Northern Panhandle: Cameron with first 3-0 start since 2000

By: Shawn Rine

The Wheeling Intelligencer and News-Register

Bishop Donahue (3-0) at Cameron (3-0)

A pair of old Marshall County rivals square off Friday night out the long and winding roads of U.S. Rt. 250. And as far back as anyone can remember this will be the first time Bishop Donahue and Cameron have entered the contest undefeated.

At stake is a truckload of bonus points for the winner, as each is likely to win its fair share of games down the line. The clubs are perhaps fittingly tied for 10th in the WVSSAC Ratings.

“It’s been quite a while,” Cameron coach Scott Holt said. “We felt like this was a team we could get off to a good start with, with the number of experienced guys we had coming back. We have been able to do that.
“There’s a lot of excitement. This is somewhere we haven’t been in a while, but (fans) also know who is coming to town Friday.”

It’s true.

This is the first time the Dragons have started a season 3-0 since 2000. But Holt realizes getting to 4-0 is going to be the toughest test to date.

“Bishop Donahue is a perennial playoff team and they’ve had our number for the last eight seasons,” Holt said. “This is one we look forward to every year. We always have an eye on them, and maybe they always have one on us.

“This is a strange rivalry in that Cameron owned the 90s and maybe the early 2000s. But since then Bishop Donahue has dominated.”

Cameron enters off a 42-7 road victory against Frontier, Ohio. In that one, quarterback Colby Brown — maybe one of the state’s best-kept secrets — threw for 238 yards and five touchdowns. Two scoring tosses went to both Travis Mickey and Robert Milliken, while Andrew Simms caught the fifth.

“We definitely know we need to come out ready to play,” Bishop Donahue coach John Durdines said. “We are very similar teams as far as both being able to run and pass the ball.

“It’s going to come down to penalties and turnovers. Both teams are too good and you can’t give either of us free first downs on cheap penalties.”

The Bishops had an unexpected bye week before Valley came to town last Friday night. The rust showed, though Durdines’ club fought its way to a 25-6 victory.

“We are not used to having a bye that early and it was something we were forced into, but that is no excuse,” Durdines said. “We have to be sharper and we can’t turn the ball over.”

Donahue features a dynamic offense that is headed by quarterback Jimmy Hull and running back J.C. Custer. Against the Lumberjacks, Hull was 12 of 17 for 233 yards and three touchdowns ä one each to Koltin Kleeh, Trey Miller and Anthony Robbins.

“Bishop Donahue has some excellent skill players, but also an underrated line,” Holt said. “On offense and defense, how they dominate the game in the way they do is quite impressive. They don’t make mistakes and they don’t get rattled. The challenge is to go out and beat them because they won’t beat themselves.

“The biggest question, is can we keep them out of our backfield and win the line of scrimmage? The front five will tell the tale of this game.

“We are going to see just how big of a step we have taken this week. I am just as interested as anyone else to find out.”

 

Wheeling Park (2-2) at Brooke (0-4)

Battered and beaten doesn’t even begin to Coach Mac McLean’s football team. The Bruins are winless, having lost to four teams — Huntington, Morgantown, University and Hurricane with a combined 16-0 record.

That’s not the hardest part, though. It’s the injuries Brooke has suffered along the way.

“We’re trying to put something together to be competitive. That’s not where you want to be on a Wednesday against this team,” McLean said. “We’ve got six or seven starters out on both sides of the ball.

“There’s positives to playing a tough schedule, but the negatives are if you get beat up then you are awfully thing really fast. Right now we’re auditioning running backs and trying to find a backup quarterback.”

Quarterback Koty Hudson is out for the season after tearing and ACL. His backup, Gage Yost, tore up his knee last week. In the Morgantown loss, top receiver Ethan Secrist suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and a bruised spleen.

And that’s to say nothing of starting running back Nick Leonard and receiver Josh Richie, both of whom are nursing concussions.

That leaves Logan Williams to start at quarterback.

“He’s going to be our QB for the foreseeable future and he’s a good football player,” McLean said. “But he’s got things to get better at that he should realistically be working out on Mondays with the junior varsity.

“The problem with these injuries is they are all compound ones. Everyone knows what Hudson can do at quarterback, but he’s also my best corner.

“Our backup quarterback (Yost) was probably our best linebacker.”

The Patriots are fresh off a 28-19 loss to University, They have already dropped one more game than they did all of last season on the way to a West Virginia Class AAA state championship.

University defeated Class AAA defending state champion Wheeling Park 28-19 on Friday night in Week 4 of the season.
Wheeling Park fell to University 28-19 in Week 4 of the season.

But if Daugherty gets the type of effort he did last week for the rest of the season, he feels good about what the future may hold.

“I told them after the game that if they play like that every game, we can maybe get to 8-2 or 7-3,” Daugherty said. “It was an extremely physical football game and our kids never quit.
“They kept battling.”

Wheeling Park quarterback Cross Wilkinson continues to prove he is one of the best the state has to offer, having completed 50 of 91 passes for 623 yards and eight touchdowns, against two interceptions.

Rennie Clark leads the Park ground game with 464 yards and seven touchdowns on 70 carries. Nate Phillips (24 catches, 257 yards, three TDs) and Clark (8-151-2) are the leading receivers. Seniors Isaac Leech (49), Zach Torbett (39) and Scotty Meaige (36) are the top tacklers.

“I feel like we took a couple steps forward and are probably getting closer to where we need to be,” Daugherty said. “I know (the Bruins) are struggling to get wins and are young and injured, but they are very well-coached.

“At 2-2 I don’t think we are in any position to take them lightly.”

 

Wheeling Central (3-1) at Magnolia (0-4)

There’s an old sports cliche that says you can throw the records out the window when these two teams meet. That’s probably apt for this matchup between a pair of perennial state-title contenders.

“I got all the respect for Coach (Mike) Young and the staff and I know some of them really well,” Magnolia coach Dave Chapman said. “When Central and Magnolia play, it’s always two quality teams going after each other. This year is no different.

“They are solid and sound on both sides of the ball. The speed and their quickness on both sides of the ball is second to none from what we’ve seen this year.

“It’s all starts with their quarterback. He is the key to the team and he gets better every year. They have a pretty good spread and they have a ton of playmakers and they do a good job of getting the ball to them.”

The Maroon Knights are smarting, however, from last week’s 36-27 loss to Williamstown. That game, like this one, will be played on a grass surface where Central has not had the best of luck recently.

That being said, Young believes his team will be fine if it simply gets back to the basics.

“We lost to a team that beat us in blocking and tackling,” Young said. “But this week we have to play a pretty good team that has a lot of pride and character.

“They are very hungry for a win and we have to come out of the gates early and set the tone. They haven’t lost to anyone that is losing. They’ve only been losing to teams that have been winning.

“That says a lot about the program and the respect we have for them. They battled four weeks in a row and it will be five. Coach Chapman will get them going.”

One area of concern for the Blue Eagles is the status of senior quarterback Nick Priem. He was injured in the second half of a lopsided loss to River, Ohio, and will be a game-time decision. If Priem canát go, look for sophomore Pat Mirandy to step in.

Whichever guy is under center, the main target will be junior Brooks Parsons, a track star who gets behind defenders on a regular basis as well as anyone.

Wheeling Central counters with senior Isaac Rine at QB and its own deep threat, classmate John Burkhalter.

“That’s four in a row to what I call a buzzsaw of a team,” Chapman said of the opening losses. “From all four teams and of course going into Friday it’s not going to be easier.

“By no means are we folding the tents up. We will be ready Friday against a quality opponent. No doubt about it.”

Magnolia handed Wheeling Central its lone regular-season loss in 2015. And of course the Blue Eagles went on to win a state crown.

Other Games:
Parkersburg South at John Marshall
Linsly at Beallsville, Ohio
Hundred at Paden City
Clay-Battelle at Valley (W)
Calhoun County at Tyler Consolidated
Weir at Petersburg
Oak Glen at Warren, Ohio





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