Northern Panhandle: Magnolia, Weir, Wheeling Central gain spotlight

By Shawn Rine – The Wheeling Intelligencer and News-Register for WVMetroNews.com

 

Shadyside, Ohio (2-0) at Class A No. 4 Magnolia (2-0)

Alumni Field inside Bill Stewart Memorial Stadium will be jumping when these two Ohio Valley Athletic Conference small-school unbeatens collide.

These clubs have traded blowout victories the last couple times they have met. The Blue Eagles got the upperhand two years ago against a young Tigers squad on their way to an unbeaten, championship season. With the shoe and experience on the other foot last season, an experienced Shadyside team had no issues.

This time is different, though. Both schools enter with perfect record and have visions of postseason grandeur.

“When they got us, we were going through a process where we had graduated a great senior class and that was their state championship year, so they were pretty good,” Shadyside coach Mark Holenka said. “Last year was kind of the same situation only in reverse.

“It’s sort of like Ohio State and Oklahoma this weekend, where neither has really been tested.”

The Tigers are coming off a 40-8 rout of rival Monroe Central in a game in which the tailback-fullback Holenka says the two are interchangeable – combination of Connor Banco (18 carries, 161 yards, two scores) and Alex Krupa (19 carries, 140 yards, two scores) ran wild again.

“Their two backs, Krupa and Banco, are 1 and 1A,” Blue Eagles coach Dave Chapman said. “They utilize their backs in the run game and the passing game and they do some things offensively that give you fits. Coach Holenka does a great job.

“They’re 2-0 and we are 2-0. It will be a packed house and itás the kind of game you want to be in as a player and coach.”

Magnolia is fresh off a 45-30 pasting of one of its big rivals, Williamstown, last Friday night. In that game, senior running back Hunter Partridge carried 41 times for a school-record 360 yards and four touchdowns.

“I knew at halftime when he said, ‘Coach, I am ready to go,'” Chapman said. “After the game I had no idea he had 360.

“He broke a couple 50-yard runs, but three-fourths of his yards came after contact. He has a great combination of power and speed.”

Chapman likes his speed with Partridge in the backfield and Brooks Parsons and Leo Herrick on the outside. Holenka thinks that may be once place the Blue Eagles hold a decided advantage.

“The funny thing is, they have the speed on the outside that we donát have with Parsons and Herrick,” Holenka said. “When I came to Shadyside we always had fast kids.

“It seems like when we started to turn the corner in the 2000s, we started getting big kids. Now you have to scheme more.

“Magnolia still has that type of kid.”

This one is shaping up as a battle of wills.

“Our focus now is Shadyside. If Shadyside was in this state they would be one of the top 3 or 4 teams every year,” Chapman said. “We’re excited.

“These are games that we like to play.”

 

John Marshall (1-1) at Class AA No. No. 8 Weir (2-0)

Weir coach Tony Filberto has been in the game long enough to know that what awaits Friday night is unlike anything his club has faced so far this season. An improved, experienced John Marshall club comes calling to Jimmy Carey Stadium.

“We have studied films of the two John Marshall games and find we have to prepare for two different teams,” the veteran coach said. “In the 34-8 loss to University, a very good Class AAA team, John Marshall opened up in a spread offense. But in the 34-21 win last week over Mountain Ridge, they went back to the power football team we’ve been used to seeing the past few years.”

Filberto said the coaches and players spent extra time watching the films at Monday’s practice and he feels the Monarchs will use the two-back power formation against the Red Riders.

“They have a lot of athletes and 10 of their players on defense have skill player numbers,” Filberto said. “This will be the truest test we’ve had in three weeks.”

The Red Riders have romped to easy wins of 52-0 in the opener at Oak Glen and 47-6 last week at home against Anacotsia of Washington D.C.

Coach Rick Goodrich, who has become known in his five seasons at John Marshall for his deliberate style of play, said in the preseason that he and his staff believe they have the weapons at the skill positions to be much more versatile.

Senior Dereck Hess (6-0, 185) leads the Monarchs. Last week against Mountain Ridge, he rushed for 183 yards and four touchdowns on a career-high 35 carries.

On defense, Hunter Temple had a solid game, recording a pair of sacks and recovering two fumbles, one of which he returned 37 yards for a score.

While Weir has adapted well to the inexperience on offense, Filberto’s defense has seven returning starters and that bunch has yielded just six points in two games.

The defense has given up 297 yards and six points. The offense has exploded with 863 yards and 99 points.

“I like the harmony we have in our offense now,” said Filberto, whose team last year played a power offense lining up and knocking someone down while two big backs plowed for yardage. “Our quarterback, Tyler Komorowski, his making the right reads and our backs are making their reads when they get the ball. I like the way weáre operating right now.”

Chad Custer leads the Red Riders ground attack with 215 yards on 19 carries with three touchdowns. Tyler Mack has gained 133 yards with 13 carries hitting pay dirt once and Garet Hostuttler has toted 14 times for 78 yards and two scores.

 

Class A No. 6 Wheeling Central (0-1) at Class A No. 2 East Hardy (2-0)

Most people had this one circled on their calendars when the schedules came out. Not many had Wheeling Central opening up with a lopsided loss to Steubenville Catholic, however.

The Maroon Knights will go looking for victory in one of the toughest venues in the state, when they visit two-time Class A runner-up East Hardy on Friday night.

“Practice has been intense,” Wheeling Central coach Mike Young said. “Expectations are always high at Wheeling Central and when you start off with a loss, it can be challenging.

“Steubenville Central is a pretty good football team. But we have had two weeks to work on some adjustments and correcting our mistakes.”

This is the third matchup all-time between the teams – all in the postseason – with East Hardy holding a 2-1 edge.

“They put up 38 points last week against a Double-A team in Frankfort, as well as beating a pretty good Harrison Central team soundly,” Young said. “They are explosive, well-coached and don’t make too many mistakes. We are going down there with a game plan and hope we can take away what they do best.

“You always want to redeem yourself after a loss. There are positives and negatives to having the bye. We get an extra week to prepare for them, but they are 2-0 and have a lot of confidence right now.”

Wheeling Central must slow down a high-powered attack East Hardy attack led by all-state receiver Brett Tharp, running back Phillip Mullen and quarterback Clay Skovron.

Skovron is entering his third year as a starter, but first as quarterback after having sat behind Kennedy Award runner-up Corey McDonald.

In his first two games, he has thrown for 554 yards and eight touchdowns.

“He is a better quarterback than he was a receiver,” East Hardy coach Chad Williams said. “It is good to have those guys. Up front, this is one of the smallest teams we have had since I’ve been here. We graduated four of the five starters on the line and they are still learning. But we did figure out a way to score a lot of points in our first two games.”

While a win would make the almost four-hour drive home a little more pleasant, Young will not get caught up in saying this is a must-win.

“If we are 0-2, it doesn’t matter as long as we are improving,” he said. “We like our schedule and it is one of the most challenging since I have been there. We have a 10-game schedule and we are taking each week one game at a time.”

 

Other Games

Tygarts Valley at Paden City

Morgantown at Parkersburg South

Madonna at Bridgeport, Ohio

Buckeye Local, Ohio at Oak Glen

Beaver Local, Ohio at Linsly

Cameron at Valley-Wetzel

Wheeling Park at Allderdice, Pa.

Hundred at Beallsville, Ohio

Tyler Consolidated at Webster County

University at Brooke, 7:30 p.m.





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