It really creates an environment where you have familiarities with one another. You really see the competitiveness of those teams. A lot of the kids are connected, so it makes for great rivalry games.” “The close proximities of the rivalries, whether it’s between two cities separated by a couple of miles

“Those are the nights that it’s a great feeling when you win and, if you lose, you can’t get that taste out of your mouth.” -Mac McLean, Brooke head coach

or state lines, it’s just about the proximities,” Madonna head coach Darrin Hicks said. “The fans and students are going to be really close. Everybody that’s involved with the schools just adds to the intensity.” Some rivalries have been around for what seems like forever, while others never catch on or lose their impact.. However, maybe even with social media’s influence in recent memory, rivalries that are not at the top of the list are not the same anymore. Technology is great but also can be a burden. “That’s what high school football is all about. I think we kind have gotten away from that,” Weir head coach Tony Filberto said. “People are traveling to different places. Teams are coming in from long distances. I think we lose the importance of those like Weir-Brooke,

Weir-Oak Glen, Toronto-Wellsville, East Liverpool-Beaver Local where kids and families know each other. That’s so important to high school football and high school sports in general.” Filberto knows a thing or two regarding rivalry weeks. His Red Riders have two major ones, the first kicking off the year and the final as the last game (at least for them). As has been customary since Filberto went back to Weir, it opens its season with Oak Glen, while ending with Brooke. “When I took this job, they asked me if there’s anything different I want done with the schedule. Immediately I said I want Oak Glen in Week 1, and I want to play Week 10 with Brooke,” Filberto said. “If it was 100 percent up to me, we would play Brooke on a Saturday afternoon like it was for many, many

years. I think it’s very important to play one of your rivals first and your other last.” A school playing one of its biggest rivals can be interesting, to say the least. With new athletes joining and getting more playing time, with the departing seniors already gone, many times it could be interesting and curious. There’s no new film yet, both start off 0-0 and anything could be possible. “I don’t think it’s necessarily important that we play Weir in Week 1,” Oak Glen head coach Ted Arneault said. “I would like to play them at the end of the season. For us, it wouldn’t matter because we have Grafton in the final week, but they have Brooke. I would prefer to have that rivalry game. But, I’m not against to playing them in Week 1 because you start off the season with See RIVALRIES Page 80

Aug. 28, 2019

Setting the bar 35 years ago

Legendary Big Red coach remembers, reflects on 1984 championship

By ED LOOMAN For The Gridiron

STEUBENVILLE — The 1984 Big Red football team didn’t just raise the bar for the school’s storied athletic program. Instead, as Hall of Fame coach Reno Saccoccia pointed out, it is the bar. Thirty-five seasons ago, Big Red made valley history, becoming the first area Ohio football team to earn a state championship in a game decided on the playing field. On Nov. 23, 1984, Joe Johnson’s 1-yard scoring plunge lifted Big Red to a thrilling 12-9 overtime victory over Columbus Whitehall-Yearling in the Division II title game, played inside Ohio Stadium. The win allowed Big Red to cap a 13-0 season under Saccoccia, who was in his second year as head coach. “There have been many outstand-

ing teams and players in Big Red’s athletic history,” Saccoccia said. “The bar at Big Red has always been set really high regardless of the sport. For me, however, the 1984 team not only raised the bar, it became the bar for measuring success. “Winning that championship was the best feeling in the world. It was something the guys worked for since they started to play football. It was one of the greatest things that could happen to the team, the school and our community. That victory really got our program moving in the right direction.” The 1984 Big Red rolled to a 10-0 regular season. The defense (known as the Ghostbusters) allowed just 49 points. Week 1 saw Big Red blank Youngstown Ryan, 27-0. From there, Saccoccia’s club beat East See 1984 Page 84

File Photo

Reno Saccoccia’s first state title with Big Red came during the 1984 season, his second with Steubenville.

Aug. 28, 2019

Football rivalries at a premium Our sports writers discuss their favorite rivalry memories Tough competition brings out the best in athletes

JOE CATULLO

hat’s there to be said about rivalries that hasn’t already been said? Without them, sports would not be as much fun, interesting or prominent. It doesn’t have to be just two rival teams against one another. There could be small rivalries mixed in that make the matchup that more mustwatch.

Maybe two quarterbacks who are at the top of their games is an intruiging matchup, even if the two teams have no history. Baker Mayfield vs. Patrick Mahomes is the future Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. And, if memory serves me correct, the Patriots and Colts were not rivalries until those two played against one another. Same thing will happen for the Browns and

Chiefs. Same thing may be said for college football, although most of those rivalries revolve around two schools hating one another with a passion. Possibly two Heisman-worthy quarterbacks squaring would just be an intriguing matchup more than a rivalry contest, unless both teams already See CATULLO Page 81

Enjoy them while you can, at least I did and do

ANDREW GRIMM

s there anything better than a rivalry game? It does not matter what sport — or even what level — because rivalries are an important aspect of sports. In high school football, there is nothing better than a good one on a Friday (or Thursday, or Saturday) night (or afternoon). My first experience with such

rivalries came in my childhood years when I went to school in Martins Ferry beginning in preschool. Even at that young age, a very strong dislike for a team that wears red and black a little farther down the river is instilled and developed. In fifth grade, I had a classmate who was from Bellaire. Talk about an awkward week.

As I grew up around the rivalry, the impact of it on the towns and what it means to those involved — players, coaches and fans alike — only become easier to understand. I remember standing in line for several hours in the rain to be one of the first to enter Purple Rider Stadium (now the Dave Bruney Football Complex) See GRIMM Page 90

Reliving Big Red’s days against CCHS, host of others

ED LOOMAN

igh school football rivalries really do come in all shapes and sizes. From two perennial championship contenders (say Cleveland St. Ignatius and Lakewood St. Edward) battling for a state title to a pair of neighboring small towns (maybe something like Toronto and Wellsville) simply fighting for bragging rights, rivalries are a big part of the

Thursday/Friday/Saturday night fabric that makes the sport so popular. In the Ohio Valley, we have numerous rivalry games each season. There’s Weir vs. Oak Glen going at it for Hancock County bragging rights, as well as Weir and Brooke locking horns in their annual backyard brawl. We have the Route 43 bowl, so to speak, featuring Indian Creek and

Edison. Down in Ohio County, there’s Wheeling Central vs. Linsly, in what could be considered West Virginia’s private school championship game. And, of course, you have the granddaddy of them all — Martins Ferry vs. Bellaire. For my money, the best all-time See LOOMAN Page 90

Here’s to more local rivalries making a comeback

RALPH COX

ay back in my younger days, I had some rivals. I grew up in downtown Steubenville and, in my teen years, my friends and I would play pickup baseball and football games against guys from other parts of town at the Pleasant Heights Field or Belleview Park Field on Sunday afternoons. We didn’t call ourselves gangs, but I

guess we were groups from different parts of town competing against each other for bragging rights. That’s a gang, right? My rivalries go back further because, in the two years I spent in junior high school at the former Grant School on South Fourth Street, we had Sunday afternoon games at the old Flats Field located at the north

end of Highland Avenue. I don’t know if that field still exists. Then, there were rivals in the classroom and even for girlfriends. Wow! Now I’m talking about some pressure-packed moments. But, I know this column should be about those high school football rivalries that all the teams have throughout See COX Page 104

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Steubenville Big Red

Saccoccia: Our team has to carry the flag with pride 2019 Schedule Aug. 29 Allderdice Sept. 6 H.D. Woodson Sept. 13 St. Francis Sept. 20 New Philadelphia Sept. 27 Pittsburgh Obama Oct. 4 at Dover Oct. 11 National Christian Oct. 18 TBA Oct. 25 at Columbus DeSales Nov. 1 Linsly Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

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STEUBENVILLE — There are coaches who would be very happy with a 10-2 record, an 18th consecutive trip to the postseason and the 67th playoff victory in school history. Reno Saccoccia, Big Red’s Hall of Fame grid boss, isn’t one of them. “I take a lot of pride in saying we have to bounce back from a 10-2 record,” Saccoccia said at the program’s season-ending banquet in December. “I thought we were better than 10-2. Things just didn’t work out. “My goal is to compete at a high level. Steubenville is a proud city, and Big Red is a proud school. Our football team has to carry the flag with pride. We will work hard. We will work non-stop. We will grind to bounce back.” After dropping its 2018 season opener to Penn Hills, the eventual Pennsylvania Class 5A champion, Big Red reeled off nine consecutive victories. It then dispatched Akron Butchel in the opening round of the Division IV, Region 13 playoffs. In the regional semifinals, Steubenville dropped a 34-16 decision to

The Coaches

Hubbard. “Unfortunately for the seniors, the year ended on a sour note,” said Saccoccia, who is entering his 37th season as Big Red’s coach. “You wish you could do it again but, in football, you can’t. It’s not like baseball or basketball where it’s best out of seven. In football, it just doesn’t play that way.” Graduation claimed numerous key performers from last year’s squad. Gone are the likes of Keonte Holmes, Erik Lulla, Kwadre Williams, Dylan Cunningham, Kaleb Brown and Ian Phillips. They all earned All-

Ohio D IV honors. Others picking up diplomas were Jeziah Blackwell, Clayton Criss, Ryan Rauch, Jorian Jones, Caleb Mitchell, Taveon Montgomery, Andoni Demitras, Ty Arlesic and Cameron Boley. There is plenty of talent returning, starting with senior tailback Tayveon Crawford, who was the Eastern District Division IV co-offensive player of the year as a junior and a first-team All-Ohio choice. During the final four weeks of the 2018 regular season, the hard-running Crawford rushed for 909 yards. He ran

for a career-high 307 yards on 24 carries in a key road victory at New Philadelphia. He finished with 1,756 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging eight yards per carry. Crawford is one of 14 letterwinners returning to the fold. The others are Emmanuel Ware, JoJo Brown, Noah Howrath, David Tuttle, Stone Biacco, Niko Kausky, Terrance Norris, Draven Martineau, Randy Mitchell, Luke Zorne, Keith Bodnar, Isaiah McCartney and Nasari Jackson. McCartney and Jackson are juniors, while See BIG RED Page 15

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The Seniors

2019 Roster Seniors (25) 6 ............... Tayveon Crawford 7........................ Randy Mitchell 9...............Deombre Anderson 11........................Noah Howarth 12............................. Luke Zorne 16................ Draven Martineau 20.......................... Stone Biacco 26.......................... Dylan Bozica 28............................. JoJo Brown 32................. Cazieh Richmond 33............................David Tuttle 36........................ Tanner Power 40.........................Ethan Waugh 49........................... Niko Kausky 52.....................Brayden Pearce 53...................... Kaisean Wilson 58................... Wesley Mohawk 62.......................... Keith Bodnar 67.......................... Amari Brown 71.......................Brad Valentine 72..................... Terrance Norris 78........................... Ryan Burger 79................... Emmanuel Ware 81................. Johnny Nodianos 87............................... James Still

From The Coach ... “Our football team has to carry the flag with pride. We will work hard. We will work non-stop. We will grind to bounce back.” — Reno Saccoccia

Juniors (16) 8 ..................... Cade Kernahan 18..................... Andrew Gresko 24.........................Jared Roberts 25.....................Isaiah Wickham 27..................Isaiah McCartney 29......................... Nate McShan

30.......................Nasari Jackson 34.................... Aaron Ferguson 50....................... Caesen Sutton 59................Cian Montgomery 65...................... Raleem Brooks 77................................ Eli Burgey 80............................ Skyler Fauts 83...............................Nate Stark 85...........................Colby Saylor 88.................. Hunter Stoddard Sophomores (24) 10 ............... Jackson Hammell 19.......................Nathaniel King 23....................... Rodney James 38...............................Seth Lewis 39........................Brenten Jones 42.......................... Niko Suriano 43.................... Brandon Kinney 45............................Kye Fleming 46...................... Aizek Demitras 51............................... Cole Antill 54.................................... J.D. Ellis 55......................... Peyton Tuttle 56.........................Davian Bulsar 60.................................Ben Marx 61............................ Jaylin Harris 64........................Chad Gardner 66.........................Greg Mamula 69........................... Gaige Yelich 70.............................. Jaylin Gary 73....................... Patrick Reeves 75............................... Blaze Wile 82..................... Andrew Snyder 86......................... Parker Haney 89.......................Chris Schiappa

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Big Red From Page 12

they rest are seniors. Tuttle was a second-team All-Eastern District selection at inside linebacker. During the regular season, he recorded 75 tackles, 16 resulting in yardage losses, and four sacks. Saccoccia has 65 players on his 2019 varsity roster (25 seniors, 16 juniors and 24 sophomores). “Our numbers are good,” he said. “We had a good summer, but you can only grade your kids on what has happened to date. They are willing to work and have been working hard. Once we put pads on, then we can grade them on how willing they are to grind. The harder they are willing to grind, the colder it will be when we are still playing.” QUARTERBACK Mitchell was the Week 1 starter at quarterback in Week 1 but suffered an injury and missed considerable time. He was replaced by Criss, who threw for 984 yards. Mitchell did return late in the season and saw action at signal

caller. Junior Cade Kernahan and sophomore Jackson Hammell are the other quarterback candidates. BACKFIELD Crawford should pace Big Red’s offense, which averaged 35 points and 390 yards (297 on the ground and 93 through the air) per game in 2018. Others looking for time as the featured back in Saccoccia’s offense are (note: candidates for all positions are not listed in any particular order) senior Cazieh Richmond, Jackson, juniors Isaiah Wickham and Nate McShan, along with sophomore Rodney James. Tuttle, Kausky, Zorne, Biacco and McCartney all are looking for playing time at fullback, along with senior Dylan Bozica and junior Aaron Ferguson. Kausky had 228 rushing yards and a couple of touchdowns a season ago, while Tuttle bulled his way for 141 yards and six scores. McCartney found the end zone four times.

RECEIVER/TIGHT END A host of players are in the mix at wide receiver, including seniors Howrath, Brown, Deombre Anderson, Martineau and James Still; juniors Andrew Gresko, Jared Roberts, Skyler Fauts, Colby Saylor and Hunter Stoddard; and sophomores Nate King, Seth Lewis, Brenten Jones, Niko Suriano, Andrew Snyder, Nate Stark, Parker Haney and Chris Schiappa. Senior tight end candidates are Ethan Waugh and Johnny Nodianos. Sophomores competing are Brandon Kinney, Kye Fleming and Aizek Demitras. OFFENSIVE LINE Bodnar and junior Eli Burgey are vying for playing time at center. Looking for work as guards are Ware, along with fellow seniors Brayden Pearce and Kaisean Wilson, junior Cian Montgomery and sophomores J.D. Ellis, Davian Bulsar and Greg Mamula. Norris is among the tackle candidates, along with seniors Ryan Burger, Wesley Mohawk and Amari Brown, junior Raleem Brooks and sophomores Cole Antill and Gaige Yelich. Others looking for action along the See BIG RED Page 81

2019 Coaches

Head Coach

Reno Saccoccia Assistant Coaches Matt DeAngelis Gus DiMarzio Dan Filtz Jason Kernahan Todd Filtz Anthony Pompa Ian Whittington Jo Jo Saccoccia John Arlesic Joe Pierro Anthony Saccoccia

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Aug. 28, 2019

Division I material What college coaches look for in high school athletes

By RALPH COX For The Gridiron

WEIRTON — A dream held by nearly every young man who dons a high school football uniform is to mature into a Division 1 recruit. But, what exactly determines whether a teenager in high school is good enough to be recruited by a Division 1 university? Weir High veteran coach Tony Filberto, who has been coaching in the high school ranks for nearly 40 years, says in most cases there are several attributes needed even for that terrific player on the field. Size and speed probably top the list. Some other attributes that college coaches look at are the measurable things, like how much a player can lift in the weight room and how fast he can get from point A to point B. Then, college coaches always ask about what kind of student the candidate is and what kind of a person he is, according to Filberto. What about his family life? Does he have leadership qualities? “The colleges are looking to make an investment just like you would if you were going to buy a car,” Filberto said. “Colleges are willing to invest $30,000 — and in most cases more than that — on a student-athlete, so they don’t want to make a mistake if they can help it. The same as when you’re visiting a car dealership. You don’t want to invest in a clunker.” The NCAA has specific rules about when and where a coach or school representative

can contact an athlete or his parents. There are yearly calendars depending upon whether the school is Div. I, II or III. “The rules are specific both for the coaches contacting a player or his parents and for a player or his parents contacting the school,” said Filberto, who has coached a number of players who have gone on to play college football. “Those rules can be found very easily on the NCAA website on the Internet.” Since 2000, the Weir High players who have gone on to the college Division I ranks include: Eric Turner, Jack Crow and Zac Cooper at WVU; Grant Carrigan at Pitt; Domenic Murphy at Marshall and Tyler Komorowski at the U.S. Military Academy “This year, a number of colleges are recruiting Sebastian Spencer,” Filberto said. “He has offers from Army, the U.S. Air Force Academy, along with several Mid-American Conference schools and William and Mary. “Perhaps the main thread that runs between all these athletes besides being very good football players is that all are top students, guys with A-plus academic averages.” Filberto added that each player has his own attributes. “Speed and size are the main factors that separate athletes from playing at Division I, Division II or Division III,” he said. “We have kids that played at Weir High that are at schools See DIVISION I Page 85

Aug. 28, 2019

Weir Red Riders

Filberto: This is as fast a team as we have had in a while 2019 Schedule Aug. 30 at Oak Glen Sept. 6 at John Marshall Sept. 13 Frankfort Sept. 20 at Keyser Sept. 28 Petersburg + Oct. 4 at Plum Senior Oct. 11 Fairmont Senior Oct. 18 at Edison Oct. 25 East Liverpool Nov. 1 Brooke Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 4 p.m. kickoff

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WEIRTON — The Weir High football team made it to the semifinal round of the Class AA playoffs in 2018 but, despite losing a lot of talent to graduation, veteran coach Tony Filberto has 15 lettermen returning, which will give him an experienced player at just about every position, a similar situation to last year. The Red Riders of 2019 will feature speed, according to Filberto, who has the fastest athlete in the state in Sebastian Spencer, along with some other speed merchants in the backfield and at wide receiver. Four of the starting five players on the line are back, and the coach says each is a talented athlete who also has speed for his size (the smallest lineman weighs 215 pounds.) “This is as fast a team as we have had in a while,” Filberto said. “That means we will be adjusting our offense to get the ball out in open space more. We plan to use all the speed we have in a little bit different way than we have in the past. The offense will be a bit different.” The Red Riders put together a six-game win

streak last season going into the state semifinal at Fairmont Senior. The Polar Bears showed why they were ranked first with a devastating 59-0 romp over Weir High and went on to win the state title. The Red Riders lost only three games last year, and two of them were to the eventual state champion. “Fairmont Senior was better than us,” Filberto said. “In fact, I think they were the best team in West Virginia, regardless of class.” Filberto said that with the 15 lettermen returning,

By RALPH COX

Weir High is ranked this year among the top five teams in West Virginia Class AA, according to one preseason prediction. Besides Spencer, the other letterwinners that will suit up for the first game at Oak Glen on Friday are seniors Elijah Gillette, Brody McUmar, Drew Curtis, Isaiah Glasure, Mike Zias, Zac Wypaseck and Nick D’Amico, along with juniors Anthony DiMatteis, Gage Reitter, Logan Walters, Levi Hostuttler, Jordan Brueck and Ethan Cummins. Filberto considers players

who transfer to Weir High after earning letters at other schools among his lettermen. They are Harry Ringer, a senior transfer from Burgettstown, and Jonathon Wetter, a transfer from the state of Iowa. QUARTERBACK Filberto says that DiMatteis and Spencer are his two top quarterbacks but will not be platooning. Spencer will start at wide receiver and move to quarterback or running back in certain situations. Promising sophomore Tyler Kelly See RED RIDERS Page 21

Aug. 28, 2019

The Seniors

2019 Roster Seniors (12) 1 ................ Sebastian Spencer 8............................ Elijah Gillette 9.......................Brodie McUmar 21.............................Drew Curtis 59................... Jonathan Wetter 52.........................Nick D’Amico 68........................ Isaiah Glasure 78.................................Mike Zias 80........................Dakota Nutter 83...................... Jonathon Clark 84......................... Zak Wypasek 86...........................Harry Ringer

From The Coach ... “We plan to use all the speed we have in a little bit different way than we have in the past. The offense will be a bit different..” —Tony Filberto

Juniors (8) 2 ............... Anthony DiMatteis 14...........................Gage Reitter 25....................... Logan Walters 33......................Kasper Moreria 56....................... Levi Hostuttler 76.............. Johnathon Howard 77........................Jordan Brueck 87.....................Ethan Cummins Sophomores (8) 3 ............................... Ahj Brown 5...........................Jayson Nosko

6..................... Carson Yobaggy 10................................Tyler Kelly 20..........................Daniel Kuhns 53.....................Brayden Wilson 75...............................Myles Rice 88..............................Sean Baker Freshmen (7) 4 ............................. Jamari Bass 7..............................Peyton Stan 11....................... David Bloomer 24.......................... Justin Brueck 55..........................Owen Totten 72........................Gage Hawkins 74..................... Cameron Jones

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Red Riders From Page 18

and McUmar also are taking snaps in practice. DiMatteis led the Red Rider jayvee team to an outstanding record last year. He also saw enough action with the varsity squad, both on offense and defense, to earn a letter last year. “We have Sebastian returning, and he has been a starter at quarterback in a number of games the past two years, but he’s really a wide receiver playing quarterback,” Filberto said. “He’ll also line up at running back in our revamped schemes. We also had Tyler Komorowski as the starting quarterback the past two years, but he really was a defensive end playing quarterback. With Anthony, we’ll have a true quarterback, and I’m excited about what he has shown.” Komorowski has moved into the Division I football ranks as a defensive end candidate at the U.S. Military Academy. Also gone from the Red Riders that posted a fine 10-3 record last year are Reed Reitter, Donovan Kirby, Robbie Valenti, Jake McCoy, Garet Hostuttler, Deon Trupiano, Quincy Dameron, Reese Wills and

Chris Helms. BACKFIELD Filberto points out that replacing outstanding players like Komorowski, a two-time all-stater at defensive end, and Donavan Kirby, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards last year, is impossible to do. However, Curtis and Walters are very capable running backs who will help fill the void. Filberto also has Ahj Brown, a sophomore transfer from Steubenville, and promising freshman Jamari Bass available to lug the pigskin. RECEIVER/TIGHT END The wide receiver corps behind Spencer includes Wypasek (who sat out last season last recovering from a severe leg injury as a sophomore), senior Jonathan Clark, sophomore Carson Yobaggy, Gillette (who was the leading receiver last year until a shoulder injury midway through the season put him on the shelf), McUmar and Reitter. Jay Nosco, another sophomore transfer from Big Red, also is vying for playing time. Cummins, D’Amico and Dakota Nutter, a senior, are the candidates at tight end. They are joined by junior Kasper Moreria, whose family moved to Weirton from Summers County. Moreria was a starter at tight end at Summers County High School last year, so he’s also considered a returning letterman. OFFENSIVE LINE The offensive line has experience

with Levi Hostuttler returning at center, along with Glasure, who filled in for four games last year when Hostuttler was injured. Glasure is one of Filberto’s “swing men” on the line. He has the talent to play several positions there, according to Filberto. Mike Zias returns as a starter at one guard, and the other guard will be either Wetter, the Iowa transfer, or junior Jonathan Howard. Sophomore Myles Rice and freshman Cam Jones are pushing the starters for playing time. At tackle, Filberto has the biggest of the Red Riders in junior Jordan Brueck returning. Brueck has been a starter on the line for the Red Riders since his freshman year. The other starter at tackle will be the result of the competition in the preseason among Glasure, Wetter and Howard. “We have an abundance of talent with our lineman, so it will give us the ability to rotate players in and out, depending upon certain situations. It also gives us the ability to rest one or two at a time to keep them fresh all game long,” Filberto said. DEFENSIVE LINE On the defensive side, Brueck and Zias return at the tackles, with Walters and Hostuttler at the ends. Howard, Rice, Moreria, Glasure and Nutter also will be in the rotation. LINEBACKER Drew Curtis, the leading tackler a year ago, returns at inside linebackSee RED RIDERS Page 98

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Tony Filberto Assistant Coaches Mike Buffo Dave Cowden Troy Fetty Zack Hartman T.J. Miller Frank Sisinni Quentin Smith Gerard Spencer Tom Taylor Paul Stevens Gary Hostuttler

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Catholic Central Crusaders Agresta: We have some kids back who can play

2019 Schedule Aug. 31 Columbus Africentric Sept. 6 at Wheeling Central Sept. 14 at Southern Local Sept. 21 Edison Sept. 28 Caldwell Oct. 4 at Lucas Oct. 12 Harrison Central Oct. 19 Morgantown Trinity Oct. 26 at Madona Nov. 2 Toronto Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

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STEUBENVILLE — Anthony Agresta will make his Harding Stadium coaching debut Saturday when Columbus Africentric helps Catholic Central open the 2019 football season. Agresta was hired in April as Central’s new grid boss. He came to Steubenville from Covington, La., where he served as head coach for Northlake Christian School. In nine years at the helm, he led the Wolverines to a 6348 record. The Crusaders went 7-3 during the 2018 regular season and qualified for the Division VI playoffs, where they were eliminated by Kirtland, the eventual state champion. Central suffered losses to teams with a combined 45-4 record, two of the defeats coming to state championship clubs (Kirtland and Wheeling Central). Agresta replaced Steve Daley, who guided the Crusaders for eight campaigns, made the postseason four times and posted a .500 or better record seven straight years. Graduation claimed a boatload of talent. Gone are: All-Ohio quarterback Justin Hartzell, a walk-on wide receiver at Kent State University; All-Ohio lineman

Jordan Maul, who walked on at Akron; All-Ohio lineman Jacob Stoll, who’s playing at Walsh University; All-Ohio linebacker Matt Bell; AllOhio defensive back Noah Fayak; Anthony Fallon, the team’s leading receiver; Dom Argentine; Austin O’Kruta; and Alec Constantini. In three years as Central’s starting signal-caller, Hartzell passed for 3,261 yards and 26 touchdowns. On the ground, he ran for 2,527 yards and 26 more scores. He had 1,041 passing yards as a senior and 1,127 rushing yards. Letterwinners Vinnie

By ED LOOMAN

Marcino and Jarred Roberts, the only sophomores on the 2018 roster, also won’t be returning, as they transferred to other schools. Despite all those losses, the CCHS football cupboard is far from bare. Agresta welcomed back a large group of seniors, led by hard-nose running back Jayden Keeder. As a junior, Keeder rushed for 642 yards and six touchdowns. He earned second-team All-Eastern District honors. Others returning who saw considerable playing time in 2018 are Jeffrey Dawson (429 rushing yards, eight

touchdowns), Anthony LeFever, Anthony Simmons, Anthony Sprochi, Chole Maragos, Indy Marcino (who missed considerable playing time due to an injury) and Alex Ialenti. “We do have some talent back in our senior class,” Agresta said. “The program lost some size — there’s no question about that. Last year’s senior group was talented, and they were big. That goes a long way. “We have some kids back who can play. Our numbers in the senior class are very good (the Crusader roster See CRUSADERS Page 27

Aug. 28, 2019

The Seniors

2019 Roster Seniors (15) 2 .................. Anthony Sprochi 3.................... Anthony LeFever 5.......................... Ryan Manneh 6.......................... Nick Kissinger 8........................Jeffery Dawson 12.......... Anthony Simmons Jr. 13...................... Seth Fitzgerald 17......................Chole Maragos 22.......................Jayden Keeder 24.................... Daniel Kissinger 42...................... Luke Anderson 50....................Indiana Marcino 63............................Ben Harbert 66.............................. Alex Ialenti 74............... Richard Montlione Juniors (4) 4 ................................ Jack Rook 10.........................Ryan Gorman 11................................Mike Rook 33................................Nate Loot

From The Coach ... “My philosophy has always been you run the football because in this game, you have to run the football. You throw the football because you want to throw the football.” — Anthony Agresta

34................ Antonio McGinnis 51........................ Caleb Lathem 52...................... D.J. Whetherell 65.................... Massimo Lancia Freshmen (6) 7 ..................... Andrew Dorsey 15......................Jacob Kissinger 18........................ Fulton Dennis 45...........................Nico Petrella 75................................. Willy Rao 77....................... Tate McKenna

Sophomores (7) 9 ................ Tamasso Toriscelli 20..................Vincent Barcalow 32................ Timothy Lamantia

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Agresta learning the Crusader way

New Catholic Central head boss becoming familiar with Steubenville By ED LOOMAN For The Gridiron

STEUBENVILLE — Suffice it to say Anthony Agresta has had a hectic spring and summer. Hired to lead Catholic Central’s football program in late April, Agresta finished his athletic director duties at Northlake Christian School in Covington, La., put his house on the market and made a couple of trips to Ohio. And, by the way, he also launched his summer training program. “It’s been a little difficult personally transitioning from Louisiana to Ohio, but also rewarding because of all the wonderful people I have been able to meet and begin developing relationships with,” said Agresta, an Ohio native and Baldwin-Wallace graduate. “I’ve met some wonderful people who are longtime Catholic Central supporters, as well as great people in the community. “But, traveling 1,000 miles and trying to get ready for the season made the transition difficult.” Agresta, who also will serve as Central’s dean of students, led the Northlake Christian grid program for nine years. He guided the Wolverines to a 63-48 record and eight appearances in the postseason. He joined the Northlake staff in 2007 and took over in 2009. At B-W, Agresta was a four-year letterman in football and received his degree in speech communications, with a minor in English language. He and his wife, Lorrie, have four children, Aaron, Celeste, Micah and Sarah. He received many accolades during his tenure at Northlake, including being named the New Orleans Metro Area Football Coach of the Year. He was the district coach of the year in 2010 and 2013, and led his teams to the best records in the school’s parish in 2013 and 2014. Many of his players landed scholarships to play at the college level, with several moving on to Division I schools. Agresta began his coaching career at Mayfield High School, located near Cleveland, in 1984. He coached baseball at Mayfield and Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin. He also coached

basketball at Mayfield, Youngstown Christian and Northlake. From 2002-2007, he served as principal at Youngstown Christian, now known as Valley Christian. Agresta founded and operated the Father’s Heart Elementary School in Youngstown in 2000 and merged that school with Youngstown Christian in 2002. “Any time there is a coaching change, there are going to be people who are loyal to the person who was here before,” Agresta said. “I understand that. Everyone I have met has been extremely warm and welcoming. People have made us feel embraced, and that has been one of the upsides of this transition.” Just days before summer camp began, Agresta, who made the move to Steubenville in mid-July, had some words of praise for the young men looking to don the blue and gold this fall. “The senior class is a talented group,” he said. “We are working on growing the program numbers, and that is slowly happening. I’m encouraged about that. “The biggest thing I’ve been pleased about is the attitude of the boys. Transitions — coaching changes are hard enough to deal with at any level. High school kids are young, and they learn to trust those people who work with them every day. I’ve been very pleased with the attitude and work ethic of the young men. That has been extremely encouraging.” Numbers have been a major concern for the Crusaders in recent years, but, at least for the moment, Agresta appears happy with the anticipated numbers for 2019. “We’re in the low 30s right now, and I hope to push that to around 40 as the school year gets started,” he said. “Hopefully, as I get to know kids in the building that I haven’t met yet, we can generate additional interest. The numbers are up from where the program finished 2018. “We have some new players, some talented young basketball guys who didn’t seem to want to play in the past. Ryan Gorman, for example, is a basketball/baseball player. He’s a great kid, a leader and he’s going to help us. The Rook twins (Jack and Mike) never really had an interest in

playing football before. They are out and, again, they are very talented and very athletic. They also are very green but are willing to learn. “Some other kids who haven’t played worked out in the offseason with Jeremy Presley, our strength and conditioning leader. So, we have a lot of first-year players — kids that haven’t played before. We have kids coming from other sports that hadn’t done so in the past.” Presley, who teaches at Central and assists Athletic Director Vince Oliver, has been “tagged” by Agresta to serve as defensive coordinator. “He wasn’t on the staff last year, but he’s a great young football mind,” Agresta said. “He has done a great job of handling the speed and strength part of our program. “Richard ‘Moose’ Pizzoferrato is back with us, and Donnie Vandeborne, who has been working with the school’s track program, has joined us. Rick Gillette, who was on the staff last year, also expressed an interest in coming back, so that’s a pretty good nucleus right there as far as a staff goes.” One of Agresta’s first stops once arriving in town was Harding Stadium. “Steubenville is a football town, and there isn’t a coach in the world who wouldn’t want the opportunity to coach in a football town,” he said. “There are not a lot of those communities around in this day and age. Catholic Central has a proud football tradition. “I definitely liked what Central was looking for. The school and I have like values and like goals. We are going to win football games, but it’s about more than that. That’s one of many things that drew me here.” With the season rapidly approaching, Agresta said he’s eager to get going. “Because of the dynamics of me being hired in the spring, we are moving along just fine,” he said. “But, I would be lying if I didn’t say we are a few weeks behind. “One thing I can absolutely say is this — the coaches have embraced the new systems, and so have the kids. The learning curve during the summer has been pretty steep.”

Aug. 28, 2019

Crusaders From Page 24

features 15 seniors). They are leading the way and doing a good job. I really can’t ask any more of them right now. We know we need to get tested a little, but I’m not displeased with where we are heading into the regular season.” Agresta used summer camp to install an ace-based offense, featuring two tight ends, two flankers and a single running back. “We’ll primarily be a running team,” Agresta said. “My philosophy has always been you run the football because in this game, if you are a good team, you have to run the football. You throw the

football because you want to throw the football. “If you throw the football because you have to, you generally are not a very good football team.” QUARTERBACK Junior Ryan Gorman will direct the Crusader offensive unit. LeFever also is in line for playing time at quarterback with Dorsey, who Agresta described as “the kid in waiting,” the third candidate. “Ryan is one of several first-year players on our roster, and they are all working hard,” Agresta said. “Gorman has not played football since

the seventh grade. “The Rook twins (Jack and Mike) have never played. They have all embraced every part of the game right now. That really brings smiles to the faces of the staff.” BACKFIELD Keeder and Dawson will get the bulk of the carries in the one-back set. LeFever and Sprochi also could line up behind the quarterback. “Jayden runs hard — he’s a north-south kind of guy, and he’ll be good for us,” Agresta said. “Jeffrey, on the other hand, is a big play waiting to happen, so I’m excited to see what he is going to be able to do for us.” RECEIVER/TIGHT END LeFever and Sprochi at the top flanker candidates. Seniors Ryan Manneh and Seth Fitzgerald also are in the mix. Maragos and Simmons will start at the tight end spots, with Ialenti possibly seeing time there, along with freshman Andrew Dorsey. OFFENSIVE LINE Ialenti will get the nod at one tackle spot, with freshman Tate McKenna the top candidate on the other side. Indy Marcino will man the

center position. Candidates for playing time at guard are freshman Jerome Coniker, senior Luke Anderson, senior Richard Montlione and freshman Willy Rao. Agresta, who will serve as dean of the students at CCHS, was quick to point out that, in order for his offense to have success, the line will have to work hard. “Our line will need to be extremely disciplined,” he said. “Steps, footwork and assignments all are going to be critical, but that’s really how our offensive system is tailored. “As the offensive system continues to be installed, our line will have more time to adapt to it. With our size, we’re not going to necessarily manhandle people at the line of scrimmage, but we will be physical, no doubt about it. We are scheme-oriented. As the linemen continue to progress and understand what we are trying to accomplish, we will be fine.” DEFENSIVE LINE Defensively, the Crusaders will go with the 4-3 look. “Like most teams, we were a little ahead defensively early in the camp, and that’s See CRUSADERS Page 84

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Anthony Agresta Assistant Coaches Jeremy Presley Rick Gillette Donnie Vandeborne Tony Barber Richard Pizzoferrato

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Aug. 28, 2019

Sessi’s shattering offseason

Madonna junior returns months after breaking leg By RALPH COX For The Gridiron

WEIRTON — There were some scary moments in the Dube Dome the evening of Feb. 15 when a promising Madonna sophomore athlete in Thomas Sessi came down with a rebound in the fourth quarter of a runaway Blue Don win over Valley. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed throughout the arena, and Sessi lay in agony on the gym floor, holding his right leg. Something very serious occured. The Madonna coaches, administration and some medical professionals in the crowd hustled out to aid the 15-year-old on the floor. The Weirton Area Ambulance Squad quickly arrived and took the youngster to the hospital where he later underwent surgery for a broken lower right leg. “My first thoughts were, ‘I broke my leg,’” Sessi said. “It flashed

through my mind that I might have to get my leg cut off. I knew they weren’t going to cut my leg off, but somehow I just started thinking about that. “Then, I just stopped thinking about it and began joking with my coaches to keep them in a higher spirit because I was in shock, so it didn’t hurt at that time.” The pain came later. Sessi said that he was pressing the button every 10 minutes in the hospital bed to summon help from the nurses. The pain in the leg soon subsided when doctors surgically fixed the fracture, but that’s when the mental pain began. “When the doctor told me it would be eight to 12 weeks with no weight-bearing, I thought my whole summer was gone,” Sessi said. “But, when I started going back for check-ups, he said I was healing quicker than normal, and I was able to put some weight on it in about four weeks. That’s when

I realized that if I worked hard at rehab, I might have a chance to play football this year. “I was told I could put even more pressure on my right leg and use only the right crutch. Some of my dad’s friends teased me about it, but eventually, I was running and allowed to jump. At that point it was just a matter of re-training the muscles.” Sessi went to the Training/ Wellness Center near the YMCA in Steubenville where former Blue Don great Jake Myers was his therapist. “He helped me to get back to feeling normal,” Sessi said. “They told me that if I wanted an even slim chance of playing football this year that I would have to work hard.” As the summer wore on, Sessi continued to progress ahead of schedule. On July 10, he got the approval from his doctors to begin serious training and was given the

green light to play football for the Blue Dons this fall. That was the best news Sessi could have hoped to receive. He had been playing football since he was in the fourth grade. The first three years he played nose tackle and tight end, but in his eighth grade season, there was a need for a running back. So, the coaches asked him to switch positions, and he hasn’t looked back since. He saw limited action as a freshman, but last year he emerged as Madonna’s second-leading rusher with 699 yards from scrimmage. That was second to senior Gavin Dietrich, who finished the season with 704 stripes. One of his primary goals for this football season is for the Blue Dons to make it to the playoffs and set things up for a possible state championship in 2020. Before that, though, Sessi has a See OFFSEASON Page 100

Aug. 28, 2019

Madonna Blue Dons

Hicks: We’re athletic and athletic across the board 2019 Schedule Aug. 31 at Bridgeport, Ohio Sept. 6 Carrick Sept. 13 at Strasburg Sept. 20 Mathews Sept. 27 Cameron Oct. 4 at Morgantown Trinity Oct. 11 at Beallsville Oct. 18 at Toronto Oct. 26 Catholic Central Nov. 2 Conotton Valley Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

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For The Gridiron

The Coaches

WEIRTON — There were only five seniors on the Madonna football team in 2018. As a result, a lot of underclassmen got to play, as the Blue Dons posted a 4-6 record. That means fourth-year head coach Darrin Hicks has a lot of lettermen returning to bolster his 2019 edition of Blue Dons — 15 to be exact. That’s why Hicks plans to open up his offense a bit more this season. “We have a bigger group of seniors and they are good athletes,” Hicks said. “Our junior class got a lot of playing time. They are tested. We have a large group of guys that have experience at the high school level, and that’s kind of exciting to have such a group that is battle tested. We also have a very athletic group of sophomores.” Hicks greeted 21 players when practice began on Aug. 5, but there is only one freshman. That’s in contrast to 11 freshmen on the roster in 2018 and is one of the differences between this year’s team and last season. “Most of the players coming back saw a lot

of playing time, and last year we didn’t have that,” Hicks said. “I think we’re athletic and athletic across the board. We’re probably as athletic at the skill positions as we have been since I’ve been here. That’s why we’re probably going to open it up a little bit more than we have in the past. We want to get some of those athletes out in space, and, we should be solid on the offensive line. There, too, we have a lot of guys that have seen a lot of minutes, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we can put it all together.”

By RALPH COX

QUARTERBACK Hicks will start that new plan with Santino Arlia under center. The sophomore saw a lot of playing time at the position last year when departed senior Gavin Dietrich was out two games with an injury. Arlia was the leading passer for the Blue Dons as a freshman, completing 48 of 114 aerials for 504 yards and 11 touchdowns. Dietrich, who led the Blue Dons in rushing with 704 yards on 172 carries with nine touchdowns, picked up his diploma last May along with fellow

seniors, Alec Cook, Garrett Cook, Luke Beatty and Dylan Austin. Junior Thomas Sessi will serve as the backup quarterback and when he does it will be in a “wildcat” formation, which Hicks used with him last year. BACKFIELD Sessi, who had a breakout year in 2018, returns to the backfield with Arlia. Sessi not only was the second leading rusher for the Dons with 699 stripes on 134 carries, but also was the leading pass receiver, See BLUE DONS Page 33

Aug. 28, 2019

The Seniors

2019 Roster Seniors (8) 1 ...................... Brennan Secrist 2................. Angelo Quattrochi 5.................. Antonio Daddario 25.......................... Roman Baird 20....................... Cameron Gray 44........................... Seth Arnold 22...............................Evan Bone 52....................Nathan Zanieski 50....................Mark Pietranton 54................... Jakob McCombs 64.........................Nicholas Elias 77.........................Josh Gasvoda 67................................ Nate Elias Juniors (4)

Freshmen (1)

10 ....................... Thomas Sessi 9 ............................. Luke Sweat 55..........................Mason Smith 61.........................Jacob Bonner 88.................................. Joe Soos Sophomores (9)

From The Coach ... “We have a large group of guys that have experience at the high school level, and that’s kind of exciting to have such a group that is battle tested. We also have a very athletic group of sophomores.” — Darrin Hicks

4...........................Evan Quering 8..................Mason Thompson 10...........................Santino Arlia 15.................... Colton Littleton

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Blue Dons From Page 30

catching the football 41 times to lead all area receivers. Those catches netted the Blue Dons 477 yards and five touchdowns. Sessi sustained a serious leg injury last February while playing on the Blue Don basketball team, but has healed quickly and worked very hard with the doctors and therapists in rehab. He was cleared on July 10 to resume preparations for the football season. Along with Arlia and Sessi, the other returning lettermen are: seniors Josh Gasvoda, Antonio Daddario and Jakob McComb; juniors Joe Soos, Jacob Bonner and Mason Smith; and sophomores Evan Bone, Cameron Gray, Mark Pietranton, Nick Elias and Nate Elias. Backing up Sessi at running back is Daddario, who gained 83 yards on 27 carries last year. Senior Roman Baird, who played for the Blue Dons as a sophomore but sat out a year ago, is back as a running back candidate. RECEIVER/TIGHT END The wide receiver corps is bolstered

by Brennan Secrist, a 6-foot-5 transfer from Brooke. Secrist played football for the Bruins as a sophomore, but played only basketball last year upon transferring to Madonna. Also in the mix at wide receiver are Angelo Quattrochi, who also sat out his junior season and returns to the gridiron. Quering, Bone and Gray also man the receiver corps. Soos returns at the tight end slot, with Thompson as the backup, and senior Seth Arnold, a 270-pounder who played for the Blue Dons as a freshman who has returned to Madonna after transferring to Union High School in Burgettstown for his sophomore and junior years. OFFENSIVE LINE The offensive line will be manned by returnees Gasvoda, McCombs, Zanieski, Smith, Bonner, Pietranton and the Elias twins. Luke Sweat, the only freshman out for football this year, also is an offensive line candidate. Hicks said he has seven players who weigh 200 pounds or more. “I think we’ll be solid with the offensive line this year,” he said. “I look for us to be able to put it all together offensively. You know, I came here four years ago as a spread offense coach. I think we’ll be able to use some of that with this group.” DEFENSIVE LINE The defensive line will include Soos, Bonner, Zanieski, Smith, Ar-

nold, Pietranton and both Elias twins. Hicks said McComb, a four-year starter, will serve as a hybrid player who will be asked to do a lot of things and probably will line up in a different position with each snap. “That will make us a little bit different schematically,” he said. “He was an all-area defensive line selection for his play in 2018. “We’ll have enough talented defensive lineman that we can rotate guys to keep them fresh. You will see a lot of substitutions when we are on defense because we have such talented depth there. You’ll see a heavy rotation by us on the defensive line.” LINEBACKER Hicks said Gasvoda also is a fouryear starter at linebacker. “I expect a big season for Josh,” he said. Others in the mix at linebacker are Thompson, Bone, Gray, Baird and Sweat. SECONDARY Hicks will use Sessi, Daddario, Quattrochi, Secrist, Quering and Arlia in the defensive backfield. “The defense, I think, is a bit more simple but will be outside the box,” Hicks said. “We’re trying to match up our personnel to the best possible schematic for success.” Aside from the experience, Hicks feels his team has good size for a West See BLUE DONS Page 89

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Darrin Hicks Assistant Coaches Connor Arlia John Lesho Jordan Allen Pete Melnyk Jason Heckathorn Dean Makricostas

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Aug. 28, 2019

Indian Creek Redskins

Connor: Expectations to make the playoffs are high 2019 Schedule

By JOE CATULLO For The Gridiron

The Coaches

Aug. 30 at Cambridge Sept. 6 at East Liverpool + Sept. 13 Indian Valley Sept. 20 Buckeye Local Sept. 27 at St. Clairsville + Oct. 4 Brooke Oct. 11 Martins Ferry Oct. 18 Beaver Local Oct. 25 at Harrison Central Nov. 1 at Edison

WINTERSVILLE — One word that comes to Andrew Connor’s mind when talking about his 2018 Indian Creek football team is resilient. The 8-2 Redskins had to be all season long if they wanted to get back to postseason action. Come playoff time, however, injuries were too much to overcome, and Indian Creek fell 51-21 at Hubbard in the opening round of Division IV action. Going into this season, Connor feels a little more confident with high expectations — as long as the injury bug stays away. “We overcame a lot of injuries, none being greater than losing your starting quarterback in the third quarter of your opener. But, I thought our kids were resilient all year,” said Connor, who enters his 17th season with Indian Creek as head coach. “I thought our kids stepped up. Looking at the kids we have now, a lot of them had to step up last year. That was a negative last year, but it’s a positive going into this year.” Another positive for the Redskins is having 15 seniors on the roster, which is one of Connor’s highest in recent years. And, most

received plenty of reps, meaning they’re ready to meet those high expectations. “They are a good bunch. They’re one of my biggest classes,” Connor said. “You don’t get many big classes anymore when you talk about high school football in the area, or anywhere in general. That’s a really big class, and they’ve been successful since they’ve been here. We made the playoffs three of the last four years, so the expectations to make the playoffs are high.” Even with the large senior class, what concerns Connor is the decreasing number

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of his roster overall. As of mid-August, 48 names filled the voids. The Redskins are not the only team worrying, though. “The biggest worry with any team right now is depth,” Connor said. “Every coach will tell you that you don’t want to look behind you and see you’ve run out of crutches. We do have some depth. I think we’ll get more as the year goes on as kids get more reps. The one big thing is getting through two-a-days, not getting too banged up while still being able to hold onto your physicality. You always hold your breath and hope

you don’t lose somebody in the preseason. “I don’t know if there’s anyone besides Steubenville that’s talking about great numbers right now. It is what it is now.” Concussions and playing time always have been major issues, but Connor sees it as something else entirely. “I still think it’s the most demanding sport of high school sport you can play,” he said. “The built-in negative I don’t think people look at anymore is, not so much dealing with concussions or anything like that, but it’s See REDSKINS Page 39

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The Seniors

2019 Roster

From The Coach ... “We overcame a lot of injuries, none being greater than losing your starting quarterback in the third quarter of your opener. But, I thought our kids were resilient all year.” — Andrew Connor

Good luck to all area teams!

Seniors (16) 1 ............................. Brock Lucas 3.................................Klay Cottis 7............................... Sam Mazar 19..........................Kaleb Fenske 22..................Brandon Fleming 23...........................Trevor Fante 32.............................. Sam Baska 33........................ Brandon Hiles 34...................... Tyler Smarrella 45..................... Dylan McMillen 55......................... Logan Scheel 56....................Garren Swickard 57.........................Gerard Walsh 72......................... Jacob Hejduk 76.....................Shawn McClurg 82.................... Devon Thatcher

Sophomores (9) 5 ......................... Jadyn Irizarry 6................................... Eli Powell 8.............................. Cam Franke 11......................... Sam Coleman 14...........................Shane Lucey 12.........................Todd Jackson 20..........................Roan Kovach 58......................Gavin Dondzila 65............................Jacob Sinsel 79.............................J.J. Orlando

Juniors (11) 9 ........................ Matt Schaefer 15......................... David Ferroni 24........................Jeremy Brown 25.................... Blake Dulkowski 28.......................Michael Belisle 35...........................Pierce Pietro 44...................Jonathan Giusto 52..............................Cory Cottis 53.......................Jacob Edwards 54......................Gage Simmons 73............................. Jesse Bolek

Freshmen (11) 2 ..................... Xaron Vanhorn 10.......................... Bryson Bodo 18.........................Austin Herald 21....................Bryssan Flaherty 26...................... Isaac Robinson 30............................ Gavin Gross 41.......................... Gabe Hutton 42............................Luca Morelli 50..........................Nathan Allen 51...........................Blake Dodds 62........................Chance Camp

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Aug. 28, 2019

Kettlewell under construction New turf, lights part of Creek’s makeover

By JOE CATULLO For The Gridiron

WINTERSVILLE — Indian Creek Athletic Director Joe Dunlevy and District Assistant Superintendent John Belt enjoyed an afternoon together in early July, sitting in the last row of the home bleachers at Kettlewell Memorial Stadium, watching a reality unfold. Almost unrecognizable at first glance, construction workers move all over on a field of dirt, heavy machinery and dumpsters, readying the playing surface before football season kicks off. For Belt, it was years of hard work finally paying off. For Dunlevy, it was imagining no more canceled games because of rain. For Indian Creek, it was a long time coming. “We’ve been talking off and on about with the athletic counsel for maybe five years now. It was always like the unicorn at the end of the rainbow because, obviously, it’s an expensive project,” Belt said. “We said, ‘Well, we’ve got this money. We don’t need any improvements for more buildings, so let’s put this into our athletics.’ “That’s when it came about. It can’t be used for salaries or textbooks. It has to be used for physical improvements to our properties.” The roughly $1.2 million project began later than expected, as ground first broke in late June. The construction crew, through, promises the Indian Creek varsity football squad will show it off during its home-opener on Sept. 13, as well as the other levels (junior varsity, middle school and pee wee). “These guys have gotten

off to a late start, but boy they’ve been busting their butts,” Dunlevy said. “Hopefully, we’ll finish on time. If not, we’re going to have to make some adjustments. “I’m just happy that our coaching staff and fans on Wednesday and Thursday game days working on the field can spend their time getting ready for a football game. The amount of time coach (Andrew) Connor has put in, I mean you could come here and see him cutting the grass and rolling the field. That’s one thing he won’t have to do anymore.” Connor enjoyed cutting the grass and likes natural grass as the surface, but he knew changes had to be made. “I did a lot of diamond dry, rolling the field and cutting the grass. I did a little bit of everything in the good old days,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll now have a little extra time to schedule something else. I was fortunate to have coaches and parents sticking around and help me, as well as the grounds guys. We can just go out now with the lines already on and not worry about the weather. As a coach, it’ll be less worrying time and more practice time, and not being interrupted by weather.” Connor, along with other coaches and parents, put in too many unpaid overtime hours to count. All of the hours and energy put forth just to get the field ready was more than anybody could as for. The abuse Kettlewell took, Belt said, simply became too much. “We had to cancel games,” Dunlevy said. “They say you don’t cancel football games, but we had See KETTLEWELL Page 106

The roughly $1.2 million project began in late June and, according to the construction crew, will be ready for Indian Creek’s home opener on Sept. 13.

Contributed/Joe Catullo

An artist’s rendering depicts what Indian Creek’s turf will look like when completed.

Contributed

Aug. 28, 2019

Redskins From Page 36

the three months that they’re off. You’re asking a football player to start in June, and go from June to August when all of the other kids are saying they’re going to the pool, the lake or sleeping in.” Be it as it may, Connor is excited and appreciative for the 48 giving it their all and ready to step onto the field at Kettlewell Memorial Stadium. QUARTERBACK As Connor mentioned earlier, the Redskins dealt with a big blow early last season. Brennon Norris, entering his senior year, was injured in the opener and did not return

until the playoffs. The result was Sam Mazur, now a senior, filled big shoes and went 7-2 as a starter. He returns to that spot this year. “He has nine starts under his belt after the injury to Brennon last year,” Connor said. “He led us back against Cambridge. He did a great job of coming into a difficult situation and handled it very well when most people thought I was crazy starting Brennon in the playoff game after he (Mazar) got us to the playoffs. “That says a lot about his character. There would have been a lot of kids who would

have moaned about that. You can’t lose your role because of an injury.” Mazar was 72 of 148 for 1,043 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions last year. He also ran 89 times for 253 yards and five scores. Backing him up will be junior David Ferroni and sophomore Eli Powell. All three players, if not in the quarterback position, will have a chance to line up as a receiver. BACKFIELD “We’re blessed with two very good running backs. Both of them look really good so far,” Connor said. The two backs Connor talked about are senior Trevor Fante and junior Matt Schaefer. Fante is coming off a solid 2018, rushing for 1,015 yards on 170 carries and 12 touchdowns. His season was cut short, however, due to a shoulder injury sustained in Week 10 against Edison. He attempted to come back in the postseason but clearly was not 100 percent. Connor said he is fully healthy once again. After Fante went down, Schaefer took over the reigns. He finished with 23 carries for 183 yards and two scores in the victory against

the Wildcats. Overall, he had 360 yards on 73 carries and five touchdowns. Senior Tyler Smarrella will be the starting fullback. Also in line for time there are junior Jeremy Brown and sophomore Jadyn Irizarry. When Indian Creek does not utilize a fullback, fans can expect seniors Brandon Hiles or Brock Lucas in the H-back position. RECEIVER/TIGHT END Connor is confident in four players starting at the receiver positions. The slots will be occupied by senior Sam Baksa and junior Jonathan Giusto. The outside receivers are seniors Klay Cottis and Brandon Fleming. “Brandon and Klay have been playing for us since they were sophomores. I feel good about them,” Connor said. “Brandon’s probably the speedier guy, and Klay is just an athlete. He can go get the ball and is a nice, tall receiver. It gives us somebody to go to the outside with. Fleming will basically be our jet guy, the guy crossing in motion to give the ball to.” Fleming hauled in 16 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns last year. Cottis had 13 for 145 and a score. Backing up the starting See REDSKINS Page 82

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Andrew Connor Assistant Coaches Joe Hammack Doug Karas Mike Voltz Mike Wilson Sr. Rob Lucas Mike Wilson Jr. Joe Strohmeyer Todd Mazzaferro David Kemp Justin Wilson

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Going back to the future Brooke introduces new logo, helmet as it puts past in the past By ANDREW GRIMM For The Gridiron

WELLSBURG —Brooke head football coach Mac McLean is no stranger to the history of the Bruins program. After all, he was a part of some of its proudest moments. He also knows, though, that sometimes a change is needed. For the first time in a long time, that change will come in the form of a new color on the helmet, as well as some other uniform tweaks.

“Our focus is going forward. It is going to ruffle a few feathers, but sitting down and talking with our A.D. and the administration, that is why we’ve made made a little change to the uniform this year. We’re changing the helmets up,” he said. “I think the phrase that many of us at the school have said is it’s time to turn the page. Fifty years in the same uniforms, we will always respect what this school did in the past, and we will honor those guys and coach (Bud) Billiard. But, it is time for us to

look forward. “The kids wanted a little bit of a change, and the school district wanted a little bit of a change. It’s not a slight to the old uniform in any way, shape or form. The guys that made those uniforms famous, the guys that estasblished those uniforms, those guys have not been down on this field for a long time. I think that listening to some of kids that are down here sweating and bleeding every day for me and doing something that they want to do would be a little bit more effec-

tive than constantly talking about history.” Turning that page consists of a a new, white helmet in 2019, replacing the traditional gold helmet the team has sported. In addition, the Brooke “B” will be green, with a gold stroke around it. Subtracted from the traditional logo is the oval that surrounded it, as the B itself forms the shape of an oval. The helmet also features a green and gold stripe down the middle and a green facemask. The other change to the Bruins’ uniform is the

pants, as it will go to white bottoms instead of the customary gold. Fans got a preview of that last season. “It adds a little excitement. It gives everything a little different look. We wore the actual uniform that we are going to wear last year. We wore white pants with our white jerseys for an all-white uniform on the road, and it didn’t seem to bother anyone too much,” McLean said. “The big thing is going to be the helmet, and there are going See HELMET Page 94

Aug. 28, 2019

Brooke Bruins

McLean: Momentum will be huge for us 2019 Schedule

By ANDREW GRIMM For The Gridiron

The Coaches

Aug. 30 at Wheeling Park Sept. 6 at Hedgesville Sept. 13 University Sept. 20 Pittsburgh Brashear Sept. 27 Ripley Oct. 4 at Indian Creek Oct. 18 at John Marshall Oct. 25 Buckhannon-Upshur Nov. 1 at Weir Nov. 8 Preston

WELLSBURG — Sometimes after a tough season, the best thing a team can do is simply turn its focus ahead. That is exactly what the 2019 Brooke Bruins are doing, following a winless campaign a season ago. “One thing I have figured out about my team is they have been able to put last year behind us, which is hugely important coming off the disaster that last season was,” head coach Mac McLean said. “The attitudes have been good, and I owe that to two things. First of all, I owe a lot of that to the seniors from last year. Going through what we went through last year, a lot of teams, a lot of programs would have gone through a mutiny. After a while, they will lay down. “That group last year, in football, in basketball, in the other sports, they took a lot of heat, but what they did for us was they never quit. They didn’t lay down. They showed up every week with a good attitude, and it went clear through the season and that has carried over to this season. These kids modeled themselves after them.

They’re working harder and growing up.” McLean, who is entering his sixth season at his alma mater, knew he had a young group that was going to experience some growing pains last season. Now, those guys have some experience under their belts and have seen what Class AAA football is all about. “I basically started eight sophomores last year that were not ready to go out there and compete, but they did. I think they just want to win a game. This junior class, which is the bulk of my team right now, won

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city leagues and have been successful all the way up through,” he said. “They are hungry, and they want to get back to those winning ways. You prepare every week to win, but standing around the weight room last winter and last spring — I’ve got a lot of coaching experience on my staff — we knew looking at what we were working with, we were going to be starting a lot of immature, inexperienced kids that weren’t physically ready to play AAA ball, and we knew last year was going to be a struggle.

“All of those sophomores that started for me last year are juniors, some of them are working on their third letter, and we’re going to be the youngest, experienced team in the valley. Some of these guys have been starting since they were in ninth grade. There will be no pucker factor when it comes to the games. They have been out there, and they are starting to physically mature to where they can compete with those 17 and 18 year olds.” While his senior class might not be large in numSee BRUINS Page 47

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The Seniors

2019 Roster Seniors (6) 5...................... Gabriel Hudson 11........................ Camden Bates 20........................Max Camilletti 22................................Trent Rice 65......................Austin Williams 70........................Zackery Harris

From The Coach ... “That group last year, in football, in basketball, in the other sports, they took a lot heat, but what they did for us was they never quit. They didn’t lay down.” — Mac McLean

Juniors (19) 2..................... Clayton Parsons 8.....................Joseph Fuscardo 9....................Roger Gabbert III 12.......................... John George 15........................ Joshua Shorts 21........................Jeffery Hartley 23.................... Brandon Beaver 26...........................Aaron Scipio 34............................Drake Hukill 50............. Christopher Gaston 53.................... Stephen Hunter 66.......................Jacob Raveaux 67.........................Samuel Casto 71.......................... Jackson Julio 80................... David McCombs 82...................... Maximus Oxler 83............................Jacob Smith 87.................... Andrew Stewart 89....................... Kurtis Leonard

7....................Nicholas Costlow 16............................ Luke Secrist 46......................... Ashton Burns 54......................... Ethan Marker 58.........................John Casinelli 62......................... Jacob Donley 63......................Joshua McEvoy 76.......................Daniel Rawson 84.......................Jakob Baustert 88........................ Dustin Ziegler

Freshmen (12) 1..................... Michael Perrone 10.....................Cameron Reese 13..................... Logan Gaschler 14.............Xzander Eltringhom 24............................ Shawn Starr 25.......................... Nico Connell 61........................... Evan Keener 64.........................Dylan Debnar 72....................... Tanner Griffith Sophomores (12) 73........................... Hayden Parr 3....................... Mitchell Sagan 85................. Nickkolus Kimball 6..............................Cyrus Harris 86.........................Caden Stevey

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Bruins From Page 44

bers, they bring a lot in character. “My senior class this year is very small. I’ve had four guys on my senior class that have been with me for four years,” McLean said. “I’ve got a small handful of three of four other ones that have decided to come back to football or try football again. It’s nice to look at a depth chart on the field and realize that after this season, I’m probably only going to lose two guys on one side of the ball and three guys on the other side of the ball. “We want to win this year. We have to stop looking down the road.” Three of those seniors who have stuck around and will be a big part of what the Bruins do are Max Camilletti, Camden Bates and Austin Williams. “You can’t find better kids than those three I just mentioned,” McLean said. “They are leaders, they are vocal leaders and they lead by example. I think they are the type of kids this junior class needs to show them the way to some Ws this year.” As is the case with any team that

is trying to break out of a slump, momentum will be important. Even more important will be when the Bruins get it. “Momentum will be huge for us, not just in certain situations, but as games roll,” he said. “If we can come out and grab a W early somewhere against an impressive opponent, it could light the fire for the whole year. I go back to four seasons ago when we had a good year. We were kind of a decent team, and we pulled the upset down at the Island (against Wheeling Park), and that was just like somebody lit the fuse. That gave us so much confidence. “We need to find one of those signature wins this year that we can get some momentum off of, we can be proud of and we can move on. I’ll take any win I can get, don’t get me wrong, but beating one of the big dogs on our schedule would go a long way.” QUARTERBACK McLean has a problem a lot of coaches would like to have — two capable quarterbacks which creates a tough choice on who gets the starting job. Option No. 1 is Josh Shorts, a versatile junior who saw action as a defensive end and center last season. He’s no stranger to the quarterback spot, though, having played it in city league when he was younger. “He’s one of the leaders of the team. He’s a vocal guy. The kids respect him and the coaches respect

him,” McLean said. “He throws a nice ball and has gotten right back into (quarterback). The question with him is going to be mobility. We do a lot of quarterback running, and we have to see that he can handle that part of the game, and we’re not going to know that until we start trading paint with people.” Cyrus Harris, a sophomore who was the quarterback of the junior high team in the past, brings a similar skill set. “Cyrus throws a really nice ball,” McLean said. “His question also is mobility. Can he be effective as a ball carrier? We’ll find that out.” After injuries at the position in the past put the Bruins in a tight spot, McLean knows the importance of having more than one ready to go. “We’ve got two guys right now vying to be the starting quarterback. Right now, I have two guys that I have confidence in, and that is great to have,” he said. “If I lose one, it’s not going to be the end of the season. They are both going to be on the field. They are two of my best athletes and, whichever one doesn’t win the job, you’ll see somewhere else on the field for us.” As for the battle, it will come down to two things. “It will come down to can run the ball better and who can protect the ball,” McLean said. “We have got to quit turning the ball over. We got ourselves in situations last year where See BRUINS Page 95

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Mac McLean

Assistant Coaches C.J. Besece Tom Cole Mario DiBias Zeke Farmer Mike Findling Paul Julio Kent Kidder Phil McMahon Larry Palmer Jeremy Sadler Ryan Scherich Doug Sizemore Chuck Taylor Jason Williamson

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A new Legacy Board, top, now is featured when walking into Edison’s locker room to honor those of the past, as well as being a motivational tool for current and future Wildcats. At right, two islands were placed, which adds 16 more lockers (eight on each) and allows the freshmen to be in the same room with the upperclassmen.

Make room for the Wildcats Edison upgrades, adds legacy and space to its locker room By AARON PETCHAL For The Gridiron

RICHMOND — Shane O’Brien is a proud Wildcat, whether it was during his playing days or as the current head football coach. The 2012 grad wants his players and coaches to have the best experiences possible before, during and after a football season. One of his ideas after he was hired last year was to upgrade and renovate the locker room at Cartwright Memorial Field, which opened in 1942. “It was something I decided to do when I got the job last year,” O’Brien said. “Last year was the first phase of it.” The second phase began this summer. Along with fresh coats of paint, O’Brien added two lockers that he calls islands because they are in the middle of the room. Both islands have two lockers on each side, totaling to eight. Add up both islands, and there are 16. The biggest advantage of adding locker rooms is now having the freshmen with the upperclassmen. “We had the freshmen and upperclassmen split at times when the numbers were up, so we were able

to add more lockers to the locker room. We now can get the entire varsity team in one room,” O’Brien said. Before this year, the freshmen occupied the locker rooms upstairs. Those now belong to the junior high squad after years in another location, normally occupied by female athletes during weightlifting. The main room can now hold between 45 to 50 players. “We want the locker room to be a place the kids can take pride in,” O’Brien said. “They are going to spend more time there than anywhere else, and we want it to be a place they want to be and a place they can take pride in.” In the past, bleacher seats were in the middle of the room before the new islands came about. That’s where Edison held most of its team meetings. Now, it meets in a classroom in the annex, which is more functional. The lockers themselves received a fresh coat of Edison gray paint, with black trimming on top. The floors also are now gray, but those will be replaced before next season. “Since I’ve graduated from here, there are so many things that got

upgraded and renovated,” O’Brien said. “The location is the same, so it’s still unique. But, with the new coat of paint, everything’s cleaned up.” Everything, for the most part, got an upgrade. The players have new shoulder pads and uniforms. The bathrooms, showers and coaches offices also look new. “The school has helped out with painting and some other things,” O’Brien said. “This is just one of the projects that I have.” Another project, something that looks and is brand new, is what O’Brien calls the Legacy Board. It features Edison players from the past who were recognized on All-Eastern District, all-state and All-OVAC lists, as well as those who played in college for at least one season. The board goes back to as far as 1993 because that is what’s available to O’Brien, who’s name is featured on a few of this lists, including his one playing year at Mount Union. That was easy to research, but the other names took a little more time. “That was a really big project with social media and talking with all of the older coaches to try to get

anybody with any kind of honor that played for Edison,” he said. “We want their names to be on the wall, and it also serves as a motivation tool for the current guys to look at. We’ve had a lot of great feedback on it. “We’ve had guys who have played here come back. We have shown them the updates, and they are blown away. The guys like seeing their names on the wall. The former players can come back and see how many names are on the wall. I think it is nice to be honored. It gives our current players something to look up to.” Edison got its much-needed, long-overdue upgrades and has already enjoyed it. All that remains is whatever else O’Brien believes can be improved. “I’ve got a couple of ideas,” he said. “We are going to be doing different things so that more people can see all of the updates. Guys can come back and see the banners and stuff. It is nice to be able to give them the recognition they deserve. “We are going to have some new things happening. We have more plans for the future.”

Aug. 28, 2019

Edison Wildcats

O’Brien: We are focused on the process 2019 Schedule Aug. 30 Southern Local Sept. 6 at Wellsville Sept. 13 Toronto Sept. 21 at Catholic Central Sept. 27 at Beaver Local Oct. 4 at Oak Glen Oct. 11 at East Liverpool + Oct. 18 Weir Oct. 25 Buckeye Local Nov. 1 Indian Creek Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 7:30 p.m. kickoff

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For The Gridiron

The Coaches

RICHMOND — Shane O’Brien is trying to build a program at Edison. The Edison football team took a step forward last season, going 3-2 after five weeks before finishing the season with a record of 4-6. “Our record was not what we hoped it would be, but that has never been our message,” said O’Brien, who is in his second season as head coach at Edison. “We do not focus on the outcome. We are focused on the process. We took a good step forward last season. Our goal every day is to get better. If we do that and focus on the process, the results will take care of themselves.” O’Brien spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Edison before taking over the head coaching duties from Nate Moses, who served as the team’s head coach for the 2017 season. “I learned so much last year,” O’Brien said. “This is my second year, and things are definitely going much smoother. We were able to keep the coaching staff together, and we have a good group of kids in the program. Things are going smoother.

“I think as a coach you should always be learning. I am going from my first year to my second year, and I think this is going to be my biggest learning experience. I am lucky enough to have a lot of good people around me. There is a great staff around me. I learned a lot last year, but I don’t think you ever stop learning.” The Wildcats could have had a couple of more victories last season, but they were unable to make enough plays in those games to pull out victories, especially in a 32-29 loss to arch-rival Indian Creek in

By AARON PETCHAL

Week 10 on the road. “We are focused on the process and not the outcome,” O’Brien said. “We know we are going to have some close games. We know some games are going to come down to one or two plays. Our focus is we want the kids to play the best they can play every play all year. We want them to understand the situation.” Edison is looking to take another step forward this season, and the Wildcats will be counting on their experienced players to help them do that. “I think one of the most

important things about this year’s team is we have a good group of seniors coming back,” O’Brien said. “We took a step forward last season, and we want to take another step forward this season. The seniors are providing good leadership. The kids have a good work ethic, they are dedicated and they are hard working. They are doing things the right way.” In order to take that next step, O’Brien’s alma mater is going to have to rely heavily on the big boys up front on the offensive and See WILDCATS Page 53

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The Seniors

2019 Roster

From The Coach ... “Our focus is we want the kids to play the best they can play every play all year. We want them to understand the situation.” — Shane O’Brien

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Seniors (10) 2.......................... Noah Woods 4.....................Kaleb Waggoner 9........................ Tristan Hughes 21......................Logan Hanchin 30........................... Blaise Kaiser 32..................... Austin Hanning 75..........................Nathan Black 46............ Carter Montgomery 77......................... Kolten Hanlin 52......................Levi Waggoner 55................... Cody Waggoner Freshmen (11) 60........................ Lukas McCain 1 ........................... Cole Jackson 5..................... Mathew Parsons Juniors (6) 13.............................. Gage Cline 6 ...................... Vinnie Marcino 20.................. Decker Lancaster 7...............................Kevin Wires 23.........................Preston Davis 8............................ Tyler Shrieve 27...............................Greg West 11.........................Izack McClurg 59........................ Jamison Stiles 51............................Brien Striker 67................................Isaac Firm 72......................... Jakob Fenske 70....................Kaleb Whitmore 78.............................Hunter Tice Sophomores (11) 84............................Isaac Crowe 3............................ Kaden Miller 12............... Damean Flenniken 14........................... Tyler Griffith 33...................................Will Clay 50....................... Hunter Russell 54......................... Jonah Snyder 62....................... Jayden Wright 66.............................Dakota Coil 68....................... Hunter Cronin

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Wildcats From Page 50

defensive lines. “We are going to be run-oriented this season,” said O’Brien, who is a 2012 graduate of Edison. “Our linemen our are strength. They are a quality group. We have some threeyear starters up there. “We also have some good running backs and skilled receivers. We have a lot of good senior leadership and experience. We are going to be strong between the tackles, along with our tight ends and in our running game.” The Wildcats roster is a mixed bag this season. Edison has a good group of seniors to lead the way, while the team also has a good amount of underclassmen who are looking to make their mark on the field this season and in the future. “We have about 40 kids,” O’Brien said. “That number is a little lower than I had hoped, but the guys who are here want to be here. They are dedicated. They want to be here. It is a lower number than we would have liked, but I like the quality of the guys we have here. I think with football and sports in general that numbers are down across the board in the valley. I am confident in our guys.” Edison started last season with 46 players on the roster, 17 of whom were seniors.

The biggest loss for Edison is the graduation of dual-threat starting quarterback Anthony Sinicropi. He, who only played one season of football, also played basketball and baseball, while spending his summers playing for the Richmond Post 740 and Jefferson County Post 33 American Legion baseball teams. Sinicropi was 125 of 216 passing for 1,362 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He rushed for 422 yards and six more scores. “Anthony is the one that stands out the most,” O’Brien said. “That is to be expected. He was our quarterback. Any time you have to replace your quarterback it is tough.” Edison also lost its defensive leader in Bryce McAFoose. “Another guy is Bryce McAfoose,” O’Brien said. “He was our top tackler on defense. It is going to be tough to replace him. “We also had a good core group of receivers and tight ends we spread the ball around to when we threw it. We lost players like Bryce McAfoose, Andrew Kinney and Ryan Higgs.” QUARTERBACK This season, senior Noah Woods will be re-taking over the quarterback duties. Woods played some at quar-

terback during his sophomore season, before moving to wide receiver last season as a junior. “Last year, he was the back up to Anthony when Anthony won the job,” O’Brien said. “He ended up going to receiver last year. This year, he is back at quarterback, and he is the leader of our team offensively.” Woods is a good athlete, but he is not the same type of player as Sinicropi. He hauled in 28 passes for 300 yards and seven touchdowns last year. “He’s definitely one of the best athletes we have in the school athletic-wise,” O’Brien said. “He’s not the same player as Anthony, so we are not going to ask him to do the same things. Anthony was a dangerous runner. I’m not saying Noah is not, but he’s just a different player. We are not going to ask him to do the same things. We want to make sure we are in the right plays with the right packages with the right guys around him so he can show off his strengths.” BACKFIELD Toronto transfer Tyler Griffith is the team’s starting running back. Griffith played football last season at Edison, before transferring to Toronto where he played on the Red Knights Division IV state championship-winning baseball team. He rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown last season, while See WILDCATS Page 86

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Shane O’Brien Assistant Coaches Jason Fogle Greg Marsh Spencer Bendle Mark Smyth Al Johnson Nolan Marcus Tyler Stagani Kenny Cranston

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Oak Glen Golden Bears

Arneault: Our kids are competitors, and they want to win 2019 Schedule

By JOE CATULLO For The Gridiron

The Coaches

Aug. 30 Weir Sept. 6 at Phillip Barbour Sept. 13 Buckeye Local Sept. 20 Perry Sept. 27 at East Liverpool + Oct. 4 Edison Oct. 11 Toronto Oct. 18 at Harrison Central Oct. 26 at Lincoln * Nov. 1 at Grafton

NEW CUMBERLAND — After concluding 2018 with a .500 record, expectations at Oak Glen this season are at their highest in Ted Arneault’s four seasons as head coach. And, why not? “They believe they can win. They believe this is a year with high expectations,” Arneault said. “What I tell them they need to reach those high expectations is work ethic. I’m seeing nodding faces. You see the confidence in their eyes and their attitudes. With that confidence comes discipline and making sure we’re not the loudest in the room, but the toughest. There’s a little bit of a chip on their shoulders, but that’s a welcomed change from what things were the last few years.” The Golden Bears won three of their final five games to finish 5-5 last year, the best record under Arneault. Only a handful of starting seniors departed. One of the best quarterbacks in the Herald-Star/Daily Times coverage area returns for his junior campaign. This season could be very memorable. “The one thing I can say about our kids this year is they are competitors, and

they want to win,” Arneault said. “They’ve taken their lumps. With all of that mixed together, I think you’re going to see Oak Glen being able to disperse the ball in a way we’ve never been able to do before.” Although the Golden Bears did not reach the playoffs, the team felt the possibility late. A very small possibility, yes, but a hint was all it needed. Even if Oak Glen had playoff experience under its belt for this season, Arneault is realistic and knows that team wasn’t ready for the big stage. This season, it could be surprising if it’s left out in

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Class AA. “It was a possibility, and we were thinking like that the whole year. But, there were a lot of deficiencies we needed to improve on,” Arneault said. “That’s what we’ve been keying on this offseason, and I feel we got shoved around a lot last year. When we had success, we were able to match up athlete for athlete and get the ball into space. When we struggled last year, it came to five yards and a cloud of dust on the other side of the ball, whether we needed to run the ball or stop the run. “There are a lot of things

going in our favor to improve on that this year. We’ve had a good offseason. That extra year with growth in this stage and development is big for the kids. I think you’re going to see a more physical football team that is going to be able to handle those types of situations.” Before the 5-5 mark, the Golden Bears finished 2-8 in each of Arneault’s first two campaigns as head coach. His teams never held a winning record at any point during the season. The best was 5-5. So, with always having at See BEARS Page 59

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The Seniors

2019 Roster

From The Coach ... “That extra year with growth in this state and development is big for the kids. I think you’re going to see a more physical football team that is going to be able to handle those types of situations.” —Ted Arneault

Seniors (8) 7......................Matthew Wright 10 .......................... Jacob Jones 11...............................Ethan Mick 15..................... Michael Lemley 24.............................Zach Taylor 32........................ Seth Mozingo 35.......................Preston Brown 27............................ Ethan Lively 54......................Connor Adams 33........................Nathan Stoica 36..........................Dylan Conley Juniors (14) 52..............................Aiden Gray 1 ................... Brayden Mineard 53....................... Deshawn Gray 2....................Hunter Patterson 56...................... Kawnor Burton 4.............................. Evan Geisse 57........................ Jordan Morris 5....................... Gage Patterson 66......................... Matt Howard 12........................Tyler Andrews 74...........................Mark Snyder 18...........................Nick Chaney 75....................... James McDole 21.....................Paxton Shuman 82........................Gage Logston 43...............................Ethan Hurl 88.......................... Nathan Lang 50........................ Danny Bealles 51.........................Ethan Hooker Freshmen (9) 55.................... Matthew Malick 3 ................... Kholton Goodlin 60.......................Kyle O’Connor 6...................Tristian McCauley 65........................ Jeremy Taylor 9......................... Matt Greenlief 78.......................William Minnis 13....................... Landon Beatty 58..........................Kyler George Sophomores (15) 62............... Juvencio Quintana 8 ......................... Daniel Kidder 64......................... Shane Renfro 19.......................Skilar Thrasher 71............................... Josh Blake 23................ Cameron Tropeck 80.............................. Nate Davis

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Aug. 28, 2019

Chaney’s Den

How Oak Glen’s quarterback dropped 41 pounds, recovered from knee surgery and can lead the Golden Bears to the promised land

By JOE CATULLO For The Gridiron

NEW CUMBERLAND — Nick Chaney was thrown into the fire early in his football career at Oak Glen and had to respond fast. Two years and one knee surgery later, the junior signal-caller is ready to lead his Golden Bears to the promised land. Or, at the very least, a playoff berth in the Class AA playoffs. Amazingly, he’s still not at 100 percent but is progressing as the days, hours, minutes and seconds trickle down to the opening kickoff. “That knee’s still not going to be 100 percent. I think just being able to do what you can to prevent that injury from re-occurring will be a good thing,” head coach Ted Arneault said. Chaney underwent reconstructive knee surgery on his right leg in early February 2018, before his sophomore campaign began. He lost cartilage under his kneecap and, without the surgery, would continue doing so. He does not know if it’s genetic or if a previous injury caused it, but he remembers when he first felt it. “I know I was working out in my basement, did a broad jump and came down on my knee. That’s when I felt it really bad,” Chaney said. “They (doctors) told me it would happen every time, so it had to be fixed.” Six months later, Chaney was back in action at roughly 60 percent, one year after another injury put him in that spot to begin with. As the Golden Bears prepped for their season opener with Weir High in August 2017, Arneault chose Chaney as his starting QB. The plan, though, was for him to split time with then-junior Hunter Skeeles, who saw minimal time there a season ago. Chaney’s first career quarter was one he wants to forget. Skeeles took

over to begin the second quarter and showed his veteran presence. On the second play, he tossed a 33-yarder to tight end Ethan Travis. It was costly, however, as he left before halftime in an ambulance with a broken arm. Chaney became the only option, and nothing was more nerve-wrack-

ing during his first two seasons than that moment. “At the time, I was very nervous for Nick because he was only a freshman,” Arneault said. “That’s a lot of pressure all at once, especially when you’re going up against a lot of good teams like Indian Creek and Catholic Central. But, he made

it through the season. What impresses me about him is his competitive nature. There are other things we need to work on, but that’s one thing that’s naturally gifted to him. He does not back down from tough or competitive situations. He’ll never admit it, but he’ll keep fighting See DEN Page 105

Aug. 28, 2019

Bears From Page 56

best a .500 mark, Oak Glen has started 0-1, all after falling to arch-rival Weir. It’s only one game, but starting off 1-0 could go a long way. “That would be a nice change of pace. Last year, it wasn’t a losing record, but it also wasn’t a winning record,” Arneault said. “I’m not so much focused on the record as much as I want the kids to reach their potential. They set such high goals. I want them to reach the goals they set out for. The pressure I have is making sure the people who bought in get what they bought in for. I have no doubt our culture is in a good place right now to get the most out of the talent our kids have.” QUARTERBACKS As with many teams, Arneault has a few questions to answer for different positions. For the second consecutive season, the question is already solved for Oak Glen’s quarterback. Junior Nick Chaney returns to his starting spot, one year after leading the coverage area in passing yards (1,762) and touchdowns (23). He completed 116 passes on 267 attempts and threw

12 interceptions. Chaney’s backup will be senior Michael Lemley, at least for when the season begins. He played the position sparingly three seasons ago, including once against Indian Creek, and got a trial by fire. “His maturity has grown among anything else where he’ll be one of our team leaders and captains and someone everybody will look up to,” Arneault said. “His mood is contagious and probably has matured more than anybody else in the last three years. The characteristic of how our team has developed is personified by Michael’s growth.” BACKFIELD The Golden Bears will use a mix of players for their backfield. Junior Paxton Shuman was the fullback last year and led the squad with 111 carries. He finished with 464 yards and two touchdowns. Shuman is expected to line up at fullback again, along with running back possibilities. Other names in the mix are junior Hunter Patterson and senior Ethan Mick, who played football for the first time last year after breaking his femur in eighth grade. “He’s the fastest kid on our team,” Arneault said. Junior Gage Patterson’s name was not mentioned, although he rushed 48 times for 507 yards and four scores in 2018. Arneault, though, did say others will be in the mix when Hunter Patterson lines up at wide receiver. Overall, the Golden Bears must improve their rushing attack to be suc-

cessful and put less pressure on Chaney. They rushed for 1,509 yards last season and want 2,500 this year. “It’s extremely important to get the running game going,” Arneault said. “I am not a throw-first coach. I’ve been an option guy my entire life, but you have to cater around what you have and what guys are able to do. We simply are not a Power I team. We’re not a wishbone team. We’re not like West Virginia Bridgeport or Martins Ferry or another team that will run it 30 times. Honestly, up until this year, I never had a running back over 140 pounds. “I don’t believe that’s the case this year. I think you’ll be able to see the offense perform as it should be. You’re going to see a lot more balance not just when we’re in our two-back formation, but also when we’re spread out.” RECEIVER/TIGHT END When going over his potential receivers, Arneault is most excited about the Patterson cousins, especially Hunter. “Hunter has put on 30 pounds and was still a baby as a sophomore last year. He dealt with a lot of injuries last season,” Arneault said. “I don’t think anyone understands just how athletic, explosive and powerful this kid is. He’s going to turn a lot of heads this season. Gage has just become more mature and also is a fighter.” Hunter Patterson was the team’s leading receiver last year, hauling in 36 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns. Gage Patterson caught 18 passes for 190 yards and two scores. See BEARS Page 87

2019 Coaches

Head Coach

Ted Arneault Jr. Assistant Coaches Brian Cunningham Chris Hill Pat Chaney Scott Pryor Ethan Delekta Tyler Ossman Jason Wiley Chris Michael Vance Miller Ted Arneault Sr.

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Toronto Red Knights

Franke: Things are definitely going smoother this season 2019 Schedule Aug. 30 Wellsville Sept. 6 Harrison Central Sept. 13 at Edison Sept. 20 Beallsville Sept. 27 Crestwood Oct. 4 at Leetonia Oct. 11 at Oak Glen Oct. 18 Madonna Oct. 25 Barnesville Nov. 2 at Catholic Central Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

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TORONTO — The Toronto football team is looking to get back to the playoffs. In order to do so, it’s going to need another strong season out of its defense. The Red Knights made the playoffs in three straight seasons from 2014-16 but have come up one win short of qualifying the last two seasons. Last year, in its first under the guidance of head coach Josh Franke, Toronto was unable to overcome a bad start en route to its second straight 4-6 season. “When I look back at last year, we just got off to a bad start,” Franke said. “Nathan Karaffa got hurt in our first scrimmage, and he was out for the first six weeks of the season. Then, Nick Sninchak also got hurt. He dealt with a knee injury. We dealt with a lot of injury issues last season. You hate to see that, especially in your first year. “One good thing that came out of was we had to play some younger guys. Those younger guys got some reps, and that will help this season.” Things have gone smoother for Franke so far in his second season at the helm of his alma mater. “I have gotten to know

the kids, and I have gotten to know their families,” said Franke, who is a 2005 graduate of Toronto. “Things are definitely going smoother this season. The kids know the coaches. The kids know the plays. They know their responsibilities. They know the system. They know the formations. They know the motions. “Those are all good things because we don’t have to spend time at practice covering it. Our kids know that stuff, so practices are running smoother. Now, we can just work on fine-tuning the details.”

By AARON PETCHAL

The Red Knights lost like us to average about 10 seven seniors to graduation, kids per class. We are about including one of the best right at that amount. There all-around athletes to ever go are schools in worse shape to Toronto in Karaffa, along than we are. To have 38 kids, with other key multi-sport I am happy with that.” contributors. Toronto has a strong junior Though Toronto lost a class. good bit of talent off of last “We have a really large year’s team, the cupboard is junior class, but we are pretty not bare for the Red Knights. diverse across the board,” “We have 38 kids this Franke said. “Our freshmen year,” Franke said. “That is a are trying to find their way. good number for us, abso“Ashton Ellis is a freshlutely. I have been at Diviman, and he is going to start sion V schools who have had for us on the line. He has put less kids. For a Division VII in a ton of extra work outside school to have 38 kids, that is of what is required. You love a good thing. As a coach, one to see that. As a freshman, he See RED KNIGHTS Page 65 thing I would like is I would

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Aug. 28, 2019

The Seniors

2019 Roster

From The Coach ... “One good thing that came out of (2018) was we had to play some younger guys. Those younger guys got some reps, and that will help this season.” —Josh Franke

Seniors (9) 3 ................... Brendan Matyas 7..............................Jesse Fulton 8........................Tristan Thomas 12..............................Isaac Miller 15.................. Zach Stackhouse 16............................Zach Berger 58............................ B.J. Pearson 20........................... Frank Fulton 70.......................Aaron Andress 55........................ Ayden Dennis 63........... Shan Van Steenberg Sophomores (9) 4..................Tremendous West Juniors (14) 6 ............................. Aiden Mick 1 ........................ Garrett Dozier 17........................... Trevor Lewis 2........................... Devin Corrao 33........................Shane Keenan 10........................Caleb Leasure 56.........................Josh Francher 11............................Jack Rawson 62............................. Noah Sapp 14..................Bryson Anderson 71....................Landon Thomas 21............................ Jojo Savage 72......................Cayden Cllifton 24.......................... Brant Reeves 77.......................... Blake Rebres 28.............................Evan Roche 45...........................Ryan Matyas Freshmen (3) 50............................Chris Parker 32 ............................... T’Kai Jett 52.......................Nathan Haines 74............................. Ashton Ellis 57........................Jayden Olesky 75.....................Max Silverthorn

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In case of an emergency...

Toronto’s junior signal-caller happy he decided to play football By JOE CATULLO For The Gridiron

Caleb Leasure

TORONTO — Two years ago, Caleb Leasure tore his ACL and MCL, while also breaking his tibial plateau in a jayvee contest against Southern Local. Leasure still remembers how it went down. One of Southern’s lineman rolled out, was tripped and his helmet smashed into Leasure’s left leg, bending it inward. Two weeks after an X-ray did not show any structural damage, an MRI and scope were all that were needed for Leasure to have surgery. Leasure spent the first week and a half in a bed and went to physical therapy for five months. He returned in time for baseball season, but was hesitant with football. Leasure first thought about taking his sophomore year off, coming back as a junior and competing for the starting quarterback position this year. He’s glad he took his parents’ and coach Josh Franke’s advice instead. “Here’s this kid, who wasn’t going to even play and was going to take a year off, to where he’s poised to have a really good year,” Franke said. “It was a trial by fire, but here he is. “It just goes to show you never know what’s going to happen. A lot of freshmen and sophomores think they can just take a year off. You’re one or two plays away from being the next guy up under the lights on Friday nights. That’s exactly what happened here.” Leasure’s injury and recovery occurred before Franke was hired as head coach in late May last year, so Franke knew little about him. The first question Franke had to answer was who would be Toronto’s staring quarterback? “Nate Karaffa wasn’t going to jeopardize his (baseball) scholarship to Ohio State, and he was playing summer baseball in Georgia,” Franke said. “We began our 7-on-7s, so he didn’t know if he was going to be able to make any of those. He then just decided not to play. We have a good relationship, so I understood that and respected his decision.” So, who’s left? The first and only option was Zach Stackhouse. Franke believes Stackhouse is the most talented athlete on his roster, so the move to quarterback should be a smooth transition. He’s

FYI: ö Caleb Leasure started five games at QB for Toronto in 2018, throwing for 422 yards and three touchdowns. ö “It went fast, probably faster than you would think. It was nice because it got me a lot of experience for this year, definitely,” Leasure said regarding last year. ö Whether he started at QB or was on the sideline, Leasure played every snap as the Red Knights’ long snapper. nicknamed Mr. Do-It-All for a reason. However, the next question was who would back him up? “Zach was the only quarterback as of June. He’ll be option No. 1 at quarterback, but it still gave me nobody for a JV quarterback or a freshman quarterback,” Franke said. The first-year coach called players who suited up before he arrived, while also speaking with his new players. One of the names was Leasure, a freshman coming off knee surgery. “When I talked to Caleb on the phone, I said we would really like for him to come back and play quarterback,” Franke said. “He essentially said, ‘Coach, I’m worried about my knee. I don’t know if it’s all they way healed up. They basically completely reconstructed my knee, and I’m just worried about it. The doctors haven’t fully released me yet.’ I told him, ‘We have 7-on-7s coming up. Why don’t you just come and throw the ball around. You’re not going to be getting hit. You can come learn the offense, the terminology and stuff like that. You can still develop your arm as a quarterback rather than just taking an entire year off and coming back rusty.’” “It wasn’t that I was hurt, it’s just that it was different because I was coming back to a contact sport,” Leasure said. “I was a little skeptical about it, but after talking to coach Franke, I just gave it a try. I also talked to my parents about it. I had to sit down with them and coach Franke. We figured it out.” The sophomore returned for the first 7-on-7 drills. Stackhouse went in as the starter, but Leasure got a few reps, as well. It didn’t take long for Franke to realize there was something special about Leasure, even if he wasn’t at 100 percent. “He did so well in the 7-on-7s that I said, ‘Hey, Caleb. I’ve been thinking. I know I told you I didn’t want you to dress up for practices, but I think it would be a really good idea for you to come on as quarterback for the scout team,’” Franke said. “He wasn’t sure at first. I talked to his parents and tried to get them on board. They agreed that he probably shouldn’t sit around all fall and should go out for football. See EMERGENCY Page 89

Aug. 28, 2019

Red Knights From Page 62

is a leader.” Toronto faced some offensively-potent teams last season. At times, the Red Knights struggled to slow down some teams, but the defense also delivered some stellar outings, including shutting out Bridgeport, Lisbon and Wellsville. Franke will be counting on the defense to step up and get the job done defensively again. “I would say our strength is definitely our defense,” Franke said. “Our defense posted three shutouts last season. We have got a lot of good players on defense. We have an all-state cornerback,

and we also have two kids who were honorable mention all-state. Our defense gave up 21 points per game last season, and our kids definitely want to improve on that number. I would say our defense is the strength of our team.” QUARTERBACK Offensively, the Red Knights have some big holes to fill. The biggest hole being at quarterback due to the loss of Karaffa, a standout on the basketball court, as well as leading the baseball team to the Division IV state championship last season. “There is no replacing

a kid like Nathan Karaffa, especially with all of his athletic ability,” Franke said. “It was tough as a coach and a play caller because you want to get him the ball so much. The problem with that is you don’t spread the ball around as much, and as a result the other teams are able to zone in on him. By doing that, it forces you to distribute the ball evenly. In the games he played last year, all of the team’s we played gameplans were to contain Nathan Karaffa. “Teams are not going to be able to do that this year. We are going to be able to be more diverse with our play calling. We are going to spread the ball around a lot.” Though Karaffa will not be on the field this season, Toronto’s offense will not change. “We are going to do the same things,” Franke said. “We did not take any plays out of our playbook. We are going to run what we ran last year.” Caleb Leasure has the task of replacing Karaffa at quarterback. Leasure started four games last season while Karaffa was injured. “Caleb is not as good of an athlete as Nathan Karaffa, but I’m not saying he is not a good athlete,” Franke said. “He is more of a drop-back

passer. Caleb is more known for his arm. Caleb can really throw the football. He makes good decisions. We are not going to have as many quarterback runs this season, but at the same time we did not take any plays out this season. We also didn’t add any plays.” All of the hard work has paid off for Leasure. He threw for 422 yards on 46 of 93 passing, three touchdown and six interceptions. “He is a different kid under center this season,” Franke said. “Last year, he grew every week. He started his first game in Week 2, and he started through Week 6. His yardage went up every week last year. Last year, we were able to see gradual progress. Going into this year, he has made a tremendous amount of progress.” BACKFIELD Garrett Dozier will be the team’s starting running back, while Tristan Thomas will start at fullback. Dozier and Thomas will look to take some of the pressure off of Leasure this season by chewing up chunks of yards on the ground. Dozier carried the rock 57 times for 361 yards and two scores in 2018, while catching 12 passes for 82 yards. Thomas had 30 carSee RED KNIGHTS Page 92

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Josh Franke Assistant Coaches Steven Rebich Matt Ludewig Dave Dozier Rich Daugherty John Parker Josh Wilson Tyler Butler

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Harrison Central Huskies Hayes: I feel this group can take a step forward

2018 Schedule Aug. 30 Garaway Sept. 6 at Toronto Sept. 13 Bellaire Sept. 20 Union Local Sept. 27 at Martins Ferry Oct. 4 at St. Clairsville + Oct. 12 at Catholic Central Oct. 18 Oak Glen Oct. 25 Indian Creek Nov. 1 at Buckeye Local Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 7:30 p.m. kickoff

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For The Gridiron

The Coaches

CADIZ — Anthony Hayes has a season under his belt as Harrison Central’s head coach, and it ended in strong fashion, with wins in the final three games. This year, with a young but experienced group, the goal is to pick up right where it left off. “The key for us is going to be picking up where we left off and not digging out of an early hole,” Hayes said in reference to his team starting the season with losses in six of its first seven games in 2018. “The last two years we’ve finished strong, but we’ve stuggled with numbers and stuff. It feels like you’re always throwing new kids in. We were able to play enough last year that I hope we’re able to pick up where we left off. “ The Huskies have one of the top all-around athletes in the Ohio Valley running the show in junior quarterback Kobe Mitchell, who was an All-Eastern District selection and the second-ranked passer in the Herald-Star/Daily Times coverage area as a sophomore. He threw for 1,665 yards with 17 touchdowns

and a 60.82 completion percentage, while rushing for three more scores. Like Mitchell, a lot of the pieces around him gained valuable experience last season with the potential to improve even further. “I think experience is going to help our guys a lot. I think last year we played seven kids on offense that had never taken a varsity snap. I think on defense we played eight or nine like that,” Hayes said. “We played a lot of kids that were first-year varsity players, so it was an eye-opener for them. We weren’t deep

By ANDREW GRIMM

Belmont Career Center 68090 Hammond Rd St. Clairsville, OH 43950 (740) 695-9130

enough, so we threw them into the fire right away. They responded well and they all competed. Our kids always compete here, they will always fight tooth and nail to the very end. That’s just the grit and mentality of our community here. They don’t know any other way. I think that is going to pay dividends for us this year. They’ve been in the trenches together now, and they know what to expect.” “I feel like this group can take a step forward. I feel like, collectively, we have a great group of high-character, young men. For me,

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when you have kids that have great character, love one another and care about one another, they are now invested in something. It means something to them when their teammates do well. I think when kids start holding kids accountable, you know you’re headed in the right direction, and our kids are really holding each other to a higher standard of preperation and play, as well. You never know until you strap them up and get hit in the mouth on that first Friday night, but I feel like we’re ready to take the next See HUSKIES Page 71

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Aug. 28, 2019

The Seniors

2019 Roster Seniors (11) 4........................... Cale McAfee 6..............................Arik Cannan 21...................... Lee Sponaugle 24.................... Tucker Coultrap 50.........................John Dannehl 51.............................Mark Smith 53........................ Heath Pizzino 61.............................Haden Stull 64....................Hayden Wallace 65............................ Bryce Wade 78.......................... Albert Taylor Juniors (6) 1.......................... Kobe Mitchell 3........................ Clayton Nunez 11................... Kanyon Coleman 20................. Brian Hendershot 25........................ Jesse McLeod 52........................Ronald Pauley

From The Coach ... “I feel like this group can take a step forward. I feel like, collectively, we have a great group of high-character, young men. It means something to them when their teammates do well.” — Anthony Hayes

55......................Matthew Smith 57.............................J.T. Wagner 58...........................Dillon Drapp 70....................Davis Christman Freshmen (8) 2............................ Jace Madzia 7..........................Caleb Cowans 9....................Cameron Bartrug 10........................... Josiah Jones 13...........................Wyatt Pierce 14........................Drake Watson 33...........................Zane Zeigler 54..................... Cabot Arbaugh

Sophomores (9) 5....................... Trevor Carman 30.................. Nathan Bertolino 32........................ Ben Puskarich 34............ Jonathon Vermillion 40.........................James Brooks

Best Wishes for a Great Season!

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Aug. 28, 2019

Kobe’s time to shine What makes Harrison Central’s junior one of the area’s best athletes

By ANDREW GRIMM For The Gridiron

CADIZ— Anthony Hayes had a feeling that sophomore quarterback Kobe Mitchell was going to be something special based on the family pedigree and what he had seen in other sports. After Week 2 last season, he knew his feelings were correct. “He is the last of the Mitchell boys, unfortunately for us. We all kind of knew he had the tools, but we weren’t sure how he was going to react,” said Hayes, who is entering his second year as the Huskies head coach. “Playing quarterback, having the ball in your hands every single play and being responsible for so much of what goes out there, you just never know until they are thrown out there in the fire. Honestly, when we opened up with Garaway, a very tough football team, he competed well there and did an excellent job, but it was Week 2 that I knew. The Huskies stood tall with Bell,

but lost 26-25. Mitchell recorded a couple of touchdowns, with his arm and his legs. “I saw him deal with getting physically beat up. It’s one thing to deal with mental errors and stuff like that, but when you’re physically getting beat up, you have to check yourself,” Hayes said. “He never batted an eye. He refused to get helped off the field. He said, ‘Nope, I’ll do it myself. I’ll get up.’ Right then and there I think I said into my headphones, ‘He’s going to be something special.’ From then on, we knew what we had. “I think the thing that surprised me the most was his physical toughness. He’s a long, gangly guy, but in Game 2 here at home against Bell from Wash-

ington D.C., he took some whacks. He picked himself up off the turf every time and came back and gave us a great effort. From that point moving forward, that solidified what kind of kid we had playing quarterback for us. From that point on, we knew the sky was the limit for him.” The sky was the limit indeed, as the sophomore finished as the second-ranked passer in the Herald-Star/Daily Times coverage area with 1,682 yards, 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. “We started to see an athlete become a quarterback. He worked hard on his progression,” Hayes said. “We saw a kid that had a very high-ceiling start to put together all the intangables that it takes

to be a quarterback, and I thought he is going to go down as one of the better ones because of his competitiveness and his willingness to learn. He is always asking questions and always wanting to learn. It sounds like I’m kicking a dead horse here, but he’s always looking for ways to get better. He’s not worried about what happened yesterday. He’s worried about how to be better tomorrow.” For his part, Mitchell was nervous early on, but he felt the transition happen, too. “At the beginning, I was a little nervous, but as the season went on it got easier to do the right things,” he said. As much as he excelled on the gridiron, what perhaps makes Mitchell even more special is his dynamic athletic ability in every sport he plays. In basketball, he was arguably the top player in the area, being named second-team All-Ohio, averaging 25.5 points See SHINE Page 98

Aug. 28, 2019

Huskies From Page 68

step.” Around Mitchell, the Huskies have a lot of versatile players who can play multiple positions across the offense to help carry the load. “We have about four to five good ball carriers. Those kids can catch the ball, too,” Hayes said. “We’ve got a couple threeyear starters coming back, too. Our senior class is not very large in numbers, but it has some very good returning players. We have three offensive linemen coming back. We return all of our linebackers on defense. We return two members of the

secondary. Albeit, they are young. We played a lot of young kids last year, but they are a year older and have a year of experience. “We want to make sure we try to utilize (Mitchell’s) skill set, but we also want to make sure we have a little bit more of a workman like approach this year. We need to be able to share the wealth a little bit so to speak. I think the ball carriers we have coming back is going to be a great help to (Mitchell).” Though they have a lot back, the Huskies did not escape losing some key pieces from the last couple

of years to graduation. Versatile, decorated running back/receiver/defensive back Tyler West was included in the departures, as was receivers/defensive backs Caden Dalton and Payton Taylor, and on the lines in Cody Gamble, Josh Croft and Blayne Erwin. “We lost a lot of really, really good players from last year, but you hope that what they did and what they were able to achieve rubs off on these young guys,” Hayes said. “It’s inevitable throughout high school sports that someone is going to leave and it’s a new group. When those guys are gone, they’re gone. Tyler West isn’t coming back. I loved the young man, but he’s not coming back. He’s out of eligibility, so who is the next man up? Who is going to step up? “ QUARTERBACK While the afforementioned Mitchell is the man at QB, Hayes will be prepared should the situation require someone else to take snaps. Junior Clayton Nunez and freshman James Smith have been getting work behind Mitchell, and Hayes has confidence in the ability of both. “We have a couple of young guys behind Kobe.

They’re inexperienced in that area, but they’re both smart kids. They’re both good athletes and they both play multiple sports,” he saisd. “We feel as if if we should be in that position, we’ll be OK.” BACKFIELD Perhaps the deepest position on the offensive side of the ball is the running back group, large in part to the versatility of those in it. Leading them are senior Tucker Coultrap, who ran for 536 yards and three touchdowns last season. Also in the mix are fellow senior Cale McAfee, sophomore Trevor Carman, Nunez, and freshman Caleb Cowen. All of them will see the ball, according to Hayes. “We feel pretty good about our running backs,” he said. “We feel pretty deep there. We can, I feel, on any given night give each one of those guys 10 carries and be perfectly fine. I have no reservations about giving any of those guys the football. They can all step in and take the first snap of the game, or the 25th. They’re all good.” RECEIVER/TIGHT END With a standout quarterback in place, having guys See HUSKIES Page 100

2019 Coaches

Head Coach Anthony Hayes Assistant Coaches A.J. Barsch Ty Kenny Bill Bryant Mark Smith David Nameth Ian White Cain Noble Orion Bengier Will Cogar

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Aug. 28, 2019

Buckeye Local Panthers Herbert: Once you get one, you learn how to win

2019 Schedule Aug. 29 at Barnesville Sept. 6 Union Local Sept. 13 at Oak Glen Sept. 20 at Indian Creek Sept. 27 River View Oct. 4 at Shenandoah Oct. 11 Beaver Local Oct. 18 East Liverpool Oct. 25 at Edison Nov. 1 Harrison Central Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

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For The Gridiron

The Coaches

YORKVILLE — Roger Herbert has seen his Buckeye Local Panthers improve in his first two seasons at the helm, but they still seek the breakthrough win that has eluded them. This season, with a group of seniors that has gained experience and familiarity with the coaching staff, he’s ready to see them take that next step. “We’re senior-heavy this year,” Herbert said. “It’s time for these guys. I think we’ve got nine starters back on both sides of the ball. No one is going to give us anything, but our seniors deserve to win. They’re (0-30), and they come back every day. They haven’t won a game in high school, but they are still here. There are 12 of them, and all 12 of them are in our lifting club and come to at least 70 percent of the weight rooms. A lot of them come in after basketball or after wrestling practice.” While the current losing streak is not something anyone around the team enjoys talking about, it’s not something that is lost on anyone, either. In fact, Herbert has made it front and center during the preseason, using

it as motivation to end it. “We have something on our board, maybe it sounds harsh, but it says ‘We aren’t good enough.’ That includes the coaches and the players,” Herbert said. “I think we live in a world of excuses. Now the excuses are done. If we don’t win a game, it’s out fault and nobody else’s. They’ve worked hard, now it has to translate to wins.” He has confidence that this is group to get back in the win column, and knows when it does, it will be something special. “For our kids and the community, getting a win

By ANDREW GRIMM

will probably be as big as a playoff game. The town is behind us, the kids are thirsty for it, the administration, the student section and the band are all behind us,” he said. “The first one we get is for the kids. The rest will be for everyone else that has stuck with us. “Getting that first one will be a big deal, and it should be. I know it’s one game of 10, but when you’ve been so long without it, it is a big deal. Once you get one, you learn how to win. We had a couple of chances last year to win two or three, but we never got the first one. I

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know it’s cliche and coaches all say they want to go 1-0, but that’s really true. You can’t get win two until you get win one.” This season will be the third under Herbert, who was the third coach in as many years when he took over in 2017. The stability in the program is something he has seen start paying dividends with the players. “Absolutely, the kids are more comfortable and used to the coaching staff. We told the kids it just feels different this year, and the See PANTHERS Page 76

Aug. 28, 2019

The Seniors

2019 Roster Seniors (11) 7........................... Lane Herbert 8............................ Ethan Powell 11.....................Seth Richardson 13............................Gino Barber 29........................... Walker Doty 44........................ Charlie Smith 56................................Sam Sabo 69......................Garrett Cesario 70.............................Zac Cesario 72..........................Andrew Toto 84.................... Corban Westfall Juniors (8) 2 ....................... Hayden Taylor 4.......................... Danny Nation 6....................... Brian Palmer Jr. 12.................... Austin Langford 15..................Andrew Wharton 24........................... Jacob Zanes 27.......................Tyler Donahue 28.......................Alexio Morales

From The Coach ... “For our kids and the community, getting a win will probably be as big as a playoff game. The town is behind us, the kids are thirsty for it, the administration, the student section and the band are all behind us.” — Roger Herbert

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Sophomores (11) 5 ......................... Johnny Leput 20.......................Trevor Herbert 34............................Luke Darrah 52....................... Hunter Darrah

57............................. Colin Lucas 60.........................Justin Driscoll 65...................Hunter Ruckman 68.........................Kolby Keyoski 74.....................................Ian Roe 79........................Mariah Pelkey 99....................Ayden Krupinski Freshmen (5) 3 ........................... Xavier Jones 53........................ Wyatt Kalman 54.......................... Randy Wade 55.......................Isaac Chandler 66.....................Rodney Meeker

Aug. 28, 2019

Changes needed for Panthers Buckeye tweaks schedule, hopse to form new rivalries

By ANDREW GRIMM For The Gridirion

YORKVILLE — Sometimes a change is just simply needed. Roger Herbert sure felt so when it came to Buckeye Local’s schedule. For the first time in several years, the Panther schedule has a new look, with even more changes coming down the line. “A lot of things have changed here over the years,” Herbert said. “The schedule was one thing that hadn’t changed in the last 20 years, and it was just time. I think the changes in our schedule have renewed some confidence. A lot of people might not have been crazy about it, but we have to look at where we are at and where we are going. It helps the kids. I was one of the biggest advocates for it, so I’ll get most of the darts thrown at me.” Fans won’t have to wait to see the difference,

Panthers

either, as it starts right off the bat with a change to its Week 1 opponent. Buckeye Local had traditionally opened with Martins Ferry, but not any more. The Panthers will instead make a trip to Barnesville. “I started by looking a our opener, which was Martins Ferry. I know for years Buckeye and Ferry was a big rivalry — and I understand rivalries — but we’re two schools going different places right now,” he said. “The steel mills are gone, and we’re under 500 kids now when it used to be 1,000. If you go back and look, we were 0-10 against (Martins Ferry) in the last 10 years, and it’s not even been close. That’s not a rivalry. It’s kind of like Ohio State and Michigan. It’s not really a rivalry right now to me because Ohio State has won the last several games. “The teams we picked up aren’t going to be (automatic) wins. We went and got teams that are the same size as us, comparable in population

and comparable in where they are at. We picked up Barnesville in Week 1. They are a good program and good people. It’s a good community, I have a lot of friends out that way. We have scrimmaged them and it’s been close. We can most certainly go out there and lose the game.” That matchup is one Herbert hopes will become a fixture on the schedule, much like Martins Ferry was. “Our kids are thoroughly excited about it. They are excited to play Barnesville,” he said. “I’m really excited to get Barnesville on the schedule. The schools have a good relationship. The kids feel like they can win that game and so do I. I absolutely think that can turn into a rivalry. We play them in basketball and baseball. They will travel well, our folks will travel well out there. I hope it turns into an every year rivalry.” The other changes come in Weeks 5 and 6, See SCHEDULE Page 111 From Page 74

seniors will tell you they feel different this year,” he said. “This is the fourth year with coach (Neil) Zaccagini on defense, and the third year in my offense. We’ve been able to spend more time expanding our playbooks and doing different things because the kids have a basic understanding of what we call our basic packages. Our first spring practice, the guys mostly knew everything already and that is a big deal.” QUARTERBACK Leading a group of key returning players is senior quarterback Seth Richardson, who was the starter all of last season and half of his sophomore year. Last year, he threw for 867 yards on 94 completions and six touchdowns. His coach has been impressed with just how much he has grown in that time. “This will be his second and half year as the starter. He is like a coach on the field,” Herbert said. “We had a plan with Seth. Maybe he wasn’t the best athlete his

sophomore year, but those four or five games he played as a sophomore and the nine, nine and half he played last year gained him experience. He is probably our smartest guy on the field. “You always want experience back at quarterback. He’s grown. My first year he wrestled at 126 pounds, now he’s 170. He is one of our weight room club guys. He’s stronger and has a better arm. He knows all the reads. That is important. I’ve told our senior class it is time to go win, and it starts with him.” Behind Richardson at quarterback will be Taylor and junior Austin Langford. Taylor could also see snaps in certain packages, much like the Panthers did with graduated standout Shayne Christian last season, to utilize his speed. OTHER RETURNERS Also back are the Darrah twins, sophomores who saw significant time as freshman a season ago. Hunter Darrah is a 6-foot-6 offensive and defensive lineman that was

an East District honorable mention as a freshman. He will make the move to left tackle this season. “I’ll go on record saying he can be as good as anybody in the valley,” Herbert said. “He’s 6-foot6, 205-210 pounds. He’s been going to a lot of camps — Marshall, Ohio State and Pitt. He’s got it. You put someone at left tackle as a sophomore, you know you have confidence in him. I told the boys (twin brother Luke) they have Division I ability physically and athletically.” Luke Darrah, a 6-foot-4 tight end and defensive end, is back after having his season marred by injuries. Hard-running senior tailback Charles Smith also is back in the backfield. “He’s a bruiser. He ran the ball extremely hard last year,” Herbert said. “I cannot remember many times where we needed a yard and he didn’t get us that yard.” Also back up front are three-year starter and fouryear letterman senior left guard Zac Cesario, senior

center Sam Sabo and threeyear starter Garrett Cesario. Three-year starter senior wideout Jacob Zanes returns, as do fellow receivers senior, multi-sport standout Gino Barber, senior Corbin Westfall and junior state wrestling placer Bub Palmer. Nose guard Andrew Toto, another of the seniors, also returns. KEY ADDITIONS The Panthers added a couple of pieces back into the mix this season. Senior fullback and middle linebacker Ethan Powell returns after a preseason knee injury kept him off the field last season. “Getting him back is huge,” Herbert said. “We lost him on probably the first series of our first scrimmage last year. It was a very big loss. Probably even bigger than we realized at first. It’s very good to have him back.” Also back from an injury is junior linebacker Danny Nation. Coming back into the fold

is sophomore Hayden Taylor, a transfer from Steubenville, who will be in the mix for playing time at several positions on both sides of the ball. “He’s going to be a big shot in the arm for us. It’s nice to see him come back here. He wanted to be a part of things here, and he’s got a chance to play,” Herbert said. “He is certainly going to help us. We haven’t lost very many kids in the last couple of years. I think stability is helping that. I think the culture is changing in the right way. Now we have to win some football games.” With the amount of key pieces back in the fold, Panther fans will notice not everyone will play both ways, something that will be different from Herbert’s first two seasons. “With our 38-man roster, we have 22 to 24 guys that could play on a Friday night. We haven’t had that the last couple years,” he said. “My first year, we hoped to get 11 out there we were OK with. Now, I’ve got choicSee PANTHERS Page 77

Aug. 28, 2019

Panthers From Page 76

es. I told them there might be some hurt feelings, but we’re going to put the best 11 out there and go for it. “I think the competition is going to make a difference. Now these guys have to compete for jobs. Competition makes everybody better. If someone knows they’re a starter, they can slack, but it’s different this year. I’m proud of the kids for working hard to get to this point. We’re starting to get some guys playing one way. You’re not killing your 11, 12 13 guys that way. We might have 17 or 18 guys play on Friday night, and that’s big for us.”

BACKFIELD Joining Smith in the mix at running back are Powell, Taylor and Zanes. Herbert expects all of them to see playing time at different points. Last year, Smith ran the ball 61 times for 202 yards and one touchdown. RECEIVER/TIGHT END Catching passes from whoever is taking snaps will be Zanes, Palmer, Barber, Westfall, senior Lane Herbert, junior Andrew Wharton and sophomore Johnny Leput. Powell and Luke Darrah will be the tight ends. Palmer caught 23 passes

for 210 yards and a score in 2018. Zanes had 18 receptions for 86 yards, while Westfall had seven for 31 and a TD. OFFENSIVE LINE On the line, as noted above, Buckeye Local returns a lot of experience. with four of the five spots being filled by returning starters. They are, going across the line, Hunter Darrah at left tackle, Zac Cesario at left guard, Sabo at center and Garrett Cesario at right tackle. The battle for the right guard spot currently is between a trio of sophomores in Justin Driscoll, Kolby Keyoski, Ian Roe. DEFENSIVE LINE Up front on that defense. the Darrah twins will make up the defensive end spots. Zac Cesario, Toto, junior Alexio Morales, Driscoll, Keyoski and Roe are all in the mix at defensive tackle. One area that Herbert has been impressed with the last of couple seasons, despite some potentially misleading stats, is his defense. “I thought we played good defense last year. Scores won’t show that because our offense lacked. I thought we played way better on defense than scores would indicate,” he said. “When you give

teams so many possessions, it’s tough. We actually forced more turnovers than we gave up, that was a big deal for us. We bring back 10 starters on defense. I like our speed, and speed it what wins games and we have tons of experience.” That side of the ball, Herbert believes, holds the key to winning.

2019 Coaches

LINEBACKER The Panthers also have a deep linebacking core, with Westfall, Palmer, Powell, Smith and Nation all vying for time. SECONDARY Barber and Zanes return at the corner positions, while Taylor will be the safety in the Panthers’ system. Westfall could also see time at safety. SPECIAL TEAMS “My first year, we were bad at special teams. I’ll admit it. Last year, we broke even. This year we have to win the special teams battle. We’re really focusing on that. It’s an overlooked aspect of the game,” Herbert said. “Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech have been doing it for 50 years. Special teams is so momentum boosting. It may only be a six-point swing, or 30 yards, but it’s a big momentum swing. In high school sports, momentum is everything. We’re hoping to get some from special teams this year.” Handling the punting and kicking duties will be Westfall.

Head Coach Roger Herbert Assistant Coaches Kyle Solar Jim Westfall Neal Zaccagnini Chuck Watson Lee Heisler Dylan Stickler

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Aug. 28, 2019

A salute to some of the area’s favorite players Jesse Bolek

Hayden Taylor

Junior

Indian Creek Good Luck this season Jesse “J-Bo” Bolek!

Buckeye Local Let’s Go Panthers!

Sebastian Spencer Weir

Senior We wish you a healthy and successful final year of high school football.

Let’s Go CREEK!

Good Luck Hayden in your junior season!

Love, Mom, Jeff & Trent

Love, Dad, Mom & Kylee

Good Luck Love, Mom, Dad & Donavan

Dylan Bozica

Garren Swickard

Corban Westfall

Senior

Big Red

Indian Creek

Buckeye Local

It has been great watching you play. It’s hard to believe this is the last one... Make it great! Enjoy your senior season! We Love You, Mom, Dad, Maddie & Granny

God bless your senior year. Keep the faith and you’ll always be a winner. We are so proud of you.

Max Camilletti Brooke

Keith Bodnar

D.J. Wetherell

Have a Great Senior Year and Play Football for Brooke.

Good Luck Keifer your senior year #62

Good Luck Dylan! Roll Red Roll! Love, The Bentons & Bozicas

Senior

Love, Grandma C.

Big Red Senior

We love you, Mom, Dad, Tasha, Tori, Nana Fran, Aunt MiMi, RRR

Love, Pappy Arden & Grandma Margie

Catholic Central Sophomore

Have a great year, D.J. Good Luck Crusaders! Love, Your Family

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Big Red

Catholic Central

Indian Creek

Brooke

Aug. 29 Allderdice Sept. 6 H.D. Woodson Sept. 13 St. Francis Sept. 20 New Philadelphia Sept. 27 Pittsbugh Obama Oct. 4 at Dover Oct. 11 National Christian Oct. 18 TBA Oct. 25 at Columbus DeSales Nov. 1 Linsly

Aug. 31 Columbus Africentric Sept. 6 at Wheeling Central Sept. 14 at Southern Local Sept. 21 Edison Sept. 28 Caldwell Oct. 4 at Lucas Oct. 12 Harrison Central Oct. 19 Morgantown Trinity Oct. 26 at Madonna Nov. 2 Toronto

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 7:30 p.m. kickoff

Home games at 7 p.m. unless noted Road games at 7:30 p.m. unless noted

Buckeye Local

Edison

Toronto

Weir High

Aug. 29 at Barnesville Sept. 6 Union Local Sept. 13 at Oak Glen Sept. 20 at Indian Creek Sept. 27 River View Oct. 4 at Shenandoah Oct. 11 Beaver Local Oct. 18 East Liverpool Oct. 25 at Edison Nov. 1 Harrison Central

Aug. 30 Southern Local Sept. 6 at Wellsville Sept. 13 Toronto Sept. 21 at Catholic Central Sept. 27 at Beaver Local Oct. 4 at Oak Glen Oct. 11 at East Liverpool + Oct. 18 Weir High Oct. 25 Buckeye Local Nov. 1 Indian Creek

Aug. 30 Wellsville Sept. 6 Harrison Central Sept. 13 at Edison Sept. 20 Beallsville Sept. 27 Crestwood Oct. 4 at Leetonia Oct. 11 at Oak Glen Oct. 18 Madonna Oct. 25 Barnesville Nov. 2 at Catholic Central

Aug. 30 at Oak Glen Sept. 6 at John Marshall Sept. 13 Frankfort Sept. 20 at Keyser Sept. 28 Petersburg + Oct. 4 at Plum Senior Oct. 11 Fairmont Senior Oct. 18 at Edison Oct. 25 East Liverpool Nov. 1 Brooke

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 7:30 p.m. kickoff

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 4 p.m. kickoff

Harrison Central

Oak Glen

Weirton Madonna

Aug. 30 Garaway Sept. 6 at Toronto Sept. 13 Bellaire Sept. 20 Union Local Sept. 27 at Martins Ferry Oct. 4 at St. Clairsville + Oct. 12 at Catholic Central Oct. 18 Oak Glen Oct. 25 Indian Creek Nov. 1 at Buckeye Local

Aug. 30 Weir High Sept. 6 at Phillip Barbour Sept. 13 Buckeye Local Sept. 20 Perry Sept. 27 at East Liverpool + Oct. 4 Edison Oct. 11 Toronto Oct. 18 at Harrison Central Oct. 26 at Lincoln * Nov. 1 at Grafton

Aug. 31 at Bridgeport (OH) Sept. 6 Carrick Sept. 13 at Strasburg Sept. 20 Mathews Sept. 27 Cameron Oct. 4 at Morgantown Trinity Oct. 11 at Beallsville Oct. 18 at Toronto Oct. 26 Catholic Central Nov. 2 Conotton Valley

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 7:30 p.m. kickoff

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted + 7:30 p.m. kickoff * 5 p.m. kickoff

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Aug. 28, 2019

Rivalries From Page 6

a lot on the line. There’s just so much that can happen in that first week.” Week 10, most likely, is when schools would love to face their biggest rival. And, what makes high school football even better, the records do not matter. An undefeated squad could challenge an 0-9 team, and the intensity will still be there. That definitely could be said for one of the biggest games in this area, Indian Creek vs. Edison. “No matter how your season goes, knowing that game’s in Week 10 is just something we always look forward to,” O’Brien said “There’s always a lot of hype surrounding rivalry games, and with us being so close people are always excited about it. It’s always competitive, no matter what. Both teams are really invested in it.” The Route 43 bowl means a lot not to just to everyone involved, but especially O’Brien. He currently is in his second season as head coach, seven years after graduating from Edison. “It brings out the best in both teams. For example, last year coach O’Brien did such a great job, and it came down to the very end,” Connor said. “It’s supposed to be exciting. You’re supposed to throw the records out. That’s really cliche, but it really is a great series. The student bodies and fans enjoy it, and it’s great for the schools.” Another high-stakes Week 10 rivalry that is common around the area is Harrison Central vs. Buckeye Local, the battle for the V.A.L.E.S. trophy. Out of all the other rivalries, this is the perfect example of why records can be thrown out the window for something special like this. “We share some kids, and the V.A.L.E.S. trophy makes for a good experience,” Buckeye Local head coach Roger Herbert said.

“Coach (Anthony) Hayes is a good fiend of mine. I told him I don’t care if they are the state champs — we’ll play them forever. It’s a good time, and it’s for our veterans.” “They are cross-training and playing against these kids in other sports, so they know them, and it is already an embedded rivalry that’s already there,” Hayes said. “It’s bragging rights. You want to play these guys, and we see them all the time. You want to put your school against theirs. I think it’s good for each school because we should have fantastic crowds.” Another last-week matchup that perhaps is not as big as Indian Creek-Edison or Harrison Central-Buckeye Local — although it was at time or another — is Toronto vs. Catholic Central. “I have heard about the Toronto-Central rivalry more than once in the short time I have been in town and around the school,” said Catholic Central head coach Anthony Agresta, who is in his first year with the Crusaders. Toronto head boss Josh Franke is no stranger to this rivalry, especially being a Red Knight graduate. He admits it was different during his playing days than it is now, but he wants his team to face the Crusaders every season. Playing them in the final week also is a must. Some coaches feel competing against certain schools makes a difference when they face one another. “If you take Ohio State vs. Michigan and put that at the beginning of the year, I don’t think that game would have as much impact as it does at the end of the season,” Franke said. “When I was in high school, our biggest rivalry was Catholic Central, and we played them in the last game every year. I remember it always being a heated game. When we

played them in the opener last year, it didn’t resonate the same type of meaning that it once did. Wellsville has normally been the last week recently. When I played them, it was the first week. We have it back that way this year, so I think it’ll be a little more meaningful like it once was.” Franke is not the only coach who feels this way. “It was about eight or nine years ago when we didn’t play Edison in the Week 10 spot. I think it was Week 8. The coach and I then decided to move it to the end of the year because it’s special for both programs now to know it’s Creek week out there and Edison week here,” Connor said. “Both communities rally around it. Bragging rights are bragging rights, and it’s something that high school programs look forward to.” Most of the biggest rivalry games all season occur either during the opening week or the final regular season week. One rivary that does not is when Oak Glen faces East Liverpool, which occurs in Week 5 this season. Although Arneault prefers to face the Red Riders in Week 10, he’s completely fine where his Golden Bears challenge the Potters. “I really have come to enjoy our rivalry with East Liverpool,” he said. “I also like that East Liverpool’s more competitive now. They’ve kind of grown along the way with us. It’s a healthy rivalry, and I think both schools are on the up swing.” Besides what weeks teams face one another, the other question to take away from the Oak Glen-East Liverpool matchup is are there any other big time cross-state games around the area? “There’s nothing quite like Oak Glen vs. East Liverpool as far as cross-state rivalries go,” Arneault said. “There are some others I can think of but aren’t quite the

same, like if West Virginia crosses over against Pennsylvania. The game against East Liverpool is a premier game.” “Because where we’re at is such a unique place,” Hicks said. “There are so many schools at the top of West Virginia. A lot of Ohio teams that get mentioned feel like they’re in-state. For us, getting to Steubenville or Toronto is easier than going to Charleston, Fairmont or Morgantown. There is a little more intensity with teams like them because they are so close. It’s almost like playing an in-state game.” Franke admitted that something could be brewing between Toronto and Oak Glen, a Week 7 matchup this season. Brooke challenges Indian Creek, Weir and Edison square off, and there others out there. The one that would make the most sense, as far as cross-state games are concerned, is Catholic Central vs. Madonna. It just might be the Blue Dons’ biggest rival, although Hicks is not sure if his team even has one anymore. “I don’t know, really. I think our kids don’t necessarily, at least since I’ve been here, we don’t necessarily have a focus on one particular high school or group,” he said. “Being a Catholic school, I think our kids get a little more revved up playing the other Catholic schools on our schedule. There’s a little more excitement there, but I don’t think we necessarily have a true rival.” Agresta, though not familiar with Madonna yet, knows a thing or two about a Catholic rivalry. “Without rivalries, I really believe football loses a little bit of its luster,” he said. “At Northlake Christian, our biggest rival was Archbishop Hannan, a Catholic school located 15 minutes down the road from us. That game’s each season, and it remains

so. “We had another in Pope John Paul High School, but the Hannan game was the big one. I look forward to being involved in the rivalries that I am sure have been a long standing part of the Catholic Central football program.” Even when an Ohio team faces a West Virginia foe and both are not rivals, pride will at least be on the line. “There’s definitely that state pride,” O’Brien said. “Looking at us, we’ve been fighting back and forth with Oak Glen. We beat Weir when I played. Everything kind of goes in cycles. It’s been kind of interesting following that dynamic and being really competitive across the state.” Then, there are those with a lot of history that are still around, even if they are not as big as it once was. Take, for example, the old Brooke-Wintersville matchups. “I think Creek goes back to the old Brooke-Wintersville rivalry back in the 1980s,” McLean said. “That’s the first team I coached against. In my opinion, that’s a team we should play every year because that is a good Valley matchup.” No matter what happens with the Bruins, whether the WVSSAC will always consider them a big school and keep them in Class AAA or eventually bring them down, they will always face Creek and Weir, as well as John Marshall and Wheeling Park. However, McLean wishes Brooke faced closer teams to form new/old rivalries. He mentioned Oak Glen in the near future as a possibility. “I really wish they (WVSSAC) could do something to make it possible for us to play more local teams,” he said. “I’m confined by the fact that I have to play six AAA enrollment teams. Outside of John Marshall See RIVALRIES Page 103

Aug. 28, 2019

Big Red From Page 15

offensive line are senior Brad Valentine, junior Caesen Sutton and sophomores Peyton Tuttle, Ben Marx, Jaylin Harris, Chad Gardner, Jaylin Gary, Patrick Reeves and Blaze Wile. DEFENSIVE LINE During its 12-game season in 2018, the Big Red defense allowed 19 points and 230 yards (just 77 on the ground) per outing. Ware and Bodnar were two of the mainstays along the defensive front for Saccoccia a season ago. They’ll get help from the likes of Antill, Bulsar, Mohawk, Gardner, Brooks, Mamula, A. Brown, Yelich, Gary, Fleming, Sutton, Wilson, Ellis, P. Tuttle, Montgomery, Marx, Harris, Valentine, Norris, Wile, Burgey and Burger. Looking to man the defensive end positions are Waugh, Demitras, Kausky, Pearce, Reeves and Nodianos. LINEBACKER Tuttle returns to his linebacker spot, as does Zorne. Bozica, McCartney, J. Brown, Ferguson and Kinney also are competing for time. SECONDARY Mitchell is back for his third year as a regular in the secondary. Other players listed as defensive backs are Crawford, Kernahan, Anderson, Hammell, Martineau, Gresko, King, Biacco, Howarth, James, Roberts, Wickham, McShan, Jackson, Richmond, Lewis, Jones, Suriano, Fauts, Snyder, Stark, Saylor, Haney,

Catullo

Still, Stoddard and Schiappa. SPECIAL TEAMS Senior Tanner Power and Roberts will compete for the kicking duties. “We’re improving, but we still have a long way to go,” Saccoccia said. “The good thing is we have a couple of weeks to get there. “I’m pleased with the effort the guys have given and, as always, our kids are working hard. We’re just not doing the little things well right now. We definitely have to improve in the area. As we continue to work, we must master the fundamentals. That’s a key challenge for us.” As he prepares for his 37th season, Saccoccia, who has a record of 38170, 29 playoff appearances, 18 regional titles, five state runner-ups and four Ohio championships, shows no signs of slowing down. “I still feel good, I’m excited, and I’m ready to go,” he said. “Coaches have to grind just as hard at the players. Both groups have to get after it every minute we are on the field. That’s the key word this year — grind.” After several years of competing in Division IV, Big Red has been moved back to Div. III and will compete in Region 9. Other teams in the region include Dover, Akron Butchel (Big Red’s first-round playoff opponent in 2018), New Philadelphia, Chardon, University School (a Big Red regular-season opponent the past two seasons) and Chagrin Falls Kenston, the defending state champion. “It doesn’t matter who From Page 8

are rivals. For high school football, that’s a whole new topic. The great thing about rivalries in high school, more than any other level, is that records can be thrown out the window. Granted, if

Ohio State was winless and Michigan was undefeated, it still would be a rivalry game but not as big as the days of old. Just ask winless Brooke last year when it See CATULLO Page 86

you play or what you play,” Saccoccia said about the return to Div. III. “We’re just excited to get the season going. “We’ll have the same goals we always do. We want to be the best team we can possibly be and play good enough during the regular season to earn a home playoff game. If that happens, we’ll reassess what we have done and set additional goals from there.” As always, Saccoccia will be counting heavily on his senior class to lead his 2019 squad. “There are a couple of things that go into making and building a program,” he said. “No. 1 is leadership, especially senior leadership. Many teams are only as good as their senior leadership. And, senior leadership is only as good as the amount of time players put

in preparing off the field. Great leaders are those who are willing to do the extra work. “The other sign is their willingness to grind. If our senior leaders are willing to grind, this team will be as good as any we have had. The difference between our great teams and the good teams we’ve had has been the willingness to grind.” Big Red opens its season Thursday when first-time foe Pittsburgh Taylor Allderdice invades Harding Stadium. The Dragons, who have won back-to-back Pittsburgh City League crowns, are one of four new opponents Saccoccia and company will face. The others are Washington, D.C., Woodson, National Christian Academy, based in Fort Washington, Md., and Buffalo St. Francis. There are three Ohio opponents are the schedule

in New Philadelphia, Dover and Columbus DeSales. The Quakers and Tornadoes were approved for OVAC membership several months ago. Thus, with those games and a Week 10 contest against Linsly, Steubenville will face three conference foes. The last time that happened was 2011. After opening with Allderdice, Big Red will entertain Woodson, St. Francis, New Philadelphia and Pittsburgh USO, before traveling to Dover. N.C.A. visits on Oct. 11. Canada Football North was supposed to be the next opponent, but it canceled its football program. A trip to DeSales and a home game against Linsly concludes the season. As of Aug. 16, Big Red is scheduled to play nine games after the Week 8 cancelation.

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Aug. 28, 2019

Redskins From Page 39

receivers are sophomore Sam Coleman, senior Devon Thatcher and senior Kaleb Fenske. OFFENSIVE LINE The Redskins have three returning starters on the line in seniors Garren Swickard, Jacob Hejduk and Logan Scheel. Senior Gerard Walsh moved from the H-back position to center, while senior Shawn McClurg moves over to nose guard. Others competing on the offensive line include sophomore J.J. Orlando, freshman Blake Dodds, junior Gage Simmons, junior Jacob Edwards and sophomore Gavin Dondzila. “We feel like we have a lot of depth there,” Connor said. “We feel like a lot the guys competing got some reps last year. We got bigger and stronger in the offseason.”

DEFENSIVE LINE Switching to the other side of the line, Indian Creek will run a 4-3 defense. The defensive ends will be Schaefer and Brown. Backing them up will be junior Cory Cottis. Starting tackles are McClurg and Swickard. Backing them up will be Walsh, junior Jesse Bolek, Hejduk and Orlando. All of those listed will be rotated in. LINEBACKER Connor believes the linebackers are the Redskins’ strength this season. Leading the way is senior Tyler Smarrella, who will line up in the middle. He tallied 129 tackles (65 solo), 12 for a loss, five sacks, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions in 2018. The other two starters are Fante and Hiles.

“That’s the strength of our team by far,” Connor said. “We have three really good linebackers that have a lot of reps there.” Backing them up are sophomore Cam Franke and Giusto. SECONDARY The two returning cornerbacks are Klay Cottis and Fleming. Backing them up are Fenske, sophomore Roan Kovach and junior Pierce Pietro. Connor also mentioned Mazur, but most likely only in Hail Mary, game-on-theline scenarios if any. For the safety position, that will be occupied by Lucas and Baksa. Backing them up are Ferroni, sophomore Shane Lucey and Powell. SPECIAL TEAMS Hiles returns to his position as the team’s kicker after being one of the best

in the coverage area last season when he nailed 22 PATs and three field goals. “I think we have one of the best. Brandon Hiles has been kicking for us since he was a freshman,” Connor said. Punting duties belong to Mazur, taking over for Norris at another position, while also being Hiles’ holder. “I try so hard to make our quarterback the punter,” Connor said. “Norris was it until he got hurt last year, then Mazur took over. We try to make sure the quarterback is always the punter so we can do so many things with it.” Connor’s assistants are Joe Hammack, Doug Karas, Mike Voltz, Mike Wilson Sr., Mike Wilson Jr., Rob Lucas, Joe Strohmeyer, Todd Mazzaferro, David Kemp and Justin Wilson. Exactly how will the Redskins fair in 2019? It

could all depend on the first three weeks when they visit Cambridge and East Liverpool, before hosting Indian Valley, a new opponent taking over the Week 3 slot from Alliance. “We feel that will be a big part of where we’re at as a team,” Connor said. “We look at our first three games and figure that will tell us where this is going. We’ll know a lot about us after the first three weeks and where we’re headed. “I think the best thing about this team is the expectations have been raised, and they want to hold those expectations very high. I think they’ve seen that to see success for us, they want the other team to know they played us come Saturday morning because we played hard and physical. I think our kids know and understand that, and they kind of embraced that now.”

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Aug. 28, 2019

Crusaders From Page 27

to be expected,” Agresta said. “Defensively, we will be aggressive. We’ll do a whole lot of moving around. We’re not going to sit and wait. We are going to get after people.” Maragos, junior Mike Rook and Anderson are expected to see the bulk of the playing time at defensive end. McKenna, Coniker and Rao are the top players at tackle. LINEBACKER Simmons has locked down the middle linebacker spot. Ialenti will play the strong side, with Keeder occupying the weak side. Senior Nick Kissinger and Dorsey will provide depth at linebacker. SECONDARY The top four candidates for starting positions in the defensive backfield are Manneh, Dawson, Sprochi and LeFever. Manneh and Dawson probably will start at the corners, with Sprochi and LeFever at safeties. Agresta said, however, that’s all subject to change since they are interchangeable

SPECIAL TEAMS Senior Daniel Kissinger, according to Agresta, is the leading candidate to handle the placekicking duties. Jack Rook will handle the punting duties. Agresta’s staff includes defensive coordinator Jeremy Presley, Rick Gillette, Donnie Vandeborne, former CCHS standout quarterback Tony Barber and Richard “Moose” Pizzoferrato. “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit we are a couple of weeks behind because of my late hire,” said Agresta, a native of Northeast Ohio. “But, I don’t know if it could have happened any faster, so we’re probably a couple of weeks behind. That’s nothing we can’t make up before Week 1.” Africentric, which competes in the Columbus City League and went 0-10 in 2018, is one of four new opponents on the Central schedule. The others are Caldwell, Lucas and Morgantown Trinity. Following the home

opener, Agresta and his Crusaders will visit Wheeling Central and Southern Local. Central will celebrate homecoming when Edison visits during Week 4. A home game with Caldwell will be followed by a trip to Lucas. Harrison Central and Trinity will visit Harding Stadium on consecutive weeks. Central then will visit cross-river rival Madonna, before dropping the curtain with a home game against long-standing rival Toronto. Caldwell went 5-5 in 2018, while Lucas, which is located in Richland County near Mansfield, finished 10-3, falling in the Division VII Region 27 championship game. The Cubs posted a 55-20 victory over Harrison Central. It has been five years since Morgantown Trinity was able to field a football team. Trinity began with a varsity program in 2009 and dropped the sport in 2010. A 7-on-7 team was introduced in 2011 and lasted three years. The school brought back 11-on-11 at the jayvee level in 2014.

Central and Harrison Central last met on the gridiron in 1999. “Our schedule presents many challenges for our team this season,” said CCHS athletic director Vince Oliver, who put the slate together. “I can tell you firsthand that our young men have embraced what’s before them and know that success won’t be given but earned, and they are working hard to live up to the expectations of Crusader Nation. “We have scheduled each opponent out of great respect for their program. Personally, my goal was to generate as many local games as possible. That was a little difficult during my first year of doing this, but there is promise for upcoming seasons. It is my hope that new local rivalries and, perhaps, a few old opponents can resurface on our schedule.” With the opener just a few days away, Agresta admitted he was getting excited. “I’m excited because this game is something that always energizes me,” he said. “That being said, I’m also a

little cautious. We have a lot of work to do. I’m excited, but it’s tempered with some caution.” After spending the past couple of seasons competing in Division VI, Central will return to Division VII in 2019, competing in Region 25. From an OVAC standpoint, the Crusaders will remain in Class 2A, where they will be the second smallest school. In 2018, Central’s program struggled with numbers, but Agresta listed 33 players on his preseason roster. “We are senior top heavy, but there is talent in our underclass group,” he said. “Our freshman class is very promising. The numbers are good there. The junior class is small, but those kids are going to be on the field. “I’m trusting that our numbers will go up. We’ve had some conversations with students who have not been part of the program, and we’re hoping they will come out. We’re working hard and hope our numbers will continue to grow.”

on the road, traveling to Youngstown State’s Stambaugh Stadium for a date with Ursuline. The game was played in a heavy rain. With time running out, Todd Kelley took a pitch from quarterback Steve Nodianos and steamed into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. Johnson ran for the conversion, and Big Red left Mahoning County with a hard-fought 8-0 victory. Defensively, Big Red held Ursuline to just 63 rushing yards. Jim Barren finished the night with three sacks to lead Steubenville. It was Big Red’s first triumph in four postseason appearances. Ursuline, which entered the game as the top team in Region 7, blanked Steubenville 13-0

in the 1983 playoffs. Previously, Youngstown Cardinal Mooney handed Big Red two postseason defeats. “This win made all of the waiting worthwhile,” Saccoccia said following the game. Recently, the Hall of Fame coach called Kelley’s touchdown run “one of my greatest memories.” “We had the ball third and 1 at Ursuline’s 1,” he said. “I’m telling you 9,000 times out of 9,000 times, we would run the fullback. But Bobby, (then-offensive coordinator Bob Radakovich) called 39 sweep. I started yelling at him over the phones, then Kelley walks into the end zone for what turns out to be the game-winning touchdown.”

The Ursuline victory sent Big Red to the Akron Rubber Bowl for a semifinal contest with the Westlake Demons, who were 9-1. Kelley ran for 139 yards, Brian Young added 113 and the defense held Westlake to just 17 rushing yards, as Big Red rolled to a 26-6 victory and earned a berth in the Division II title game. The defense produced a touchdown when Charlie Keenan picked off a Westlake pass and raced 25 yards for a score. Keenan also produced two quarterback sacks. After a scoreless first half, Big Red broke on top early in the third quarter when Johnson recovered a blocked punt in the Whitehall end zone. John Downard pushed his way through the White-

hall line to block the punt at the Rams’ 25. Johnson then followed the bouncing ball into the end zone before falling on it. The extra point attempt failed. Whitehall tied the score with just 21 seconds left in regulation on a 6-yard pass. On the conversion try, the snap from center was bobbled, and Whitehall’s holder was stopped at the 2-yard line, thus setting up overtime. “Talk about the importance of special teams,” Saccoccia said. “We block a punt to score our first touchdown, then they have a bad snap from center on an extra point attempt. That snap just wasn’t on target, and we

parts.

1984 From Page 7

Liverpool 24-0, Columbus Marion Franklin 34-0, Dover 27-16, Toledo Devilbiss 26-0, Cambridge 27-0, Wintersville 28-26, Bellaire 25-0, Youngstown East 31-0 and Catholic Central 12-7. The wins against Wintersville and Central went down to the wire. An overthrown pass on a two-point conversion with 1:40 left to play allowed Big Red to hang on against the Golden Warriors. In the city championship game, Big Red scored the winning touchdown with 28 ticks remaining on the clock. Big Red finished second in the Division II Region 7 computer standings and also was No. 1 in the AP poll. Saccoccia and company opened the playoffs

See 1984 Page 101

Aug. 28, 2019

Division I From Page 17

such as West Liberty, my alma mater. For example, there is Cody Enrietti, who was a senior running back and linebacker for us in 2016 at 6-3 and 240 pounds, with speed. He was being recruited heavily until he injured a knee near the end of that 2016 season, which was his senior year. Now, he’s at West Liberty, at 6-3 and 260 pounds with the same speed. I’m looking for him to have a great season.” Filberto said some kids with potential are recruited to Division II and III schools. Division I college coaches don’t want to take the risk on them, but they end up being late bloomers

and have much success playing football and even go on to play at the professional level. “Besides coaching these kids to be the best football players they can be, our job is to get them exposure to Division 1 coaches and coaches from all the divisions,” Filberto said. “And, we do that. Each kid has his own account on the high school sports websites like MaxPreps and Huddle. Usually, the next day after a game, there are highlight videos of them out there on the Internet for the coaches and everyone else to see. Another factor college coaches look for is if the athlete plays only football

or multiple sports. “They want to see what a kid will do on the basketball court before a large crowd with two seconds left in a game and him at the foul line with a chance to tie or win the game,” Filberto said. “They want to see if they can get a base hit in a pressure situation in baseball, or make a great defensive play. That tells the college coaches what kind of competitor he is. “I have always encouraged my football players to play other sports wherever I have coached if they want to. I think it makes them a better football player if they also play basketball because many of the skills

you need to succeed in each overlap. This year, we have Sebastian, who excels in four sports. He’s our quarterback and wide receiver in football, the point guard on the basketball team, the center fielder on the baseball team and the fastest high school male athlete in West Virginia track. In fact, he’s the fastest in the four states that surround West Virginia because we have compared the times.” Filberto observed that sometimes a player is great at his position, but he isn’t recruited by certain schools because that particular school has an abundance at some positions. In those

cases, coaches will recruit to their needs. “I’m a member of the Ohio Valley Football Coaches Association, and we sponsor recruiting nights twice a year, inviting colleges from all divisions to come to a host location to talk to athletes,” Filberto said. “I particularly enjoy those nights because I not only get to meet the college coaches myself, but I also see these kids find out they may have a chance to play college football. “It may not be at the Division I level as they all dream about, but that’s OK. It’s exciting for them, and that’s exciting to me.”

Aug. 28, 2019

Wildcats From Page 53

catching nine passes for 120 yards and a TD. Vinnie Marcino and Blaise Kaiser will see time at fullback. RECEIVER/TIGHT END Edison’s main foursome of receivers this season are Tristan Hughes, Gage Cline, Tyler Shrieve and Izack McClug. Hughes and Cline will be the starters. Shrieve, who racked up 99 rushing yards and 34 receiving, will back up Hughes, while McClurg will back up Cline. Logan Hanchin will start at tight end. He had three receptions for 39 yards in 2018. OFFENSIVE LINE The line up front consists of left tackle Lukas McCain, left guard Levi Waggoner, center Hunter Russell, right guard Kolten Hanlin and right tackle Cody Waggoner. In the words of Woody Hayes, the Wildcats offense will feature an offensive strategy consisting of “three yards and a cloud of dust” this season. “It is not a new system for us,” O’Brien said. “The terminology is the same. We are just focused on making sure we get the right guys in the right spots. The guys know the system. They understand their jobs. We just want to fine tune the details.

SECONDARY Hughes will start at one of the two cornerback spots. Griffith will be the

SPECIAL TEAMS The Wildcats have some question marks when it comes to special teams. Carter Montgomery will once again handle the kicking duties, while Woods will handle the punting job, along with holding for extra points and field goals. Montgomery hit 18 PATs and three field goals last year. “We are excited to get things kicked off,” O’Brien said. “We are excited to get things started.” Edison plays the same 10 teams this season as it played last season. “The only difference is the home and away games,” O’Brien said. “We are familiar with the teams. We know what they are good at. There are some new coaches. You never know what you are going to get. Things are different year to year. There are always new guys who are going to emerge.” One of the toughest parts of the schedule comes from Weeks 4-7 when the Wildcats play four straight games away from the friendly confines of Cartwright Memorial Field.

“That is definitely going to be a challenge for us, especially with everything that comes with a road game — the packing and the traveling,” O’Brien said. “We have a new locker room, but we will have to be going to different locker rooms. We are not going to be home. “We are going to prepare for those games the way we normally do. Once you are on the field, it is the same game.” Edison is scheduled to start the season at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Southern Local. The Indians defeated the Wildcats, 3913, in last season’s opener at Wigwam Stadium. Southern finished last season with a record of 9-2 and made a trip to the Ohio Division VI Region 21 playoffs where it fell to Norwayne, 52-16, in the regional quarterfinals. The Indians return a good bit of talent this season. “We are up for the challenge,” O’Brien said. “We are on a mission in Week 1. We respect them. We know they are a good team, but we are not going to prepare any differently for them than we would any other Week 1 opponent.” The Wildcats would like to build momentum going into their stretch of four straight road games, and Edison hopes that possible momentum will carry over into the remainder of the season.

“We want to have success early in the year,” O’Brien said. “We want to build up some momentum moving forward. We have a couple of scrimmages coming up that will hopefully build up our confidence. But, win or lose, we are going to continue to prepare the same way.” Edison has not ended a season with a winning record since finishing with an 8-2 mark in 2010. A 19-7 loss to Indian Creek in Week 10 on the road kept the Wildcats from making the playoffs in Division III Region 11. Edison’s lone appearance in the playoffs came in 2002 when the Wildcats finished third in the Division III Region 9 standings. Beaver Local defeated Edison, 2312, in the regional quarterfinals on the road a week after the Wildcats defeated the Beavers, 41-12, in a driving rain storm the week before. Edison ended the season with a record of 9-2. “We have set some team goals, but it is not something we talk about publicly,” O’Brien said. “Our goal is we want to get the most out of every game. We do not want to waste an opportunity to get better. There are 10 Friday nights, and you don’t want to waste them. You don’t want them to slip by because you are not going to be able to get them back. We are going to focus on the little things.”

another rival maybe not as big, but still very prominent. Edison and Toronto, Oak Glen and Weir (though this probably is a top rivalry), Catholic Central and Madonna, and many more to follow. It’s still not enough. I’m not saying every week needs to be filled with rivalries, but there should more on the line when playing one another.

Let’s start with Steubenville. Who’s Big Red’s biggest rival right now? According to Reno Saccoccia in our cover story, it’s New Philadelphia or Dover. It playes them on a yearly basis, has OVAC implications and two of very few schools Big Red will travel to play. Yeah, I get it, but what about everybody else? Just because it’s Big Red and its illustrious histo-

ry, fans will fill Harding Stadium just to watch it in action, even if it’s against a team that has no chance of winning (I’m looking at you, Pittsburgh Obama). Big Red might be one exception to where it doesn’t need multiple big rivals to be relevant and known. Now let’s see about Weir. The first week’s always against Oak Glen, and its last week (Week 10 for

West Virginia overall) is reserved for the Bruins. No problems there, but how about the other weeks? Something has been brewing the last few years with Fairmont Senior for obvious reasons. The Red Riders faced them twice last year, and both coming on the road. I know I said before that high school

“This year, we are really emphasizing situational football. We want to make sure we understand down and distance and what time it is in the game.” DEFENSIVE LINE The Wildcats will be running a 4-2-5 defensive scheme. “I feel really good about our defense,” O’Brien said. “We are going to try and be more aggressive on defense. We have a strong front seven. We have a good group of seniors who are returning on the defensive line, at defensive end and at linebacker. I feel good about the guys we have up front. We are simplifying things. We want them to play with more confidence, and we want them to be more aggressive.” On the defensive line, Levi Waggoner and Hanchin will be the starting defensive ends, while Cody Waggoner will be starting at one of the defensive tackle spots. McCain and Hanlin will both see time at the other defensive tackle spot. LINEBACKER Marcino and Kaiser will serve as the team’s two starting inside linebackers.

team’s strong safety, while Woods will serve as the free safety. Cline and McClurg will both be seeing time at the other cornerback spot, while Jacob Cusick and Shrieve will both see time at weak safety.

Catullo From Page 81

hosted Weir. Something different fills the air when bitter high school rivals share the same field, no matter the year or circumstance. I just wish there could be more of it. Every team has that one huge rival it wants/needs to be every year. Indian Creek and Edison, Weir and Brooke, Oak Glen and East Liverpool, just to name a few. Some schools have

See CATULLO Page 92

Aug. 28, 2019

Bears From Page 59

Also returning is senior Zach Taylor, another favorite target of Chaney last year. He caught 24 passes for 524 yards and 11 touchdowns. Lemley also is in the mix. Arguably the biggest spot Arneault must replace is at tight end after losing Ethan Travis to graduation. He had 23 receptions for 366 yards and two scores. Numbers were down from the season prior (29-563-4), but his blocking improved. In the mix to take over the spot are senior Preston Brown, who saw time at fullback last year, junior Brayden Mineard and senior Seth Mozingo, playing football for the first time in his four-year career. Mozingo is best know for his skills on the soccer field and basketball court. OFFENSIVE LINE Oak Glen’s offensive line will feature all but one returning starter (Logan Meadows). Junior Ethan Hooker is one of the leaders back, as well as senior Connor Adams at guard. Junior Matthew Mallick filled in for junior Jeremy Taylor after he was injured, so both are back in the mix. Junior Kyle O’Connor did the same after Kellen Tropeck injured his shoulder. Overall, Arneault is very excited and optimistic about his line. “Our two guards are extremely talented,” he said. “We’re proud of the progress they’ve made as athletes, and I think you’re

going to see a well-disciplined, fast, strong but maybe not big offensive line this year.” DEFENSIVE LINE Leading the defensive line will be 340-pound junior William Minnis at nose guard, the most important spot in Arneault’s mind when dealing with a 3-3 formation. “The nose guard is extremely important because if you give up ground in that position, then you’re going to be in trouble,” Arneault said. “We feel the 3-3 system fits better for us because we have more athletic-type players. We’ll still have to be able to maintain our edge and keep up with double teams to maintain the gaps. We have all the kids coming back with experience in that regard.” Those players are O’Connor, Hooker, Mallick, junior Danny Bealles and Taylor, a possible unsung hero in the near future. LINEBACKER Adams returns as the team’s leading tackler from a season ago with 94. Mick is moving to the outside position, while Gage Patterson heads to the weak outside. Mozingo and Brown’s names also were mentioned. “We have a strong core of inside guys who are going to at least be mentally more prepared this year,” Arneault said. SECONDARY More experience will be

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showcased in Oak Glen’s secondary. Lemley returns as the free safety, while Mineard will become a three-year starter at cornerback. Other kids competing for the other corner spot include senior Jacob Jones and junior Tyler Andrews. Hunter Patterson, the guy Arneault believes can be the most talented player on the roster, also is in the mix. “Our secondary should be one of our strengths this season,” Arneault said. SPECIAL TEAMS Senior Matt Wright, who also is on the soccer team, will try his hand as the team’s kicker. He replaces Dan Dwoskin, who nailed 33 PATs and three field goals last year. “We feel Matt’s going to step in and do very well from what I’ve seen,” Arneault said. “He’s a

hard-worker and a dedicated kid. He’s someone I feel like I can count on.” As for a punter, that has yet to be decided. Wright could very well see time there, as well as Gage Patterson and Taylor. Lemley returns as the primary kick returner. The Patterson cousins are the top two options for returning punts. As has been the case for a while now, the Golden Bears open against Weir on Aug. 30. One game will not define the Golden Bears’ season, but they want it bad. “There’s no doubt about it, and having it at home is a special game for our kids,” Arneault said. “They’re very, very excited about the season in general, but definitely about Weir. As our sister school, they’ve set the bar very high. Them having the success they’ve had the last four years has really

motivated us to set that bar. We’re very anxious to meet that bar they set.” Another matchup Oak Glen cannot wait for is against its other rival, a Week 5 trip to East Liverpool on Sept. 27. “East Liverpool’s going to be a tough game, and I’m really looking forward to it. I think we have what it takes to beat them,” Arneault said. “There are going to be some games where we need to have it in order to win. It’ll be tough against Harrison Central again. They just play a brutal schedule. They faced us when they were 1-6 last year, and they may have been the best 1-6 team I’ve ever seen. When you finally get them, they’re ready for us. We’re looking forward to playing them because we were out-bashed two years ago and really competed last year. Right now, though, all eyes are on Weir.”

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Aug. 28, 2019

Blue Dons

Emergency From Page 33

Virginia Class A football team and will have some speed and size in the receiving corps. “We feel our team defense will feature speed,” Hicks said. “We may not have the guys to win a 30yard dash, but I think we’ll have 11 guys that are very fast and will play fast. I feel very comfortable that we’ll have 11 guys out there that can run to the ball.” Hicks added that one of the surprises of this team is how quickly it has bonded. “It seems to be a very good locker room,” he said. “There’s a lot of positivism. There’s a lot of guys picking each other up. There’s a lot of positive reinforcement. There’s a lot of positive leadership. I think those things are good. I think we have a very good group that seems to be meshing together well so far. “We’re excited about the

fact that while we have six new guys on the team, they all have played football before and come to us ready to go. We just want to keep getting better each day.” The Blue Dons open the season Saturday at Bridgeport and play the first home game the following Friday against Carrick, one of five newcomers on the schedule. The other three are at Strasburg in Week 3, at home against Mathews of Vienna in Week 4, at Morgantown Trinity during Week 6 and at Toronto in Week 8. “This will be the fourth different type of offense that we will use at Madonna. Are the schemes similar? Yes, but we are trying to put our kids in the best possible position to be successful,” Hicks said. “It will not look like what we have done in the past. We’re going to open up a little bit more and use a little bit

more spread offensively.” Assisting Hicks are Connor Arlia (the offensive coordinator), John Lesho, Jordan Allen, Pete Melnyk, Jason Heckathorn and Dean Makricostas. “Experience is invaluable, especially at the high school level,” Hicks said. “We have players that have been out there and know the speed of the game. They understand what needs to be done. They know what they need to do to be prepared, and all are extremely athletic with a lot of football intelligence. That has to help us. “I think coaching is about teaching and working with the particular strengths of the team each year. And each year is a little bit different. You have to find an identity. Find out what your kids are good at and then accentuate those positives.”

From Page 64

“Right around that same time, Karaffa came back around and said, ‘Coach, I’m starting to get the itch. I’ve been with these guys my whole life. I really want to help my team.’” Plans quickly changed, as Franke would never say no to a returning senior with Division I talent. Karaffa was penciled in as the No. 1 quarterback, while Stackhouse would be his backup. Leasure, on the other hand, was “in case of an emergency.” During the first scrimmage against Madonna, Karaffa severely sprained his MCL. Plans had to change again. “My first reaction was I just wanted to make sure Nate was OK because I know how it is to hurt your knee and the pain that comes with it,” Leasure said. “I later went into that scrimmage against Ma-

donna. Coach Franke later brought Stackhouse and myself in and went over the quarterback spot. He told us that we were in the race now for the starting job. We went after it.” Stackhouse became the starter once again, and his first opportunity came against Catholic Central during the Red Knights’ home opener on Aug. 24. “We quickly learned that, with Stackhouse’s dynamic ability, (CCHS) was loading the box and was ready for him to run,” Franke said. Stackhouse ran for 82 yards on 18 carries, but most came while scrambling. He only threw for 17 yards on 2-of-7 passing, both to Garrett Dozier. Plans had to change for a fourth time after the 35-0 defeat. See EMERGENCY Page 103

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Grimm From Page 8

for, what in my mind at that time, was the game of all games. I left the stadium in purple clothes that almost appeared black from being drenched by the rain, heartbroken because Bellaire was leaving with Sparky (the rivalry trophy). On the flip side, some of my fondest, early memories of the game of football came from walking out of Bellaire’s Nelson Field with a big smile on my face because the boys in purple and white took the trophy. During that same time, I was playing flag football in the Martins Ferry’s league. My various teams throughout the years of flag football had rivalries of their own, and I had my own personal competitions with other players I matched up against every season at some point or another. I was a lineman on offense and defense, so as one can imagine I lined up across from the same kids a lot. I had been punched, kicked, had a mouth guard ripped out of my mouth by the remaining tab that had been cut and several other

things that happened out of site of the officials. I still brag about only being called for one penalty in my time playing flag football, seven seasons if I had to guess. I just usually leave out the part where it happened in my final game on the final play and brought back the wouldbe game-winning touchdown. I’m not still bitter or anything. Water under the bridge. Another rivalry that has a deep, personal meaning to me is one that has the same to a lot of people — The Game. Ohio State vs. (X) ichigan. I have been a Buckeyes fan my entire life. Well, at least since I was old enough to understand football. So, naturally, I’ve despised that team up north equally as long. The game always falls around my birthday, and there is no better gift than a Buckeyes win on the last Saturday in November. I have so many memories of watching that game. Perhaps the fondest is the 2016 edition, when Ohio State won in double overtime. It was one of my final

days spent with a close loved one who unexpectedly died about a week later. One of the calmest people I have known who seldom ever reacted to anything sports related was excited about Curtis Samuel’s scamper into the end zone. Truly a moment I will never forget. Rivalries are fun, even when it is a game in which one does not have a rooting interest. For example, the 2007 Backyard Brawl between WVU and Pitt, you know, the infamous 13-9 game. I watched that one with my parents, who were on opposites sides of the fandom spectrum. Even without having an iron in the fire myself, it’s one of the most memorable football games I’ve watched. Perhaps the best, sticking with the same theme, is when the games turn into a sibling rivalry. Twice a year my Steelers play the Browns, who my brother is a die hard fan of. That one usually turns out pretty good for me. The Steelers also have built a great rivalry with the New England Patriots (that one

is usually not as fun for me) who my sister is a fan of. That even led to a spoof UFC-style faceoff photo between me her leading up to one of the playoff meetings, the aftermath of which was not a good time for me. Outside of football, my favorite sport to watch is hockey. When the Penguins play the Flyers or Capitals, there’s really nothing like it. Even NASCAR, another sport I’ve followed closely for a long time, has rivals. Being a fan of Brad Keselowski, his duals with Carl Edwards (who my brother also was a fan of — funny how that keeps happening) were classic. Now, beyond my fandom of sports, rivalries have created some of my favorites games I’ve been privledged enough to cover. Going back to my hockey days covering the Wheeling Nailers, intense rivalry meetings with Toledo and Reading in the regular season and playoffs led to some great games to get to see and tell the story of.

Back to the gridiron, high school football rivalry games have been an absolute blast to cover and created some dramatic finishes. A 25-24 Edison win at Toronto last season comes to mind. Of course, these rivalries do not end on the football field, but carry over — and perhaps can be even more intesne — into the other high school sports. Is there anything better than a packed gym for a city championship basketball game? The gyms are usually full for the volleyball edition, too. What about a local rivalry on the baseball or softball diamond? Or an intense meeting between local rivals on the soccer field? Some of the best interviews I got from local athletes and coaches have come right after a big rivalry game. You can tell how much it means to them to win — or how much it hurts to lose. When your team, no matter the sport or level, is partaking in a rivalry, make sure you enjoy it. After all, there’s nothing better.

high school football rivalry in the valley was the annual battle between Big Red and Catholic Central for Steubenville’s city championship. The series began in 1943 and was played until 2000 when the decision, and rightfully so, was made to end it. With declining numbers, Central was just not able to properly compete with its cross-town rival. It was a tough call, I’m sure, but one that was needed. Big Red holds a 41-16-1 lead in the series. Central earned a 6-0 win in 1995, and Big Red then reeled off five consecutive victories. Suffice it to say there were many memorable games in the series. Big Red

posted 17 shutouts over the years and Central had six. The 1953 game ended in a 0-0 tie. The series featured three one-point games, all ending with the identical score of 7-6. Central recorded a 2-0 win in 1946 in the only game of the rivalry played on opening weekend. For the most part, the game was played during Week 10. Thirteen of the contests were decided by a touchdown or less. A couple of games stand out in my ever-shrinking memory bank. Joe Ferrelli passed for one touchdown and ran for another, as the Crusaders posted an 18-8 victory in 1968, my senior year as a Big Red student.

The other was 1977, the year I was married and, truth be told, I’m still taking grief all these years later for choosing the date of the Big Red-Central game for my wedding. Central won that year, 16-0. My wife, by the way, is a Crusader graduate. This town just had a whole different feel during Big Red-Central week. Driving down Sunset Boulevard, you would see homes with decorations supporting one of the two schools. You also would see others sporting the colors of both teams. You didn’t have to go far to overhear a spirited argument regarding who was going to win. Both schools had and still have loyal fans

and, during that week, there was little love lost among those fans. Trash talking was rampant, of course. Back in the day, trash talking was done face-toface, not through social media, and it was all in good fun. There also was plenty of talk about the spot. That gridiron rivalry is no more, but the memories will live on. Central still has a few major rivals on its schedule in Toronto and Madonna. Big Red, on the other hand, not so much. I know that Reno Saccoccia looks high and low when trying to put together a 10-game schedule. He looks north, east, west and south. He literally makes loads of calls when seeking

opponents. This season, he found three Ohio opponents for his Big Red, two from Pittsburgh and one each from West Virginia, New York, Washington, D.C., Canada and Maryland. The schedule, as always, is extremely competitive. Unfortunately, there is not a real rival to be found on the 2019 slate. For some reason, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference decided to make Dover and New Philadelphia members. So, those games could grow into rivalries going forward. With Linsly agreeing to visit Harding Stadium for the regular season finale, Big

Looman

From Page 8

See LOOMAN Page 95

Off The Field Talk What some local players say about life off of the field ...

Roman BAIRD Madonna

Gerard WALSH Indian Creek

Michael LEMLEY Oak Glen

Chris PARKER Toronto

Mariah PELKEY Buckeye Local

Brodie McUMAR Weir

Richard MONTELIONE CCHS

Favorite superhero?

Batman

Spiderman

Batman

Captain America

Superman

Deadpool

Favorite food or meal?

Chicken parm

Pizza

Meatballs

Steak

Pineapple pizza

Spaghetti

Wings

Favorite place in the world?

Follansbee

New York

Chester

Florida

Weight room

Italy

New Jersey

What is your dream job?

Psychiatrist

NFL

Football coach

Doctor

Lawyer

Gym teacher

Sports therapist

Favorite role model?

My pap

My dad

James Tyler Osman

Malcolm X

Michael Jordan

Grandfather

My father

Favorite video game?

Call of Duty

Fortnite

NBA 2K

NHL

Madden

Rocket League

Rainbow Six League

Clayton NUNEZ Harrison

Joshua SHORTS Brooke

Jack RAWSON Toronto

Ben HUBERT CCHS

Nathan ZANIESKY Madonna

Gage CLINE Edison

Elijah GILLETTE Weir

Favorite team (college or pro)?

Oklahoma State

Ohio State

Michigan

Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ohio State

Miami Dolphins

Favorite athlete?

Barry Sanders

Ryan Shazier

Devin Bush

Manny Pacquiao

Jack Ham

Cam Newton

Chris Gillette

Favorite exercise or workout routine?

I like it all

Bench press

Squat

Presleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s routine

Push/pull

Bench

Curls

Favorite musical artist or group?

Drake

Gaither Vocal Band

Eagles

3 Doors Down

Offset

Lil Baby

Blueface

Favorite outdoor activity?

Swimming

Hunting

Football

Swimming

Cutting grass

Football

Fishing

What was the last book you read?

To Kill a Mockingbird

Bible

The Outsiders

1984

We Were Soldiers Once

The Outsiders

Bible

What some local players say about life off of the field ...

Aug. 28, 2019

Red Knights From Page 65

ries for 146 yards and one touchdown. He added eight receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown to his stat line. RECEIVER/TIGHT END The Red Knights have a solid group of receivers. Zach Stackhouse and Frank Fulton will start at receiver, while Shane Keenan gets the nod at tight end. Stackhouse caught 28 passes for 424 yards and four TDs last season, while rushing 43 times for 302 yards and three more scores. Fulton had six catches for 150 yards and a score. OFFENSIVE LINE The big boys up front will be counted on to open up holes for the running game, as well as giving Leasure time to throw the ball. Josh Fancher, Ayden Dennis, Chris Parker, Shane VanSteenberg and Ellis will all be starting on the line. Fancher is starting at left tackle, Dennis at left guard, Parker at center, Ellis at right guard and VanSteenberg will start at right tackle. DEFENSIVE LINE The Red Knights will play a 3-5-3 defense. Up front, Isaac Miller and Zac Berger will start at the defensive end spots,

while B.J. Pearson will start at defensive tackle. Miller recorded 53 tackles, eight for a loss, four sacks and one fumble recovery last year.

SPECIAL TEAMS Jesse Fulton will handle the kicking duties, Miller will be the punter and Berger will

be the long snapper. Stackhouse will play a key role on special teams this season. He will serve as the team’s holder, kick returner and punt returner. One thing that has really changed this season for the Red Knights is their schedule. After a two-year stint, Toronto has dropped out of the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference. Though the Red Knights are no longer in the conference, they kept Wellsville and Leetonia. “We have a lot of local games. I think that is better for us,” Franke said. “I think that is going to help us. A lot of the schools we play have the same type of kids as we do. We have blue-collar kids. The kids all work really hard. That is what you see in the valley.” This season, a pair of Toronto’s rivalry games flipped places on the schedule, reverting back to how the schedule looked for many years in the past. “Yeah, we play Wellsville in Week 1, and we play Catholic Central in Week 10,” Franke said. “It is just like the old days.” The Red Knights lost three out of their first four games last season. Toronto is hoping to get off to a much better start to the year this season.

“If you lose your first game, then you are going to be facing uphill right from the start,” Franke said. “If you win your first game, you are going to have some confidence, and you want to build that up. When it comes to high school sports, I am a big believer that confidence is really important for kids and for a team.” Toronto will play Harrison Central in an intriguing game in Week 2. Anthony Hayes is in his second season as head coach of the Huskies. He was hired by Toronto in 2017 to replace Eric Meek as head coach, but Hayes returned to be the head coach at Harrison Central later that year when longtime head coach Justin Kropka stepped down. Franke then replaced Hayes at Toronto. “When my dad played at Toronto, the big game was always against Cadiz,” Franke said. “Cadiz is no longer around, but the school has turned into Harrison Central. A lot of people in Toronto are excited about us playing Harrison Central. People are looking forward to that game.” Though Toronto played in the EOAC the last two seasons and did not play a lot of teams from the OVAC, Franke said he will be familiar

with his team’s 10 opponents this season. “We are going to watch Beallsville, Barnesville and Oak Glen,” Franke said. “In this age of technology, it is not hard to find out information about teams. What would that say about myself and our coaches if we did not know or try our best to find out information about the team’s we are playing?” Multiple members of the football team played on Toronto’s state championship winning baseball team in the spring. The Red Knights hope that experience will carry over. “I sure hope so,” Franke said. “That was great for them. I was at the game cheering them on. The majority of those players who won a state championship in baseball also played football. That was a great experience for them. They were able to experience the journey. They were able to learn lessons that hopefully they are able to carry over to football. “We would love to go on our own journey. We might not win a state title, but we would love to make a run in the playoffs. The kids on this team look to those kids as leaders. We are going to try and emulate what they did this season.”

who have not won in more than four years now, have a rival? Just being here for three years now, I kind of thought it always was starting off with Martins Ferry. That’s not happening any more, at least for this year and the forseeable future. How about that last week with Harrison Central? That’s probably the best bet. Going back to something mentioned twice already, does Buckeye Local losing so many games affect its rivalries? To some degree, it has to. When and if it

finally wins that elusive game it’s been searching for, things might start changing. Maybe (I’m just spit-balling here) both the Panthers and Huskies have the same record going into their Week 10 matchup, even if both teams are 1-8 (Harrison Central fans, you’ll win more than just one game), is the rivalry back? Was it ever gone to begin with? In many ways — though also completely different ways at the same time — take the Browns and Steelers. Pittsburgh fans don’t

see the Brownies as a rival any more, or at least the last 10 or 12 years. Cleveland fans always see the Steelers as a big rival. If we go 2-14 every year, both wins better be against Pittsburgh. Our two favorite football teams are the Browns and whoever beats the Squeelers. They don’t feel the same way about us. Understood, yes, but still a little bit of a head-scratcher. It falls back to one team hardly winning against a successful franchise where making the playoffs is expected year in and year out.

The NFL has the possibility of his happening, but does high school football do as well? No. High school is the one chance many players have to put it all on the line and give it their all. If you really dislike another team for whatever reason (history, bad haircuts, ugly colors, etc.), records do not matter. You want to defeat them and will do whatever it takes to do so. You also know not to take them lightly. They might be winless going in, See CATULLO Page 104

LINEBACKER Thomas and Parker will start at inside linebacker. Jack Rawson and Jesse Fulton will start at outside linebacker, while Dennis will be the middle linebacker. “Our defensive leader is Tristan Thomas,” Franke said. “He is one of our starting linebackers. He was our second leading tackler last season. He was honorable mention all-state last year. He has started since he was a freshman. He does a great job. He is a great kid. He’s smart. He is in the Top 10 in his class. He is the guy the other kids look to on defense to get them into the proper alignments.” SECONDARY The secondary will feature Frank Fulton, Brendan Matyas and Stackhouse. Frank Fulton will start at free safety, while Matyas and Stackhouse will start at cornerback.

Catullo From Page 86

rivals don’t necessarily always need to win to still be rivals, but Weir needs to start doing that with F.S. There also could be some type of a rivalry feeling with the likes of John Marshall, Edison, Petersburg and East Liverpool, not the same with the other three mentioned, that’s for sure. I could continue evaluating other teams’ schedules and who they face, but I’ll save you the reading. I do need to ask, however, Buckeye Local fans a simple but complicated question at the same time. Do the Panthers,

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Aug. 28, 2019

Helmet From Page 43

to be people that don’t like it. You make a big decision like that, and it is going to be unpopular with some people. “But, the people I’m worried about it being popular with are the 52 kids on that roster. If we can win, people will probably start liking the white helmets. If things go rough, it will probably be because of the white helmets. I’m not supersitious like that. The team that executes better is the team that is going to win.” For McLean, it’s about looking forward and putting the focus on acheiving new goals and acknowledging the school has gone through changes, while still honoring those that came before the current Bruins.

“The years 1985 and 1990 are not coming back. We just have to accept our role, our new role, which is as the underdog,” he said. “We’ve got to prepare like we are going to be the underdog every week and embrace that. We’re not going to cower from it. We’re going to go out every Friday night, fight as hard as we can fight and let the chips fall wherever they may. “If we don’t quit looking back, we’re never going to move forward here at this high school. That is my humble opinion as a coach, and that is the entire school district. We need to put the past behind us, we need to move on, turn the page and work toward a brighter day.” Part of the new outlook is the way the district itself

has changed, with lower enrollment numbers than in the past. “I think this year’s senior class is going to be the smallest senior class in the history of Brooke High School, and you have seen and watched the decline in numbers around here year in and year out,” McLean said. “We do not even have 50 percent of the enrollment this school had in 1985. It is a problem that hurt a lot of people, but with us stuck at the tail end of that AAA division, it is very difficult. We play schools with 1,700 and 1,800 enrollments, and we’re below 900, but that is reality. That is just what we have to deal with. “It’s not an excuse. Excuses are not real acceptable around here. We’ve just got

to work.” Having been a part of the history, it is important to McLean to keep sight of what happened in the past, while shifting the brunt of the focus to what is to come. “There is a balance. It seems like a tight rope to walk,” he said. “You walk in the lobby and there are pictures of the state championship team up there everywhere staring you in the face. You know what the expectation is here. We’re always going to honor the past. The things that happened here in the late 1980s and early 1990s, that is a once-in-a-lifetime thing that happens in a community. We honor those guys. I was proud to be a part of one of those teams. “It is not a slight to them.

We just can’t live on our history any more. Every year it is getting farther and farther in the rearview mirror. Every year we should be moving forward.” His hope is that, once the opening kickoff is in the air, the focus of the fans will shift to what the players are doing instead of what they are wearing. “I think by about halftime of the first game everyone will quit worrying about what color helmet we are wearing and start worrying about the scoreboard, especially if we are winning,” he said. The updated look got the two seals of approval most important to him. “The kids like it and my wife likes it,” McLean said with a smile.

Aug. 28, 2019

Bruins From Page 47

we tried to force things that weren’t there. They just have to understand that sometimes a sack isn’t the worst thing in the world. You don’t have to throw the ball down the field just because on that play you were supposed to throw the ball. Whoever protects the ball and runs the offense better is going to be the guy. Their athleticism is very, very similar to one another.” BACKFIELD Returning in the backfield is Camilletti, who was the Bruins leading ball carrier in 2018, when he totaled 300 yards on 84 carries and one touchdown. “It hs been tough sledding back there, but we have changed some concepts on offense to try and open some lanes for him.,” McLean said. Aaron Scipio, a junior, also is back to give McLean’s offense a one-two punch. “Having Aaron back is going to really help Max. We’re going to have two home run hitters back there,” he said. “The last few years we’ve had a big, fullback-type at one of the backs. But this year, if either one of those guys gets a little breathing room, they will go the distance. They both have the speed and the athleticism. We’re looking for big things out of both of them.” Doug Gabbert will be the fullback, while also in the mix for carries will

be Drake Hukill and Luke Secrist. RECEIVER/TIGHT END Bates is back to catch passes from the quarterback who emerges with the job and, according to his coach, is much improved. He caught 13 passes for 183 yards and one score last season. “He has done really well in passing scrimmages this year,” McLean said. “He has matured into the athletes we all thought he would be,” He’s not a very big guy ... but he has speed and he has some of the best hands I’ve seen since I’ve been here.” John George, one of the juniors, also returns. “He is fast, he has good ball skills, he caught some balls for us last year, so he’s bringing back some experience,” McLean said. Camilletti and Scipio also will play some receiver when not in the backfield, as McLean looks for versatility. “We’re trying to get guys to learn as many of the skills positions as they can,” he said. “We’ve put guys in different positions in passing scrimmages so they can learn as much as they can. If there is one thing I have learned in the last three years here is you have to be ready to move the chess peices around the board. The injuries that we have gone through ... we know that at some point, guys are going to end up in different

places on this team. That is the reality.” Curtis Leonard, also a junior, will be in line to start at tight end. “He’s probably not Tony Gonzalez, but he can run the routes and catch the ball. We want him to block more,” McLean said. “We’ve had our tight ends spend most of their time down in the hog pen.” Drew Stewart, another junior, will be at tight end, while Harris and/or Shorts can see time there if not at QB. OFFENSIVE LINE Williams returns for a fourth year starting on the Bruins offensive line at guard. Sam Casto, a junior tackle, is another player McLean has high hopes for. “I expect him to be, by mid-season and next year, to be a dominant offensive lineman in the Valley,” he said of Casto. “He’s got that work ethic and that attitude. He is probably what I would say is the leader of the offensive line.” As for the rest of the line, it’s a battle. “The one place we have numbers is up front. It is just going to be a matter of finding the eight — we want eight to play the five — so we’re going to work hard to find out who those other three starters are and who is going to provide the depth,” McLean said. “Every football game that has ever been played has been won in the trenches. Hope-

fully, we can put together eight guys that can get out here and bang with some of these bigger schools and open some lanes.” DEFENSIVE LINE Up front on the other side of the ball, Casto and Stewart will play defensive tackle, while Leonard and Gabbert will make up the ends. “We’re not going to be a team that can just post up and hold gaps. We’re going to have to shoot gaps and not miss tackles,” McLean said. “If I could correct anything about our team last year, it would be the missed tackles. We missed so many tackles that it was hard to watch at time, and a lot of that stems from lack of numbers. When you come out and bang every day, next thing you know you’ve got two guys sitting here with ice packs on themselves.” LINEBACKER Shorts and Secrist are in the mix at middle linebacker, while the outside backers are Hukill, Gabe Hudson, Brody McCombs and Joey Fuscardo. Expect those guys to move around. “We have some depth in the linebacker area, and that is one of those places where we are having to work guys two ways because we are thin in the secondary,” McLean said. “Some of those outside backers will take safety reps for us.”

SECONDARY Scipio, Bates, Camilletti and George will be the starting group at defensive back, but — much like the linebackers — their postions on the field could change as the season goes on. “We’re a little thin. We have five defensive backs we feel confident putting out there right now,” McLean said. “We’re moving the chess pieces around right now. One week you might be a Sam linebacker, the next you might be a strong safety.That is just the way we have got to be.” The overall key for the defense is simple — end drives when the chance is there to do so. “The key for the defense is getting off the field on third down,” McLean said. “We were in so many third and long situations last year, third and behind the sticks, and let them convert. You’re all hyped up on third down because you’ve got a team at third-and-15 and you let them get 16 yards, buddy that takes the air out of you so fast. You won the first two downs so impressively, and then the third down we let them convert. That takes a toll on you because one, you’re still out there, and two, it takes an emotional toll. “If we’re going to be successfu, we have to get off the field on third down. That all goes back to tackling.”

Looman From Page 90

Red will play three OVAC games. Big Red did have a nice rivalry going with Brooke. The teams played 10 games, with Steubenville winning them all, but that series was shut down a few seasons ago. There was the run with Wheeling Park, which ended with Big Red holding a 13-1

advantage in the series. It seemed like Big Red and St. Clairsville had a nice rivalry in the works, but the Red Devils said no mas after suffering two straight defeats. Of course, I remember the great Big Red rivalries of the past — those dreaded Tigers of Massillon, the Canton McKinley Bulldogs and the

Warren Harding Panthers. The days of the All-American Conference are long gone but not forgotten. Saccoccia’s 2019 club does have a playoff rival, Columbus DeSales, on its regular season schedule. Perhaps that game can become a fixture and develop into a decent rivalry.

Who knows? Maybe rivalry games are overrated. Regardless of the opponent, Big Red will draw plenty of fans to Harding Stadium and will be well-supported on the road. However, there is something special about game night when the home team hits the field to test a rival.

Big Red just might be a victim of its own success. I’m sure its tradition of excellence scares away a team or two, or three. Perhaps the time will come again when one or two games on the regular season schedule can return fans to days gone by when rivalries were commonplace.

Aug. 28, 2019

Ohio Valley Football

STATS 2018 FOOTBALL STATISTICS

September 21st & 22nd

TEAM OFFENSE Team Games RYDs PYDs Total Avg Points Avg Big Red 10 2916 981 3897 389.70 362 36.20 C. Central 10 2730 1005 3735 373.50 333 33.30 Weir 10 2218 1208 3426 342.60 358 35.80 H. Central 10 1623 1662 3285 328.50 227 22.70 Oak Glen 10 1509 1761 3270 327.00 280 28.00 Indian Creek 10 1956 1122 3078 307.80 279 27.90 Edison 10 1351 1506 2857 285.70 236 23.60 Toronto 10 1481 1088 2569 256.90 207 20.70 Madonna 10 1487 889 2376 237.60 171 17.10 Brooke 10 453 1158 1611 161.10 114 11.40 B. Local 10 416 858 1274 127.40 93 9.30 TEAM DEFENSE Team Games RYDs PYDs Total Avg Points Avg Big Red 10 747 1585 2332 233.20 184 18.40 Indian Cr. 10 1063 1341 2404 240.40 147 14.70 C. Central 10 1393 1126 2519 251.90 180 18.00 Weir 10 1418 1217 2635 263.50 215 21.50 Toronto 10 1686 997 2683 268.30 234 23.40 Madonna 10 1827 1208 3035 303.50 342 34.20 Oak Glen 10 2034 1006 3040 304.00 295 29.50 Edison 10 2079 1080 3159 315.90 273 27.30 H. Central 10 2480 850 3330 333.00 293 29.30 B. Local 10 2395 1210 3605 360.50 382 38.20 Brooke 10 2737 1442 4179 417.90 451 45.10 RUSHING Player - Team Att Tayveon Crawford - Big Red 155 Donavan Kirby - Weir High 174 Justin Hartzell - C. Central 157 Trevor Fante - Indian Creek 170 Tyler West - H. Central 92 Gavin Dietrich - Madonna 172 Kaleb Waggoner - Edison 131 Thomas Sessi - Madonna 134 Jayden Keeder - C. Central 95 Tucker Coultrap - H. Central 95 Gage Patterson - Oak Glen 48 Paxton Shuman - Oak Glen 111 Caleb Mitchell - Big Red 91 Jeffrey Dawson - C. Central 72 Anthony Sinicropi - Edison 115 Kobe Herrick - Toronto 98 Sebastian Spencer - Weir 62 Garrett Dozier - Toronto 57 Matt Schaefer - I. Creek 73 Jaziah Blackwell - Big Red 36 Zach Stackhouse - Toronto 43 Max Camilletti - Brooke 84 Nate Karaffa - Toronto 40 Noah Fayak - C. Central 35 Sam Mazar - Indian Creek 89

Yds 1414 1312 1110 1015 806 704 701 699 643 536 507 464 460 429 422 386 385 361 360 357 302 300 297 296 253

Avg 9.12 7.54 7.07 5.97 8.76 4.09 5.35 5.22 6.77 5.64 10.56 4.18 5.05 5.96 3.67 3.94 6.21 6.33 4.93 9.92 7.02 3.57 7.43 8.46 2.84

TD 14 21 16 12 9 9 10 7 6 3 4 2 9 8 6 4 6 2 5 7 3 1 4 1 5

Aug. 28, 2019

Ohio Valley Football

STATS 2018 FOOTBALL STATISTICS

Player - Team Chaney - O. Glen Mitchell - H. Central Sinicropi - Edison Mazar - I. Creek Hartzell - C. Central Criss - Big Red Richardson - B. Lo. Yost - Brooke Spencer - Weir High Karaffa - Toronto Arlia - Madonna Leasure - Toronto

PASSING Att Comp Comp% 267 116 43.45% 194 118 60.82% 216 125 57.87% 148 72 48.65% 142 66 46.48% 92 57 61.96% 192 94 48.96% 155 59 38.06% 128 59 46.09% 66 33 50.00% 114 48 42.11% 93 46 49.46%

Yds TD 1762 23 1665 17 1362 14 1043 8 1005 9 868 8 867 6 856 6 679 5 587 7 504 4 422 3

Int 12 7 13 8 10 5 12 7 6 1 11 6

RECEIVING Player - Team Rec Sessi - Madonna 41 Patterson - Oak Glen 36 McAfoose - Edison 35 West - Harrison Central 34 Dalton - Harrison Central 32 McCoy - Weir High 32 Woods - Edison 28 Stackhouse - Toronto 28 Christian - Buckeye Local 26 Mamula - Indian Creek 26 Taylor - Oak Glen 24 Palmer - Buckeye Local 23 Dietrich - Madonna 23 Travis - Oak Glen 23 Reitter - Weir High 19

Yds 477 378 404 654 484 341 300 424 318 477 524 210 278 366 220

Avg 11.63 10.50 11.54 19.24 15.13 10.66 10.71 15.14 12.23 18.35 21.83 9.13 12.09 15.91 11.58

TD 5 4 2 12 2 2 7 4 2 3 11 1 2 2 1

SCORING Player - Team Donavan Kirby - Weir High Tyler West - Harrison Central Justin Hartzell - Catholic Central Tayveon Crawford - Big Red Trevor Fante - Indian Creek Sebastian Spencer - Weir High Gavin Dietrich - Madonna Kaleb Waggoner - Edison Zach Taylor - Oak Glen Thomas Sessi - Madonna Caleb Mitchell - Big Red Jeffrey Dawson - Catholic Central Zach Stackhouse - Toronto Erik Lulla - Big Red Noah Woods - Edison Jaziah Blackwell - Big Red Jayden Keeder - Catholic Central Anthony Sinicropi - Edison Brandon Fleming - - Indian Creek Gage Patterson - Oak Glen

TDs 2-Pt 132 126 96 90 4 78 6 78 2 66 4 66 2 66 60 2 54 54 42 8 48 48 42 36 36 36 36

Total 132 126 96 94 84 80 70 68 66 62 54 54 50 48 48 42 36 36 36 36

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Aug. 28, 2019

Red Riders From Page 21

er, along with Walters or Cummins. D’Amico also is in the mix. The outside linebackers are named “Sam” for the strong side and “Rover” for the weak side in Filberto’s system. McUmar will move from Rover to Sam, with DiMatteis and Kelly behind him. Nosco, DiMatteis and McUmar are listed as depth at the Rover position. SECONDARY In the secondary, Filberto will have Spencer at one corner with Gillette, Wypasek and Yobaggy battling to be the starter on the other side. Gage Reitter moves into the free safety slot that belonged to his

brother, Reed, the last two years. Filberto said Spencer and Wypasek can move to safety when needed. “Sebastian Spencer is being recruited by at least 10 Division I colleges, including Army, Air Force, Kent State, Youngstown State and Miami of Ohio,” Filberto said. “He’ll be a weapon for us that we plan to use in a different way this year. He went to several football camps this summer, and he was the fastest runner in all of them. Speed is the first thing that college coaches look at when recruiting.” SPECIAL TEAMS Reitter also replaces his brother as the Weir High

kicker. Like Reed, he’ll do all the kicking. “We have some big names from last year to replace, but I think we have sufficient talent to do that,” Filberto said. “We probably have the most athletic offensive line that we’ve had in a long time. We’ll be different, especially with our offense. I have all the confidence in the world that Anthony DiMatteis will be able to direct this team at quarterback. “Then, we have seven starters returning on defense. We have good size up front and all are good athletes. We have as tough a schedule as there is in Class AA this year. We have seven teams on the schedule that made

the playoffs last year. We have added John Marshall, Plum and Frankfort to what already was a first-class schedule. Filberto said one of the biggest surprises he’s had in the early practice sessions is the emergence of Wypasek. “He fractured his leg severely in a game two years ago, which was his sophomore year,” Filberto said. “He sat out all of last year, and he’s back as a senior with maturity. He has filled out and still has his speed. I’m so happy about the way he has worked his way back, and I think he’s going to come on this year and be a standout.” Tom Taylor, Gerard

Spencer, Dave Cowden, Frank Sisinni and Troy Fetty are returning to Filberto’s coaching staff. Zak Hartman and T.J. Miller are newcomers. “Ever since I returned to Weir High in 2012, I have preached that you don’t get better by playing teams that aren’t as good or better than we are,” Filberto said. “Some people think I’m crazy to feel that way, and maybe last year it cost us because we were 8-2 and ended up the 12th seed, while some other teams played a lot lesser talent and finished in the top 10. Well, we beat two of those top 10 teams in the first two rounds of the playoffs.”

“It makes it easier because you’ve been there and done it. Nothing really phases you after a while. The competitiveness comes from playing multiple sports. If you’re playing sports, you should always want to win. You should never want to be second. You should want to be the best at everything you do.” That time with his athletic family also is something Mitchell credits for his motivation. “It motivates me a lot. Brandon was two-time All-Ohioan, and he had a playoff appearence,” he said. “I have to hear about that all the time at our house. It just drives me to be better.” Hayes also does not want anyone to overlook Mitchell’s ability on the other side of the ball. As good as he is as a quarterback, he also is talented as a defensive back. “He is always overlooked as a defensive back. He is, in my opinion, one of the, if not the best defensive back in the Valley,” Hayes said. “Of the teams that I’ve seen, he is phenomenal

back there for us. That gets overlooked because of his skills at quarterback. He is just a well-rounded player that gives his best effort every day.” And, as good of a player as he is, it’s the person that is what makes Mitchell special to his coach. “He is a man of high character. He is excellent in the classroom. He is a good, good member of the community. He is a great friend to so many kids. Those thing go above and beyond just being an athlete,” Hayes said. “I feel like whenever you are in tune with those aspects of life, it usually carries over into sports, and it ends up showing itself through the team. For me as a coach, I love it. I love coaching that kind of young man like him. “It makes it a lot easier to sell the point to the rest of the team when you can look over and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got the best athlete in the Valley right now, and he doesn’t care about himself or his accolades.’ He knows about his accolades, everyone knows about that, but I’ve never heard him

talk about a single accolade or personal stat in any sport since I’ve known him. He cares about winning, and that is infectious. When you look at our youth in the community and they get to follow him as their example, I can’t imagine any parent that wouldn’t be proud to have their son follow in the footsteps of him.” It is that dedication to winning and team-first mentality that set Mitchell’s goals for the upcoming season. “It was all right, but I feel like I can still do better,” he said of last season. “It’s all about the team and wins and losses. It’s not about me, it’s about the team. The goal is the playoffs, just the playoffs.” Hayes, for one, loves that mindset. “To me, that’s great to hear. That is what we’re building toward as a program,” he said. “Being unselfish, placing others above yourself, understanding that the decisions you make and choices you make affect someone other than yourself. We need that out of a young man like Kobe.”

Shine From Page 70

per game and prompting the high praise of several area coaches. He’s also a key piece of the Harrison Central baseball team. “It’s enjoyable for me to coach a multi-sport athlete like Kobe. He is arguably the best, or one of the best, athletes in the Valley,” Hayes said. “To have him play three sports is great for us as a school. I love it because he is competing year-round, which makes us better come football season.

He has accolades in all three sports, and they are all earned. I very seldom see him without some type of ball in his hand. Whether its a basketball, a football or a baseball, he’s always doing something, and that is from the time he was a little kid up until now. I see him in the yard always throwing with his brothers and his dad. I think that all those years of competing and working hard have certainly paid off for him.

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100

Aug. 28, 2019

Huskies From Page 71

to catch his passes is important — and the Huskies have several. If Mitchell decides to go to a tight end, he has a big target in 6-foot-4 senior Jon Vermillion and sophomore Nathan Bertolino. Any and all of the running backs can and will be utilized as receivers when not in the backfield, in addition to junior Kanyon Coleman. OFFENSIVE LINE Hayes’ group of big guys up front aren’t all the big, but what they do bring is a lot of athleticism and speed. Senior Haden Stull is back at center, while the rest of the group will be made up of a combination of senior Mark Smith, junior Ron Pauley, senior John Dannehl, senior Heath Pizzino and senior Bryce Wade. “We’ve got some linemen that can run up front. Our guards are really quick,” Hayes said. “We’re not real big, but everyone single one of our kids can move. We like that idea of that. We laugh and say if you can play running back, you can play line. We’re not real deep, but we have six or seven guys we feel comfortable with to do a good job.” DEFENSIVE LINE Flipping over to the defensive side of the ball and not much changes up front. In fact, nothing does as the same group of players who make up the offensive line will bring their athleticism to the defensive front.

“Our goals never change. Our first goal is to win our conference, second goal is to host a playoff game — we’ve never hosted a playoff game here — and the third goal is to win a state championship.” — Anthony Hayes LINEBACKER Another area of the team Hayes is especially excited about is the linebacking group. It is led by Coultrap, who led the team in tackles a season ago. Joining him are McAfee and Pizzino. “We have a good, strong linebacking corps. We feel really, really good about it,” he said. “Those guys have all been tested, and they have proven themselves.” SECONDARY While Mitchell is well-known for his abilities at quarterback, his ability on the defensive side of the ball is equally as good. He will be the Huskies’ shutdown corner on the outside. “He’s an outstanding corner. It’s nice to be able to lock him on another team’s best receiver and say we’ll take him out of the game,” Hayes said. “We’ve been blessed here with outstanding defensive backs.” Trevor Carman will assume the other corner position. Arik Carman, Coleman and Nunez are expected to battle for the two safety positions, as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS Hayes’ plan for a kicker and/or punter is the same as it has been at Harrison Central — bring in a soccer guy. If that is unsuccessful, some of the Huskies’ skill players have been working on their kicking ability during the offseason to step into the role, which truly was anyone’s job for the taking going into the last month before kickoff. While those are the potential starters, don’t be surprised — in fact, expect — to see some young guys come out of nowhere to get playing time. Hayes and the coaching staff have been working hard to get as many of them ready to see valuable time as possible. “We’re getting a lot of the young kids work. We want everyone to be ready,” he said. “The returning starters we have are getting the same reps as the incoming freshmen. We’re going to make sure our young kids are ready to go, and we have to do justice by them making sure they are mentally and physically prepared.” The Huskies’ schedule looks a little different this year with more emphasis on local competition.

Outside of its opener, the rest of the schedule is comprised of teams from the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference, including some old rivals fans in Cadiz haven’t seen in a few years. “I like our schedule. We have nine of the 10 games against OVAC schools, and I love that,” Hayes said. “Our only non-OVAC school is Garaway, which is is a fantasic program that has been a perenial playoff power for several years. Toronto is back on the schedule in Week 2. That is an old rivalry game that dates back to pre-Harrison Central. Catholic Central is on there in Week 7, so that gives us an opportunity to travel to Harding Stadium and play there. That is a fantastic atmosphere for football and another storied program. Indian Creek is back on the schedule, and this is one of the best teams they’ve had in a long time. We’re looking forward to the challenge.” As much of a challenge as the schedule is going to be, the team’s goals are set high — and that is the only way Hayes wants it. “Our goals never change. Our first goal is to win our conference, second goal is to host a playoff game — we’ve never hosted a playoff game here — and the third goal is to win a state championship,” he said. “I don’t make predictions, I just say those are what our goals are. I can’t imagine setting any goal lower than that. I don’t know why you would. Personally, I wouldn’t. “

Offseason From Page 29

lot of people to thank. “I received support from a great number of people, and I’m truly thankful,” he said. “My family, people in my neighborhood, teammates like Lucky Pulice and Gavin Dietrich and others contacted me every day. I have a special friend in Carlo Serafini. We played together and were best friends in grade school before he moved away to New Philadelphia. He plays football at Tusky Central, a former Blue Don opponent. He came back to Weirton and stayed with

me for two weeks. That helped me a lot. “I want to prove to all those people that supported me through this that they didn’t make a mistake in pulling for me. I want to be better than last year.” Sessi’s coach, Darrin Hicks, wasn’t surprised when he learned that doctors released Sessi to play football on July 10, just five months after the injury. “I think Thomas is a tough kid, both physically and mentally,” Hicks said. “There obviously was a

good amount of physical pain he had to go through to get back, but I think it is the mental part of it that separates him from others. I think there are a lot of people that perhaps could not come back from this type of injury at all. He’s really thrived over the past couple of months to get himself back to where he’s at right now. “The first thought that ran through my mind when I learned he had been injured was is he going to be OK. His health is bigger than any sport. How was

he going to recover? How is he going to be throughout his life? It never really crossed my mind about sports now.” It will be a plus for Sessi and Madonna football if he can come close to performances like he had against Beallsville last year. He put his name up there with the greats who have worn the Blue Don uniform, amassing 449 total yards. He ran the ball 31 times for 234 yards and a touchdown, caught eight passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns and added a 75-yard kick-

off return for another score. He scored four of the six Madonna touchdowns in the 40-20 victory. For his teammates, coaches and the Madonna fans, it will be special that Sessi can be on the football field in 2019. “He’s a tremendous athlete,” Hicks said. “He plays all three of the main sports and plays them all at a high level. He had a breakout season for us in football last year, so we expect him to be someone we can build upon this upcoming season.”

Aug. 28, 2019

101

1984 From Page 84

were fortunate enough to get the game into overtime.” In overtime, Whitehall moved from Big Red’s 20 to the 5, before settling for a field goal to go up 9-6. Steubenville relied on its running game once it got the pigskin in OT. Three carries by Kelley put the ball at the Whitehall 4. Young plowed his way to the 1. After Nodianos was stopped on a sneak, Johnson took a handoff, put his head down and snaked through the defenders and into the end zone for the game-winner. “Playing Whitehall in the championship game was like playing in a mirror,” Saccoccia said. “They were so much like us. They were

a running team and used some play action pass. “Whitehall was a hell of a football team. Our kids just wanted it a little more than theirs did that day. After they kicked the field goal, I told our kids not to worry. All they had to worry about was moving the ball 20 yards against 11 people.” Saccoccia’s first state championship was made even sweeter by the fact that he coached many of the players on the 1984 team while he was at Harding. “I had the seniors as sixth-, seventh- and eighthgrade players,” he said. “I was a varsity assistant when they were freshmen and sophomores, then I

took over when they were juniors. That was a great bunch of guys to start my career with. “I learned a lot about coaching while I was at Harding. One of the things I learned was perseverance. This group played with perseverance and intensity.” When looking back at the championship season, Saccoccia admits one of his favorite memories was the preseason. “That preseason was one of the last of the good old days,” he said. “We worked them pretty hard back then during the preseason.” The championship team will have its 35th reunion when Big Red entertains

New Philadelphia on Sept. 20. The No. 84 is one that always will have special meaning for Saccoccia. “I used to wear number 84 in high school, so I figured 1984 was our year,” he said. “It’s a pretty good number.” Members of the 1984 team were: Fred Wise; Jim Barren; John Murray; Todd Kelly; Anthony Jackson; Mike Corsi; Steve Lucas; Rick Anderson; Mark Tomeucci; Charles Keenan; Bob Andreen; John Sandonas; Albert Dawson; Terry Minto; Matt Morrison; Dave Kromalic; Charles Lytle; Julius Shackleford; Dan Wise; Steve Nodianos;

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Off The Field Talk What some local players say about life off of the field ...

Hunter RUSSSELL Edison

Arik CARMEN Harrison

Aaron SCIPIO Brooke

Shane KEENAN Toronto

Luke ANDERSON CCHS

Zak WYPASEK Weir

Seth MOZINGO Oak Glen

Favorite athlete?

Odell Beckham

Emmit Smith

LeBron James

Malik Zaire

JuJu

Favorite place in the world?

Outside

Mexico

Where the water is

Siesta Key

Pittsburgh

Beach

California

What is your dream job?

Coach

Electrical lineman

Physical therapist

NFL player

Business mogul

Therapist

Somethingthat makesmoney

Favorite (clean) word(s)?

Football

Darn it

Slime

Apple

Monotonous

Weir

Homo erectus

Favorite APP?

Snapchat

Instagram

Snapchat

Castle Wreck

Snapchat

Instagram

Favorite outdoor activity?

Hunting

Atlanta Falcons

Fishing

Football

Ultimate Frisbee

Football

Anything fun

Angelo QUATTROCHI Madonna

Roger GABBERT Brooke

Tyler DONAHUE Buckeye Local

Ethan MICK Oak Glen

Sam BAKSA Indian Creek

Vinnie MARCINO Edison

James BROOKS Harrison

Favorite team (college or pro)?

Colts

Dallas Cowboys

Cleveland Browns

Ohio State

Cleveland Browns

New Orleans Saints

Ohio State

Favorite food or meal?

Steak

Chicken Alfredo

Pizza

Spaghetti

Chicken Alfredo

Wings

Pizza

Favorite role model?

My parents

Drew Brees

LeBron James

Ted Arneault

Coach Connor

Dad

LeBron James

Favorite APP?

Spotify

Instagram

Snapchat

Favorite superhero?

Flash

Black Panther

Superman

Flash

Scuba Steve

Captain American

Superman

What was the last book you read?

Dakota

The Glass Castle

Hamlet

Of Mice and Men

Harry Potter

Playbook

To Kill a Mockingbird

What some local players say about life off of the field ...

Aug. 28, 2019

103

Emergency From Page 89

“We thought, ‘Can Caleb Leasure do this? Can Caleb go from the not-goingto-play kid to being the starting quarterback as a sophomore?’ It was big shoes to fill, especially for a kid coming off surgery and who’s learning a new offense,” Franke said. “We decided that it was probably best for our team to put Caleb at quarterback and to have Stackhouse out as the outside receiver.” Leasure’s first career start was a 36-0 road victory against Bridgeport (Ohio) on Aug. 31. Leasure completed five passes on 10 attempts for 55 yards and a touchdown, a 24-yard strike to Jesse Fulton. “We watched film on Saturday after the Central game. Coach Franke talked to me and Stackhouse and said he wanted to try something new since Zach is more of a running quarterback, and I’m more of a pocket passer,” Leasure said. “We tried it in Week 2 against Bridgeport and got the win. “I was excited but also a little bit nervous because it would be my first start in a high school game. But, I feel like I pulled through and got the job done. Coach Franke told me I acted more mature than he thought I would.”

Leasure got the call for the next four weeks, going 1-3 but showed progress. Edison squeaked out a 25-24 victory on Sept. 7. Leasure threw for 27 yards and a touchdown on 4-of-8 passing. There wasn’t much he or his team could do against a strong Southern Local squad, losing 43-14 the following game. He finished 7-of-17 for 43 yards and another score. Leasure then had his best performance that resulted in a 28-14 victory over Leetonia in a span of two days because of inclement weather. He completed 10 passes on 14 attempts for 122 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The game was suspended at 8:34 p.m. on Sept. 21 and was resumed at 1 p.m. the following day. Against Columbiana on Sept. 28 on the road, Leasure got a bigger role. He was 15-of-35 for 175 yards, nine of those completions and 94 yards to Stackhouse. The Clippers, only leading by six at halftime, won 28-0. It would mark Leasure’s final start of 2018, but not because of poor play. Karaffa was healthy enough to return and started the final four games, breaking school passing records along the way.

“We knew this wasn’t the end of Caleb Leasure — this was just the beginning,” Franke said. Leasure did not always stand on the sideline to close out his sophomore campaign. After Karaffa’s first series on Oct. 5 at Lisbon, Leasure led the offense on the second. He later finished the game during a 19-0 victory. “I was glad for him to come back because I know how much he likes football,” Leasure said about Karaffa. “I was still there if he needed to come out. That was his last year, and I have two more after, so I was happy for him to come back.” Leasure also had a say on special teams, as he was the long snapper. He didn’t pick the position up after Karaffa’s return. He was the long snapper all season, even though he was only 135 pounds. “I don’t know. I guess I was the only one who could do it,” he said. “I guess it’s just a hidden talent. I was the only one getting it back there every time during practice. It was probably weird for the opposing teams to watch me long snap.” Leasure finished last season 46-of-93 for 422 yards, three touchdowns

and six picks. Karaffa was 33-of-66 for 587 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. “The original plan was for me to be on the sideline and get a feel of the offense to get ready for this year. I ended up going out and starting,” Leasure said. “It went fast, probably faster than you would think. It was nice because it got me a lot of experience for this year, definitely.” Without the 422 yards, the 46 completions, Karaffa spraining his MCL and his parents’ and coach’s influence, Toronto would not be as confident this season as it is now. Stackhouse would most likely be in position to be the starting quarterback come Week 1 against Wellsville. Leasure might have to start the following week and learn the system. The Red Knights would probably struggle finding the right quarterback. Those questions were already answered. The questions this year are how far can Leasure take Toronto? How much has he improved from last season? What would have happened if he had taken last year off? In case of an emergency, let Leasure do his thing. “You always hate to see

kids get hurt, especially somebody like Karaffa. But, at the same time, it prepared us so much more for this year,” Franke said. “Quarterback is the hardest position in any sport. You can’t simulate what they do in practice. Going into this season, I look at it as us having our starting quarterback returning. We’ve already seen this season during practices a different type of kid then what started last year. He has command of the offense. He’s telling guys where to go. He’s filling the leadership role, which I don’t think he would have if he didn’t have that experience from last year. “It’s progressed this year to where I’m excited to see what type of season he’s going to have. We started weekly quarterback schools in January on Sunday nights. Along with others at the varsity level and those below him, we go through mechanics, progression and different things like that. He was at every single one until May. Through these 7-on7s early on — and we’ve faced some really good competition — he has full command of the offense. He’s making throws that not even I thought he’d be able to make.”

because of how far they are removed. In my opinion, we belong in AA.” Going back to rivalries in general, in-state or crossstate, schools definitely can have smaller rivalries. Just take Edison’s schedule as an example. Every week is some type of a rivalry, even if it’s just proximity reasons. The farthest the Wildcats travel this year is to Beaver Local. “When you look at teams in terms of proximity, we pretty much have all of that

on our schedule,” O’Brien said. “We just play a really tight radius of teams, so every game’s going to feel like a rivalry.” Then there’s a school like Steubenville, which faces none of the Herald-Star/ Daily Times coverage area squads. But, that doesn’t mean Big Red has no rivals. “Both Dover and New Philadelphia are on our schedule this year and, without question, they have become rivals of ours,” Saccoccia said. “Then, you

take a team from the past in Columbus De Sales, which we play on the road. We’ve had some great games with them. Right there are three games where we will need to be at the top of our game and be ready to compete for 48 minutes.” No matter how long it takes, newer rivalries could be brewing before everybody’s eyes for many reasons. If Buckeye Local can finally snap its long losing streak, maybe there’s potential against Edison or Indian

Creek. The same could be said about Catholic Central and Edison, or Toronto and Harrison Central. A new rivalry that would be intensified immediately would be Brooke against Oak Glen, if the schools can eventually schedule one another. “I would love to add Brooke,” Arneault said. “They’re a AAA school, so those points would be huge. It just didn’t work out with the schedule this past year See RIVALRIES Page 108

Rivalries From Page 80

and Wheeling Park, there’s not a lot from around this area that would be considered rivalries. I would like for us to have more area rivalries but, until the WVSSAC doesn’t consider us a big school anymore, I’ve got to play AAA schools. “There’s nothing wrong with those games, but they don’t bring crowds. Because our schedule is set up the way it is, no matter how our season’s going, there’ll probably be a lot of empty seats in the visitors bleachers

104

Aug. 28, 2019

Cox From Page 8

the Ohio Valley. The teams that I cover most are Weir High and Madonna. So, selecting rivals of those teams was easy. What would a high school season be in any sport without the Red Riders playing Brooke and Oak Glen, or the Blue Dons going against Wheeling Central? I’m sure there still are rivals in the classrooms and among the boys and girls, too. I first turned to my trusty old Funk & Wagnalls College Standard Dictionary, which has copyright dates of 1947, 1950 and 1953. Outdated, maybe, but still good enough to have definitions for the word “rival” that we all pretty much know. It says that “rival” used as a noun is: “1. One who strives to equal or excel another or is in pursuit of the same object as another, a competitor. 2. One equaling or nearly equaling another, in any respect. 3. An associate, or companion in office.” That last one is intriguing to me because I was in the office atmosphere my entire working career (except for some summer work after high school). But, we’re talking about sports here and, specifically, about high school sports. I am an alumnus of Steubenville High School (Class of 1958). I didn’t play football. One of my fondest memories is of the old-fashioned bonfires at Belleview Park with cheers led, of course, by the cheerleaders. The most fun, though, were the parades and snake dances from there up Brady Avenue and down Market Street to the school led by the Big Red marching band and cheerleaders. Great

times and great memories. Those were held when the Big Red football team played the likes of Catholic Central and sometimes with other teams like Massillon, Canton McKinley or Warren Harding. I haven’t been to a high school bonfire since the days of the great Madonna state championship team in 2013. Guess they are pretty much things of the past. Too bad. They were good ways to get the teams, students and even adult fans revved up before a big game. When I think of rivalries, somehow it seems that those games ought to be close. Or, at least, in the series of games between rivalries one would think the number of wins by each team would be close. Those are the games we remember, as well as the ones where a team makes a big comeback to snatch a victory from defeat. Close games, though, are rare. The games definitely are competitive, at least early in the games when the adrenalin is still running high. Despite pep rallies and perhaps bonfires, the Red Riders haven’t fared very well in the 49-year history of the rivalry with Brooke. Prior to 1969, when the three high schools in Brooke County merged to form Brooke High School, the Red Riders dominated the local gridirons. Way back, the Riders played Follansbee and Wellsburg annually. I suppose those were rivalries, too, along with games against New Cumberland and Chester. From 1924 to 1968, Weir and Follansbee met 42 times on the football

field, with the Red Riders holding a 30-10 margin of victories. Two games ended in ties (both were by 0-0 scores in 1925 and 1962), and there were two years they didn’t play (1937 and 1940). The Red Riders dominated the series with Wellsburg even more. That series also began in 1924, with Weir High scoring wins in 28 of the games. The Colts earned three wins and there was one 0-0 draw in 1931. The teams didn’t play in 1928, ‘29 or ‘30 and met twice in 1955. Weir High didn’t play Bethany, the other Brooke County school in the merger. Weir High played Hancock County rivals New Cumberland, Newell and Chester, the three schools that merged to form Oak Glen in 1963, only during the 1920s and early 1930s. There were only 22 games between them, with the Red Riders winning 16 of them. But, when Oak Glen was formed, the rivalry heated up because Weir High then had another county school that also was large enough to compete in Class AAA, West Virginia’s division for schools with the largest enrollment. The series with the Golden Bears began in 1965. They have played 54 games, with the Red Riders dominating the series, winning 38 times to 16 for the Golden Bears. Without a doubt, each year when these rivalry games came up on the schedule, there were pep rallies (maybe some bonfires with snake dances) and plenty of good conversations among parents and fans. Perhaps there were a few friendly bets among

co-workers, companions and even within some households leading up to the Friday night matchups. And, there will be again this year. Madonna hasn’t fared very well in their games with Wheeling Central. Unfortunately, I don’t have statistics about those matchups, but Blue Don victories when playing the Maroon Knights (not only on the gridiron, but in almost every sport) are far and few between. I can be somewhat dangerous when I begin thinking. It came to my mind that, at least in football, why isn’t every game a rivalry? After all, teams play only 10 regular season games. I know coaches and players pore over film and scouting reports weekly regardless of the name of the opponent. I also know that coaches work hard each week getting their players prepared for each game. By game time, they want the adrenalin flowing in those games, too. Sure, it must be easier to get the team excited about playing against a neighborhood team. I know my gang of teenagers didn’t have any trouble being revved up for our Sunday afternoon neighborhood rivalry games. I talk to Weir High coach Tony Filberto each week, getting information for the preview stories that appear in the Thursday football section. I can denote a sense of excitement when I’m talking to him about the first game of the regular season and the last. Those are against Oak Glen and Brooke. Each year in those pre-game interviews, I always ask Tony the same

question about getting his team “up” for the two neighborhood rivals. His reply each year is basically the same: “That’s the way I like it. I love rivalries. That’s the way high school football should be.” Unfortunately, local teams, particularly in West Virginia, have to schedule teams from other parts of the state because there just aren’t enough around any more with comparable student body sizes. Some of those end up becoming rivalries, but not the same as when local teams meet. Madonna’s football team doesn’t have many rivalries anymore, either. Class A teams that are reasonably close like Cameron, Paden City and Valley decided to sever relations when the Blue Dons had that incredible run of victories from 1997-2013. Cameron is back on the schedule this year. Madonna dominated the series with those teams. So, Darrin Hicks has to get his team up for the likes of Carrick, Pa., Strasburg-Franklin, Vienna Matthews, Clarksburg Notre Dame, Beallsville and Conotton Valley. The Blue Dons have developed some sort of rivalry with Bridgeport (Ohio), Catholic Central and Toronto. And, the games with Notre Dame could be considered rivalries because of the connection with both being in the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese. All that being said, I still think it would be best if all those area football players and coaches went into each week with the notion that each team on the schedule is a rival. Here’s hoping it turns out that way.

but you know it could be their last shot to finish the season and maybe their careers with a success-

ful memory. People will never forget if Buckeye Local ends its losing streak against a team like

Harrison Central. Can you imagine if Brooke is winless again going into the Week 10 matchup with

Weir? Pandemonium will ensue, and rightfully so. All rivalries should have

pandemonium results and reactions. Without it, why even watch sports in the first place?

Catullo

From Page 92

Aug. 28, 2019

105

Den From Page 58

until there’s nothing left to fight for.” In retrospect, more snaps and playing time helped mold Chaney into what he is today. Yes, his freshman season did not go as planned, but he finished as one of the top QBs in the Herald-Star/Daily Times coverage area. “Not very good,” Chaney said regarding how his freshman season went. “We only went 2-8.” Among starting quarterbacks, Chaney finished second with 1,593 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. That’s the good news. The bad news is he finished last with a 42.15 completion percentage and second worst in interceptions (11). “The plan essentially was to evaluate, as the season progressed, which quarterback would emerge as the better fit for our system,” Arneault said. “At the time, I felt Hunter had the experience and the game-managing skills. Nick was still a little immature, even though Nick was maybe a little more physically developed. Even as an eighth-grader becoming a freshman, he was very well developed. I was anxious to see both of them play and to see who would emerge, whether it was a tandem of both playing or one or the other emerging as our starter.” Chaney’s sophomore season was a big step forward. His completion percentage still ranked low at 43.45 percent, and he had 12 passes intercepted but thew for an area-best 1,762 yards and 23 touchdowns. He finished third with with 116 completions and led with 267 attempts. Oh, and he’s one of the main reasons Oak Glen finished at 5-5, including a 3-2 mark in the second half of the campaign. With half of his high school career already done, the second part could be even more special, espe-

cially if his right knee gets to 100 percent. Helping himself take unneeded pressure off, Chaney dropped 41 pounds in the offseason and weighed in at 212 in late July. “We encouraged him to lose weight, and that’s something where we sat down with him this offseason,” Arneault said. “We weighed everybody and set six-week goals with measurements in between. If they didn’t meet their goal, we challenged them to meet it in the next six weeks. That’s something I was continuously on Nick for, not to lose a bunch of weight but to get to a point he can be more comfortable at to be athletic and move in the pocket. We’re not looking to run the option with him or anything like that, but we want him to have pocket mobility. He has taken the emphasis on himself to get where he needs to be. “I’m actually surprised he said he’s at 212 pounds because we set the goal for 215. As long as he feels good and his body is able to do what is necessary for our offense, that’s fine with me. He was one of a few kids we encouraged to lose weight this year. Most of the kids were in the gaining area, and those kids did just as well as Nick did from the gaining perspective.” There is no specific diet or secret for dropping down. He just winged it and became more active. Along with knee problems, Chaney began noticing back problems. Not anymore, but it doesn’t mean he’s adding speed or rushing to his game. Mobility is the No. 1 goal in becoming better. “It’s more about mobility than scrambling. That added mobility will help him move around the pocket to read the field properly,” Arneault said. More mobility could

result in less incompletions, maybe a few extra rushing yards, too. However, even with the new skill, Chaney won’t have a talented big tight end in Travis anymore, so he’ll have to look elsewhere. In 2017, when Chaney was a freshman, Travis hauled in 29 passes for 563 yards and four scores. Last year, Travis’ final season, he caught 23 passes for 366 yards and two scores. His numbers decreased, but that’s because Chaney read defenses better and found others, while Travis became a better blocker. “Without him, our skill positions would be different,” Chaney said. “A lot of times as a freshman, I didn’t know where to throw the ball. I knew I could always throw it to Ethan. It would have been a lot different without him because I don’t know who else we

could have stuck in there. “It is tough (not having Travis), but Zach (Taylor) can do what he does. He’s not as big as Ethan, but he’s a little faster. With Ethan, you just want to throw it straight up in the air. Opponents can’t key on any one receiver like they did in my freshman year like they did on Ethan. We can even run it more now. We just have too many weapons this year.” In terms of receptions, Travis ranked tied for 12th in the area. Hunter Patterson was second with 36, Taylor 11th with 24 and Gage Patterson tied for 16th with 18. Michael Lemley hauled in eight, one year after posting 26. “I try to spread the ball as much as I can,” Chaney said. “I got Zach Taylor on the outside who is a jumpball threat. Hunter and Gage Patterson, they’re just studs

in the middle. Whoever we put out at wide, whether it’ll be Michael Lemley or Paxton Brown, both can catch the ball and run routes.” Chaney begins his junior campaign essentially the same as his freshman season, with a home game against arch-rival Weir. The main difference is that, well, there are too many to count. “We just got more physical, a better understanding of the game and better all around,” Chaney said. “We’ll be able to run it more like we did at the end of last year as opposed to the first half. That helped us out in the passing game because they had to respect our run. It’ll help us out a lot again this year because our offensive goal is to rush for 2,500 yards, which See DEN Page 108

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Aug. 28, 2019

Kettlewell From Page 38

to cancel games underneath the varsity level to try and get the field ready for Friday nights so the officials don’t come in, do their job and say, ‘Hey, you can’t play on this.’ We had to get fans and coaches working on the field just to be able to pass inspection. “I’d say we have close to 30 football games per year on this field when you add up all of the other teams that play. With the way the weather has been lately, too, the field just gets destroyed.” J.T. Sauer and Associates of Burgettstown was contracted by school board officials. It has been involved with similar projects

at West Virginia University, West Liberty University and Brooke High. “We have two paid positions for groundskeepers. One groundskeeper does the Wintersville campus, while the other does Mingo,” Belt said. “It’ll just change what he has to do to get ready. Instead of spending Thursday and Friday before a home game painting the field, detailed cutting and stuff like that, there’ll be other parts of the campus that will need attention.” The Canada-based turf, however, is not the only improvement for this season. “The lights have been problematic for a while now,” Belt said. “Last sea-

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grass of the baseball field in Mingo Junction. As nice and pleasant as the baseball field is, there is wear and tear, even if it’s unnoticeable to the naked eye. Also, the soccer squads had to hurry their games, especially when autumn rolled around because there are no lights. “We’ve also had to cancel soccer games because of rain, and we didn’t want to tear the field up for the baseball team,” Dunlevy said. “Sometimes it’s just inevitable that that’s going to happen. When you play down there and don’t have lights, end of the season it gets to the point where it gets dark earlier and you’re trying to play. We now have

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the possibility of having football practice, then a soccer game or two. It’s just going to make it easier to schedule.” Other renovations are coming to Kettlewell in the near future, and 2019 is not the first year for them. Belt, who has been with Indian Creek since 1999, got his first football project done five years ago with a new track surface around the field. It changed from a black, broken up, asphalt-only surface to a red, all-weather surface. Kettlewell also received a new scoreboard. So, improvements are nothing new to Belt, Dunlevy, Connor and others. “This is something we’ve talked about for years and years. We thank the community for this,” Connor said. “Without their support, you wouldn’t have these things. As the head football coach, I’m very appreciative for all of those who believe in this school district and want to see us take a big step forward.” Other stadium improvements upcoming are a new visitor’s locker room, updated bathrooms, ticket booth and the No. 1 concession stand, to just name a few. “The community passed the bond issue for the first time in forever,” Belt said. “They passed the bond issue for the middle school back in 2008, so this really is the first time they’ve ever given us renovation money. We’re putting $10 million in renovations to Hills Elementary, and we’re building a new elementary school to replace the (Wintersville Elementary) building. We’re also building a new high school to replace the existing high school. Part of that bond was for campus improvements. There’ll be money to dedicate building a new softball field. It’s looking right now to be a turf surface, but it’s all going to depend on how money shakes out as we move forward.”

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Rivalries From Page 103

because we still had East Fairmont on the schedule, but then they dropped us late in the season. We ended up having to pick up Perry instead. It’s frustrating that that didn’t happen. “I think there are great rivalries in place, but I believe there is potential to see new rivalries like Martins Ferry against Shadyside. When I was at Brooke, I liked playing Steubenville. That’s a great local game that I wished was still played, or even (Wheeling) Park and Big Red. I know there’s a big difference in school size, but Park’s very competitive. They should be able to match up with Big Red on any given day.” Sometimes good things do not last forever, and that goes for rivalries. The most recent victim of this is Oak Glen after it dropped Beaver

Local off of its schedule. Maybe the two will face one another again. Maybe not. The Golden Bears did not drop the Beavers because of rivalry reasons. “This is 100 percent honesty. We’re thinking about getting into the playoffs. Beaver Local plays a very tough schedule,” Arneault said. “The way the West Virginia point system works is you get bonus points for teams you beat that beat teams their size or larger. Beaver Local, along with teams like Harrison Central and Toronto, we feel if those Ohio schools are really good, they’re a reach game. When they’re not very good, they can still physically beat you up, but they’re worth nothing for playoff points. “Perry, the team we picked up from Pennsylvania, is a AAA school.

They can be 5-5 with AAA points. Beaver Local, I don’t know how they’ll be this year. We need points. That was the ultimate factor with Beaver Local. It’s not a game we have to play. We also want to play more West Virginia schools.” Old or new, regular season or postseason, all of the coaches can at least agree that rivalries make high school football what it is today. How many other sports at any other level can make this claim? Basketball rivalries are extremely important, but teams face their biggest foes twice a year, while football is once. Same thing goes for baseball, soccer, volleyball and the others. High school football is unique, and that’s what makes it stand out. “There was some excitement before playing Alliance

because they were an up and coming team, but our kids don’t know anybody from there,” Connor said. “There’s no extra stuff. I don’t know if it really drives the student body or the parents. So, I think it makes practice during the week better. They’re more intense to make sure that they don’t want to be the team losing to their rival. You do get a better week out of them and creates more excitement during the week.” “The coaches are a little bit on edge. The players are a little bit on the edge. Everybody knows the importance, and every rivalry is a little bit different,” Franke said. “The weeks leading up to the game, whoever it is we’re facing, the practices are amped up and is something that’s a focus all week. There have been times where my staff and I have to give each

other little reminders of just how important the game is to have a little bit of an emotional edge.” “Rivalries are everything in high school sports,” Herbert said. “One year when I was at Union Local, we were playing a team in the playoffs, and coach (Mark) Cisar made kind of a harsh comment in the paper. When we got to the field, our field, their kids had a banner of his quote. “The kids get into it. The student section gets into it, and it’s exciting. It gives the kids something to look forward to all week. Bands compete against bands, student sections against student sections. That’s what I would love us to get back to.”

“We don’t have kids graduating every year like other teams do. We maybe have like three kids graduate, so we’re pretty loaded right

now, while other teams are taking the hits. As long as the record keeps getting better, we’ll get better.” No more nerves, no more

question marks at the QB position and no more speculations. Arneault knows what he had this season and, although Chaney isn’t a senior

leader, the Golden Bears will go as far as he takes them. “Nick very much impressed me with his throwing strength,” Arneault said when asked about his first impressions of Chaney two years ago. “He was mentally immature, and that was my concern with him. A lot of people don’t give him credit now for it, but he’s very intelligent in being able to understand football. I have other frustrations with him, but as far as football goes, we’re on the same wave length, even when things are rocky. Communication is easy with him, and he understands for the most part what we’re trying to do and when we’re doing it. He just makes stuff happen.That’s why I think he’s gifted. “I think Nick’s way of leading is to make things happen on offense. When he makes things happen — and because he’s such a competitor — it’s contagious. Nick will be a leader by example.”

Sports writers Andrew Grimm and Ed Looman contributed to this story.

Den From Page 105

would be almost double from last year. That would open up so many opportunities in the passing game if we reach that goal.

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Week 1

Thursday, Aug. 29

Allderdice at Steubenville Buckeye Local at Barnesville

Friday, Aug. 30

Weir at Oak Glen Indian Creek at Cambridge Brooke at Wheeling Park Southern Local at Edison Wellsville at Toronto Garaway at Harrison Central

Saturday, Aug. 31

Columbus Africentric at Catholic Central Madonna at Bridgeport (OH)

Week 2

Friday, Sept. 6

Howard D. Woodson at Steubenville Weir at John Marshall Catholic Central at Wheeling Central Carrick at Madonna Indian Creek at East Liverpool Brooke at Hedgesville Edison at Wellsville Oak Glen at Phillip Barbour Harrison Central at Toronto Union Local at Buckeye Local

Weekly Prep Schedule Toronto at Edison Buckeye Local at Oak Glen Bellaire at Harrison Central

Toronto at Leetonia Harrison Central at St. Clairsville, 7:30 p.m. Buckeye Local at Shenandoah

Saturday, Sept. 14

Week 7

Toronto at Catholic Central Conotton Valley at Madonna

National Christian Academy at Steubenville Fairmont Senior at Weir Madonna at Beallsville Martins Ferry at Indian Creek Edison at East Liverpool, 7:30 p.m. Toronto at Oak Glen Beaver Local at Buckeye Local

Week 11

Saturday, Oct. 12

Friday, Nov. 15

Catholic Central at Southern Local

Week 4

Friday, Sept. 20

New Philadelphia at Steubenville Weir at Keyser Mathews at Madonna Buckeye Local at Indian Creek Pittsburgh Brashear at Brooke, 7:30 p.m. Oak Glen at Perry Beallsville at Toronto Union Local at Harrison Central

Saturday, Sept. 21 Edison at Catholic Central

Week 5

Friday, Sept. 27

Pittsburgh Obama at Steubenville Cameron at Madonna Indian Creek at St. Clairsville, 7:30 p.m. Ripley at Brooke, 7:30 p.m. Edison at Beaver Local Oak Glen at East Liverpool, 7:30 p.m. Crestwood at Toronto Harrison Central at Martins Ferry River View at Buckeye Local

Saturday, Sept. 28

Petersburg at Weir, 4 p.m. Caldwell at Steubenville Central

Week 3 Friday, Sept. 13

St. Francis at Steubenville Frankfort at Weir Madonna at Strasburg Indian Valley at Indian Creek University at Brooke, 7:30 p.m.

Week 6

Friday, Oct. 4

Steubenville at Dover Weir at Plum Senior Catholic Central at Lucas Madonna at Morgantown Trinity at Indian Creek Tayveon Crawford Brooke Edison at Oak Glen Steubenville

Friday, Oct. 11

Harrison Central at Catholic Central

Week 8

Friday, Oct. 18

Oak Glen at Grafton Harrison Central at Buckeye Local

Saturday, Nov. 2

Friday, Nov. 8

Princeton at Brooke, 7:30 p.m. Ohio playoffs begin

Week 12

Ohio playoffs West Virginia playoffs begin (Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)

Steubenville TBA Weir at Edison Madonna at Toronto Beaver Local at Indian Creek Brooke at John Marshall Oak Glen at Harrison Central East Liverpool at Buckeye Local

Saturday, Oct. 19

Morgantown Trinity at Catholic Central

Week 9

Friday, Oct. 25

Steubenville at St. Francis DeSales East Liverpool at Weir Indian Creek at Harrison Central Buckhannon-Upshur at Brooke, 7:30 p.m. Buckeye Local at Edison Barnesville at Toronto

Saturday, Oct. 26

Catholic Central at Madonna Oak Glen at Lincoln, 5 p.m.

Week 10 Friday, Nov. 1

Linsly at Steubenville Brooke at Weir Indian Creek at Edison

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2019 OVAC Season WEEK 1

Thursday, Aug. 29

Buckeye Local at Barnesville Buckeye Trail at Caldwell Allderdice at Steubenville Williamstown at Wheeling Central

Friday, Aug. 30

Beallsville at Miller LaBrae at Beaver Local Bellaire at River Indian Creek at Cambridge Strasburg at Conotton Valley John F. Kennedy at East Liverpool Southern Local at Edison Belpre at Fort Frye Paden City at Frontier Garaway at Harrison Central Martins Ferry at Shadyside John Glenn at Meadowbrook Union Local at Monroe Central St. Clairsville at Carrollton Shenandoah at Malvern Wellsville at Toronto Crooksville at Warren Brooke at Wheeling Park John Marshall at University Morgantown at Parkersburg Parkersburg South at Ripley Weir at Oak Glen Cameron at West Greene, Pa. Clay-Battelle at Gilmer Federal Hocking at Hundred Mapletown, Pa. at Trinity Valley at Tygarts Valley Linsly at Westinghouse

Saturday, Aug. 31

Madonna at Bridgeport (at Martins Ferry) Africentric at Catholic Central

WEEK 2

Friday, Sept. 6

Weir at John Marshall Linsly at Martins Ferry Catholic Central at Wheel. Central, 7:30 p.m. Trinity at Madonna Paden City at Wirt Magnolia at Williamstown Hundred at Cameron Meadow Bridge at Clay-Battelle Oak Glen at Philip Barbour Wheeling Park at St. Clairsville, 7:30 p.m. Parkersburg South at University Morgantown at Bridgeport, W.Va. Brooke at Hedgesville Barnesville at Meadowbrook Frontier at Beallsville Kenmore at Beaver Union Local at Buckeye Local Newcomerstown at Buckeye Trail Caldwell at Reedsville Eastern Cambridge at John Glenn Conotton Valley at Malvern Crestview at South Range Indian Creek at East Liverpool Edison at Wellsville Nelsonville-York at Fort Frye Harrison Central at Toronto River at Southern Local Northridge at Shenandoah D.C. Woodson at Steubenville Warren at Marietta

Saturday, Sept. 7

Garaway at Bellaire, 12:30 p.m. Monroe Central at Bridgeport (at Martins Ferry) Shadyside vs. Mogadore (at New Philadelphia)

WEEK 3

Friday, Sept. 13

Barnesville at Buckeye Trail Hundred at Beallsville Beaver Local at Minerva Bellaire at Harrison Central Bridgeport at Frontier Buckeye Local at Oak Glen Newcomerstown at Conotton Valley Salem at East Liverpool Toronto at Edison Fort Frye at Waterford Indian Valley at Indian Creek Martins Ferry at Union Local Meadowbrook at St. Clairsville, 7:30 p.m. Monroe Central at River Shadyside at Magnolia Reigning Sports at Shenandoah St. Francis, NY at Steubenville Meigs at Warren Malvern at Wellsville Newcomerstown at Conotton Valley University at Brooke John Marshall at Preston Fort Hill, Md. at Morgantown Athens at Parkersburg South Hedgesville at Wheeling Park Frankfort at Weir Cameron at Valley Madonna at Strasburg Paden City at Van

Saturday, Sept. 14

Catholic Catholic at Southern Local Wheeling Central at Linsly, 1:30 p.m. Caldwell at Tuscarawas Central Catholic

Saturday, Sept. 21

Edison at Catholic Central

WEEK 5

Friday, Sept. 27

Wellsville at Lisbon Warren at Union Local Crestwood at Toronto Obama at Steubenville Crestview at Southern Local Shenandoah at Shadyside Indian Creek at St. Clairsville, 7:30 p.m. River at Barnesville Fort Frye at Monroe Central Meadowbrook at Mogadore Harrison Central at Martins Ferry Magnolia at Frontier Edison at Beaver Local Oak Glen at East Liverpool Indian Valley at Buckeye Trail River View at Buckeye Local Valley at Beallsville Ripley at Brooke John Marshall at Parkersburg South Morgantown at Linsly (at West Liberty) Fairmont Senior at University Wheeling Park at Zanesville Cameron at Madonna Clay-Battelle at Tygarts Valley Paden City at Hundred Clarksburg Notre Dame at Trinity

Saturday, Sept. 28

Cambridge at Bellaire, 12:30 p.m. Western Reserve at at Wheeling Central, 1 p.m. Petersburg at Weir, 4 p.m. Caldwell at Catholic Catholic Conotton Valley at Bridgeport (at Martins Ferry)

WEEK 6

Friday, Oct. 4

WEEK 4

Friday, Sept. 20

Linsly at Coshocton Shadyside at Wheeling Central, 7:30 p.m. Valley at Clay-Battelle Bridgeport at Paden City River at Magnolia Vienna Mathews at Madonna Hannan at Hundred Frontier at Cameron Weir at Keyser Perry Academy at Oak Glen University at Wheeling Park Princeton at Parkersburg South Hedgesville at Morgantown Bellaire at John Marshall Brashear at Brooke Barnesville at Shenandoah Beallsville at Toronto East Liverpool at Beaver Local Buckeye Local at Indian Creek Buckeye Trail at Claymont Monroe Central at Caldwell Cambridge at Warren Chalker at Conotton Valley Fort Frye at Meadowbrook Union Local at Harrison Central St. Clairsville at Martins Ferry Southern at Columbiana New Philadelphia at Steubenville Wellsville at Leetonia

Wheeling Central at Fort Frye South Harrison at Valley Paden City at Cameron Monroe Central at Magnolia Madonna at Morgantown Trinity Hundred at Gilmer Co. Calhoun Co. at Clay-Battelle Weir at Plum, Pa. Edison at Oak Glen University at Albert Gallatin Parkersburg South at Huntington Morgantown at Musselman John Marshall at Buck.-Upshur Brooke at Indian Creek Warren at Barnesville Buckeye Local at Shenandoah Buckeye Trail at Strasburg Conotton Valley at Caldwell Marietta at Cambridge East Liverpool at Martins Ferry Parkersburg Catholic at Frontier Harrison Central at St. Clairsville Union Local at Meadowbrook River at Shadyside Lisbon at Southern Local Steubenville at Dover Catholic Central at Lucas Toronto at Leetonia

Saturday, Oct. 5

Beaver Local at Bellaire, 12:30 p.m. Allderdice at Linsly, 1:30 p.m. Beallsville at Bridgeport (at Martins Ferry)

WEEK 7

Friday, Oct. 11

Fort Frye at Barnesville Madonna at Beallsville Beaver Local at Buckeye Local Bridgeport at Clarksburg Notre Dame Buckeye Trail at Malvern Frontier at Caldwell Cambridge at Union Local Cameron at Conotton Valley Edison at East Liverpool Crestview at Campbell Memorial Martins Ferry at Indian Creek Meadowbrook at Bloom-Carroll Shenandoah at Monroe Central River View at River Shadyside at Vinton County Southern Local at East Palestine DC National Christian at Steubenville Toronto at Oak Glen Williamstown at Warren Wellsville at United Wheeling Park at Morgantown Mount Ridge, Md. at University Fairmont Senior at Weir Clay-Battelle at Paden City Hundred at Valley Marietta at Magnolia Linsly at Point Pleasant

Saturday, Oct. 12

St. Clairsville at Bellaire, 12:30 p.m. Harrison Central at Catholic Catholic

WEEK 8

Friday, Oct. 18

Brooke at John Marshall Parkersburg South at Morgantown University at Buckhannon-Upshur Wheeling Park at Musselman Oak Glen at Harrison Central Weir at Edison Clay-Battelle at Cameron Hancock, Md. at Hundred Magnolia at St. Marys Frontier at Valley Wheeling Central at Shadyside Linsly at Kiski Prep Monroe Central at Barnesville Beallsville at Conotton Valley Beaver Local at Indian Creek Bellaire at Shadyside East Liverpool at Buckeye Local Tuscarawas CC at Buckeye Trail Coshocton at Cambridge Liberty at Crestview Caldwell at Fort Frye Meadowbrook at River View Bridgeport at River Union Local at St. Clairsville Shenandoah at Berne Union Steubenville TBA Madonna at Toronto Warren at Belpre Wellsville at Columbiana

Saturday, Oct. 19

Trinity at Catholic Central

WEEK 9

Friday, Oct. 25

Southern Local at Wellsville Warren at Alexander Bellaire at Union Local Barnesville at Toronto Steubenville at Columbus St. Francis DeSales Fort Frye at Shenandoah

Bridgeport at Shadyside St. Clairsville at Fairfield Union Caldwell at River Frontier at Monroe Central Meadowbrook at Coshocton Martins Ferry at Beaver Local Indian Creek at Harrison Central Buckeye Local at Edison East Liverpool at Weir Crestview at Warren Champion Clay-Battelle at Conotton Valley River View at Cambridge Sandy Valley at Buckeye Trail Beallsville at Cameron Brooke at Buckhannon-Upshur Morganotwn at John Marshall Greenbrier East at Parkersburg South University at Preston Wheeling Park at Elkins Magnolia at Tyler Hancock, Md. at Paden City Tygarts Valley at Trinity Valley at Doddridge

Saturday, Oct. 26

Western Reserve at Linsly, 1:30 p.m. Catholic Catholic at Madonna

WEEK 10

Thursday, Oct. 31

St. Clairsville at Wheeling Central

Friday, Nov. 1

Linsly at Steubenville Tyler at Valley Trinity at East Hardy Paden City at Beallsville Hundred at Montcalm Brooke at Weir Oak Glen at Grafton Parkersburg South at Wheeling Park Morgantown at University John Marshall at Warren Barnesville at Union Local Youngstown Liberty at Beaver Harrison Central at Buckeye Local Shenandoah at Caldwell Cambridge at Meadowbrook LaBrae at Crestview East Liverpool at Wellsville Fort Frye at Magnolia River at Frontier Monroe Central at Shadyside Leetonia at Southern Local

Saturday, Nov. 2

Martins Ferry at Bellaire Cameron at Bridgeport (at Martins Ferry) Toronto at Catholic Catholic Conotton Valley at Madonna

WEEK 11 Friday, Nov. 8

Magnolia at Wheeling Central Wheeling Park at John Marshall Valley at Paden City Trinity at Wirt Valley at Paden City Clay-Battelle at Hundred Massautten Academy, Va. at Clay-Battelle Parkersburg at Parkersburg South Preston at Brooke, 7:30 p.m. Ohio Playoffs begin Games begin at 7 p.m. unless noted

Aug. 28, 2019

By SETH STASKEY

111

St. Clairsville Red Devils

For The Gridiron

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — As he begins his 18th season as St. Clairsville’s head coach, Brett McLean absolutely will not put an onus on his squad, but he doesn’t believe his team is in any rebuild mode either. “I am as pessimistic as they come, and I’ll admit that I don’t think we’re very good right now,” McLean said in the early days of camp. “We lost a lot of guys to graduation, but I am really excited about the team we have coming back, too. We have a long way to go before we’re super confident, but we will utilize every day we have and, so far, I’ve been very enthused by our kids efforts and attitudes.” While many coaches and programs might suffer greatly from a loss of 19 key players from the year prior, St. Clairsville’s cupboard isn’t bare. The Red Devils have pieces, and they’re good pieces. The Red Devils have a legitimate Division I prospect leading the way in four-year starter Ja’Von Lyons. The owner of multiple FBS offers, Lyons is the unquestioned leader of the group and will man one of the tackle spots. Senior Austen Angus also is back and will hold down a spot. Sophomore Avery Henry started all of last season and is expected to do so again this season, too. He already is catching the eye of collegiate coaches.

“We’ll be relying on those guys to lead the line,” McLean said. “They’ve all made progress and continued to get better.” The other line spots have become a battle between no fewer than four players. Included in that group are senior Isaak Myers, senior Colton Grimm, junior Jalen McCall and sophomore Will Smith. Supplying depth are seniors Anthony Ochoa, Jeremiah Burdyn, Mason Thornton, junior Jaiden Springer, sophomores Joey Balgo, Mason McCort, Jacob Saffell, Nate Nguyen, Jason Davenport and Jacob Feth. Freshmen linemen include Jamarcus Webster, James Wolfe, Vin Roach, Ian Nowak, Drue Jozwiak, Marcus Rector and Logan Frye. Complementing the interior linemen are a solid collection of tight ends, including senior Derek Witsberger. He’s being pushed by juniors Luke Jozwiak and Reese Skaggs. Sophomore Carson Woodford and freshman Nathan Witsberger also are vying. The veterans up front should greatly enhance the maturation process of the skill players. At least that’s what McLean and company are hoping. Junior Tyler Tonkovich and sophomore Drew Sefsick have been in a battle for the quarterback job. Tonkovich has the upper hand in experience since he saw some playing time a season ago. Sophomore Austin Porter and

freshman Andrew Vera also are in the quarterback stable. “We have more quarterbacks than I’ve ever had,” McLean said. “There have been seasons where we’ve come into August with one quarterback on the entire roster. It’s a luxury right now. I think all of these kids bring good stuff to the table, including mobility and versatility.” At the running back spot, McLean isn’t looking for someone to replace Brady Kolb, who ran for 2,081 yards and 31 touchdowns last season. He’s looking for the collection of players who will be utilized to simply be themselves. Senior Aaron Jordan and his sophomore brother, Jacob Jordan, are expected to be among the chief options. Junior Austin DaRe will be the third option. Others who are vying for those jobs are junior Will Balgo, sophomore Logan Shields, senior Noah Trubiano and Derek Witsberger. Depth is supplied by seniors Corey Naylor, Jake Elerick, sophomore Clay Espen, freshmen Luke A. Porter, Jaiden Zebbs, Luke D. Porter, Zachary Vickers, Josh Cox, Jacob Walker, Chryon Fillion and George Harrison. The wide receiver spot is where the Red Devils are the most green. Senior Tyler Brookover returns. He saw some spot duty last year. Senior Brett Vike returns to the team after not playing last season. He has also been involved in the quarterback

mix, too. Sophomore Collin Oberdick lettered last season and is expected to take on an expanded role. Senior Nate Fusco is another who McLean is“excited about. Other receivers listed are seniors Blake Gretchen, Joe Burdyn, David Taylor, juniors Mark Benda, Domenic Panepucci, sophomore Jaren Starks, freshmen Grant Swider, Rece Spomer and Kyle Biery. St. Clairsville feels confident in its kicking game. Junior Jake Bolyard returns for his third season as the primary placekicker. He connected on 28 PATs and three field goals despite missing a handful of weeks due to injury. Will Balgo, Trubiano and Brookover are all back at linebacker, and Skaggs also is expected to make a solid contribution. Tonkovich will man a corner spot, while Fusco, who played in the nickel last season, will have a more expanded role. DaRe also will play corner, but Vike and Oberdick are challenging. Derek Witsberger and Myers return at the defensive end spots after starting basically every game there a season ago. Jozwiak and McCall are working with that group, too. Depending upon the opponent and approach, St. C. could employ a bevy of defensive tackles. Should it opt to go big, Henry and Lyons will be in the mix. It could go fast with Naylor, Grimm and Ochoa.

Schedule From Page 76

replacing Bellaire with River View and John Marshall with a trip to Shenandoah. River View is a one-year deal for the Panthers’ homecoming game. Shenandoah is a two-year deal. “We dropped John Marshall and Bellaire off the schedule. We have played really well against Bellaire and still lost by 30. John Marshall’s depth killed us. They have 800 to 900 kids in the school and I’ve got 400. We’re just going different directions. “Some folks can say we’re backing down and

this and that, but I have to do what is best for my kids. I’m not here for anybody but the kids at Buckeye Local. This is what we felt was best.” The changes will not end there, either, as the Panthers will leave the Buckeye 8 Conference following this season and will have even more changes to the schedule in 2020 that have not been announced. “We get out of the Buckeye 8 after this season. I think that fits us better and will let us do more open scheduling, which will help us,” Herbert said. “Indian

Creek, for example, has a wonderful program. They’ve never lost a Buckeye 8 North game. If you look at the averages, they have beat us by an average of 42-7 in the last 17 years. I don’t know what good that does for our program. We’re going to play hard against them, but sometimes it’s like you’re beating your head against the wall. “We made a lot of moves that have nothing to do with anything but us worrying about our teams and our kids, putting them in a position to have success

and build the program.” The change in the area’s population and school enrollment numbers were the driving force for the change, which Herbert knows not everyone is going to like. The ones that matter most to him — his players — seem to approve, though. “It won’t be popular with everybody. Not everyone is going to agree with it. The only people’s opinion I care about are the kids in my locker room and they agree with it,” he said. “Everybody still remembers 1994 and the state

finals, but people forget Buckeye Local was Division II then. When I was at UL, I graduated in ‘97, we didn’t play Buckeye Local because they were too big for us. Now we’re almost Division VI, and it happened quickly. Twenty years is not a long time, and here we are looking Division VI right in the face. It was time to play schools that are our size. We’re not the only school in the valley going through these things. “Doing the same thing over and over is the definition of insanity.”

RENO SACCOCCIA STEUBENVILLE

TONY FILBERTO WEIR HIGH

ANTHONY AGRESTA CATHOLIC CENTRAL

DARRIN HICKS MADONNA

Saccoccia’s squad finished 10-2 last year, including the playoffs. It was Big Red’s 18th-straight trip to postseason action, but fell in the second round. Big Red hosts eight games this season.

Filberto’s Red Riders seek a sixth-straight visit to the Class AA playoffs. Last year, Weir was eliminated in the semifinals. It lost in the first round the four previous seasons and finished 10-3 overall in 2018.

Agresta inherits a Crusader team that has finished .500 or better seven of the last eight seasons and is 46-27 overall during that stretch. Central reached the Division IV playoffs last year.

Entering his fourth season with the Blue Dons, Hicks’ squad finished 4-6 a year ago and failed to reach postseason action. Madonna is 12-9 overall the past two seasons, including the playoffs.

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Connor’s Redskins made their way back to the Division IV playoffs last year before falling in the first round. Connor enters his 17th season with Indian Creek and owns a 98-67 career record.

McLean, entering his sixth season with the Bruins, looks to improve after last season, which was Brooke’s 50th year. The Bruins have won five games in the past three seasons overall.

O’Brien’s first year with the Wildcats was a success despite missing the playoffs. They finished 4-6 and look to improve this year. The Wildcats look for their first playoff berth since 2002.

Arneault’s third year with Oak Glen was his best, as the Bears finished 4-6. They were 4-16 the two years prior and have not started 1-0 in each of the past four seasons under Arneault.

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Franke completed his first year at his alma mater with a 4-6 record in 2018, including three wins in the team’s last four games. The Red Knights have gone 4-6 in each of the previous two years.

Hayes’ first season finished on a high note, as the Huskies won their last three games to finish 4-6. Harrison is 9-11 during the past two years and will look for its first playoff berth since 2015.

Herbert enters his third season with the Panthers, still looking for that elusive first victory. Buckeye Local is 5-55 during the last six seasons but changed its schedule for 2019.

McLean’s Red Devils were 10-0 during the regular season and reached the regional finals, before falling to Licking Valley. He enters his 19th season at St. Clairsville, which was 12-1 overall in 2018.

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