By: Shawn Rine
The Wheeling Intelligencer and News-Register
Thursday
Madonna (0-2) at Class A No. 1 Wheeling Central (2-0)
A couple of weeks ago this seemed as if it was going to be a marquee matchup. As everyone knows the Maroon Knights are loaded, but the Blue Dons gave Bishop Donahue all it could handle in the opener before falling on a late field goal.
But Madonna took a couple of steps backward in last week’s 56-6 loss at the hands of Tuscarawas Central Catholic, Ohio.
Still, this is a game between two parochial school rivals that know one another like the back of their hands.
Wheeling Central comes in off a 34-20 victory against Bellaire, Ohio, in its home debut at Wheeling Jesuit University. It marked the second week in a row the Knights have pulled away from an opponent down the stretch.
Quarterback Isaac Rine continues to lead the way. He ran for 100 yards last week and also threw three touchdowns, two of which went to John Burkhalter. Dom Stevenson rushed for 75 yards and another score.
“We need to settle in early and that will help us play with confidence,” Central coach Mike Young said. “I think we played a pretty decent second half (against Bellaire) but I’d like to see us start out a little better.
“We made some adjustments at halftime, played with a little bit more intensity and I was really pleased with our offense. We had some controlled, sustained drives that helped us win.”
The Wheeling Central defense is an aggressive one. Linebacker Chantz Chambers posted 11 tackles and a pair of sacks in the Week 2 victory, while Clayton McCabe had eight stops and two more sacks.
”Oh, man. What a great football team. Great football program,” Madonna coach Darrin Hicks said. “There is not really a weakness. We know we are going to have to play disciplined, hard-nosed football.
“I think a win would be huge for our program. I tell the kids to cherish this opportunity to play the best in the state. You want to play the best.”
Madonna relies heavily on the two-headed backfield monster of quarterback Dustin Brown and sophomore Donavan Kirby. Brown rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown in last week’s loss.
Friday
Class AA No. 6 Weir (2-0) at John Marshall (0-2)
This contest will likely be decided on one, simple aspect: speed.
Weir is one of the fastest team in Class AA, if not the entire state. Receiver-turned-quarterback Donavan Spencer has been tough to catch through two weeks and barring injury, that won’t change.
In last week’s 44-6 victory against Edison, Ohio, the Red Riders piled up 446 yards of total offense. Cody Enrietti led the way with 120 rushing yards on 16 carries, while Domenick Murphy added 83 yards on six carries. Spencer finished with 46 yards on four carries and, in the second half, Tyler Komorowski had 56 yards on two carries.
Spencer completed 6 of 10 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
“John Marshall is very well-coached,” Red Riders coach Tony Filberto said. “They’re big and physical. I know they are 0-2, but they played a couple of good football schools. We are very impressed with them, especially their size.”
John Marshall doesn’t flash the type of speed needed in this type of matchup. But the Monarchs, who are coming off a 35-27 loss to Mountain Ridge, Md., do feature a hard-nosed offense.
Junior QB Dereck Hess ran for 65 yards and a touchdown while completing 8 of 16 for 95 yards and another score. Chas McCool rushed for a team-high 69 yards and a touchdown, while Devin Milbert took a kickoff back.
“They’re just athletic at every position,” JM coach Rick Goodrich said. “They’re very fast. Their fullback (Enrietti) is an outstanding runner. He’s a definition of a football player. We have to contain the option and it’s not going to be any easier this week.”
Valley Wetzel (1-1) at Cameron (1-0)
The Logan Miller Era got off to a rousing start at Valley with a Week 1 victory. But the Lumberjacks came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard last Friday, dropping a 41-6 verdict at South Harrison.
While most are used to Valley running a ground-and-pound attack dating back to its four straight Super Six appearances in the 1990s, this club is going at its business through the air. Tyler Kocher is the quarterback, and he threw a 10-yard scoring strike to rangy wideout Dylan Irvin last week. That has proven a potent combination in the early going.
Meanwhile, Cameron is already coming off its bye week following a blowout victory against Hundred in the opener. Coach Scott Holt’s club is the owner of one of the most under-the-radar QBs in the state, in junior Colby Brown. He’s coming off a four-touchdown opener and has big targets in Robert Milliken and Trey Routt, both of whom are 6-foot-4.
Fullback/linebacker Michael Starcher is a physical presence on both sides of the ball.
Allderdice, Pa. (0-1) at Class AAA No. 6 Wheeling Park (1-1)
Entering off a loss to three-time defending champion Bridgeport, it would appear this is just the type of game Wheeling Park needs right now. But after further investigation, that isn’t the case at all.
Some might recall that the Dragons gave the Patriots, who went on to win the first football title in school history, all they could handle last season at Wheeling Island Stadium. Certainly Allderidce suffered significant graduation losses, just as the Patriots did, but will feature enough athletes that they must be taken seriously.
The Dragons dropped their opener, 7-6, against Pittsburgh City League rival Brashear.
The Patriots are licking their wounds after being given an early season lesson in physicality by Bridgeport. Wheeling Park had a hard time getting off the field defensively and ran less than 30 plays from scrimmage. In fact, only eight of those were run plays. By comparison, Bridgeport rushed 61 times.
Cross Wilkinson threw touchdown passes of 80 and 48 yards to Rennie Clark and Nate Phillips, respectively.
Other games:
Barnesville, Ohio at Magnolia
Brooke at University
Linsly at Beaver Local, Ohio
Hundred at Clay-Battelle
Parkersburg South at Morgantown
Indian Creek, Ohio at Oak Glen
Paden City at Tygarts Valley
Webster County at Tyler Consolidated