AA No. 2 Bridgeport (1-0) at AAA No. 6 Wheeling Park (1-0)
Wheeling Park defeated Taylor Allderdice (PA) in week one of the season, 30-13, as running back Theo Blackston rushed for a single game school record 296 yards. Blackston stepped in nicely for the injured Savion Johnson who likely will be out for the year following a preseason knee injury.
“You hated to see Savion go down,” said Wheeling Park coach Chris Daugherty. “We thought he was one of the better kids in the state, so it hurts. You don’t have two Savions, but we thought that we had a really nice and dynamic backfield and 1-2 punch with Savion and Theo, and now we have Theo in that tailback position.
“Really what has gotten lost are the kids who have filled in for Theo,” he continued. “Isaac Turner, Clay McDonald and Nick Nardone have all stepped up — those are the kids really who were thrust from a smaller role to a bigger role and they’ve done a great job.”
Park, though, will surely be tested by defending Class AA state champion Bridgeport, who had their way on the ground in week one as well — a 38-7 win over Buckhannon-Upshur. Dante Bonamico finished with five touchdowns and 166 of his team’s 414 yards of offense on the night.
The series between Wheeling Park and Bridgeport goes back to 2008 and is tied at three wins each. In each of the last four years, the game has come down to a field goal attempt in the final seconds.
“I don’t know what it is,” Daugherty said. “But it has been a fun game from the get-go. Even a couple of years when maybe we weren’t phenomenal, it ended up a good game. And there were a couple of years where I thought we were the better football team and it ended up a one-point game at the end. I can tell you why, but for some reason this has evolved into a great matchup.”
Wheeling Park won last year’s contest with a game winning field goal, giving the Patriots a 17-14 win. It was Bridgeport’s only loss on the year.
And in case Friday’s game comes down to some late-game dramatics again?
“We’ve got a really good field goal kicker this year, but he’s a freshman,” Daugherty said. “I would rather keep him out of that scenario, but he is a good one and I’m sure they have a good one too.”
AAA No. 5 Morgantown (1-0) at Brooke (0-1)
The Bruins enter the game off of a heart breaking 9-8 loss against Indian Creek (OH) in week one. It was the coaching debut of Mac McLean with Brooke High.
This week, Brooke alum and Morgantown coach John Bowers will make the visit to the northern panhandle. Bowers owns 6-2 all-time against his former school.
Morgantown, meanwhile, comes into the game off of a 41-0 shutout of Anacostia (DC) in week one.
“I was very very impressed with their response to the coaches,” Bowers said. “We put on the game film and we got what we coached, and we were almost giddy, as coaches.
“Brooke has got a lot of size on the perimeter, and they have a to of physical size,” Bowers said. “Hopefully, we can use our quickness to our advantage against them.”
Catholic Central (OH) (0-1) at A No. 1 Wheeling Central (1-0)
The No. 1 Maroon Knights looked impressive in their season opener as they handled Notre Dame 54-21. Sophomore quarterback Issac Rine accounted for 280 total yards and four touchdowns, while Brandon Angalich rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
Catholic Central opened up its season with a 33-20 loss to Weir after trailing 26-7 at the break. Touchdowns for the Crusaders in the loss included a 24 yard pass from Tony Barber to John Fallon, a 14 yard run from Stone Romano and a two yard score from Barber on the ground.
A No. 6 Bishop Donahue (1-0) at River (OH) (1-0)
Quarterback Jesse Padlow totaled 332 yards of offense as the Bishops overcame five turnovers in a 42-18 week one win over Cameron. Running back Brett Moore finished the game with 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground — he also added an 18-yard touchdown catch as well.
Donahue will look to clean up its offensive attack against River (OH) in week two. The Pilots last week defeated Eastern (OH) 16-12. Quarterback Joey Flannery threw for 138-yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Bishop Donahue won last year’s meeting between the two teams 59-20.
Tuskarawas (OH) (1-0) at A No. 5 Madonna (1-0)
Madonna passed its first test as defending state champs by dominating Beallsville (OH) 47-13. Sophomore quarterback Joey Ewuisak picked up right where graduated Ross Comis left off, finishing the game with six total touchdowns in the romp. The sophomore ran for 185 yards on the ground and threw for another 134 yards as the Blue Dons extended their win streak to 15 games.
Tuskarawras defeated Lowellville (OH) 25-10 in week one. Quarterback Hunter Striker threw touchdown passes to Max Fragasse and Adam Price in the win.
A No. 4 Williamstown (1-0) at A No. 8 Magnolia (0-0)
In the only game between ranked opponents in Class A this week, No. 8 Magnolia will take on No. 4 Williamstown to open up the year after the bye in week one.
A lot of new faces will be in the mix, along with a new coach, for the Blue Eagles after the loss of a veteran senior class that included all-state running back Drew Keller.
“We have such a young team that the week off actually ended up being beneficial for us to have some more time to prepare,” said first year head coach Josh Sims. “These kids understand they’re young and that they’ll make mistakes – but they have the commitment to do what they can to fix it.
“Our guys (we’ll be depending on) are our backs in junior Tyler Anderson and sophomore Chase Street,” Sims continued. “They looked very good in our scrimmages and I think they’re game ready. They’re ready to take the load and split those carries up.”
Magnolia will be led as well by a sophomore at quarterback in Nick Priem. A freshman who could get in the mix is speedster Brooks Parsons.
The Blue Eagles last year lost a tight contest on the road at Williamstown, 15-14.
“Whenever you’re playing a team like Williamstown, you have to be disciplined,” Sims said. “With us being such a young team, that’s where you worry about those kids, if we can avoid making the mental mistakes, we will have a good chance to win.”
Williamstown took care of Tyler Consolidated handily in week one 30-7 as quarterback Dakota Watson accounted for 300 total yards of offense in the win.
“We have to make plays on him,” Sims said. “It’s a kid like Watson who scares you the most, because a lot of plays that he makes are improvised. You can’t really prepare for that – we will just have to get him to the ground.”
Other games:
John Marshall at Bellaire (OH)
Beaver Local (OH) at Oak Glen
Paden City – Bye week
Tyler Consolidated at Doddridge County
Weir at Harrison Central (OH)
Valley (Wetzel) at Cameron