WHEELING, W.Va — Although Wheeling Park returns many key contributors from a 6-5 team that advanced to the Class “AAA” playoffs, the graduation of Cross Wilkinson is a notable loss the Patriots will need to address. Wilkinson, now a freshman at Toledo, passed for 2,406 yards last season. He also tossed 64 career touchdowns and helped the Patriots to the state championship in 2015.
Alex Dunlevy is the next man up. “He had a great freshman year but he had to wait until Cross graduated,” said Wheeling Park head coach Chris Daugherty. “We’re excited with where he is and what he brings to the table but he hasn’t played in a game yet. He’s going to be different. It doesn’t mean he isn’t going to be as successful as Cross (Wilkinson), it is just going to be in a different way. He’s a little bit of a runner and a thrower. We’ll look a bit different because of that.”
Rapheal Bradley, Kenya Robinson and Steven Mitchell will join Dunlevy in the backfield. One of the top returning skill players for the Patriots is senior wideout Jack Stakem. He reeled in eight touchdown passes last fall.
Daugherty has high expectations for his line, a unit he says will have a similar look to many of Park’s opponents. “Wheeling Park is never big. Even when we won the state championship we were one of the smaller teams in the state. But this year we’ll actually look like the rest of Class ‘AAA’ a little bit. We’re gonna have 6-5, 290 and 6-5, 300. The mental mistakes that people don’t see from the sideline all the time, they’re going to be low. Last year we looked okay but made mental mistakes and turned people loose.”
The Patriots hope to make strides on the defensive side of the ball after allowing 25.8 points per game in the regular season last year. They also yielded 63 points in their first round playoff loss at Capital. “Everybody is back,” said Daugherty.
“We are different physically and mentally because they are all coming back except for the safeties,” said Daugherty.
“We think we can keep our defensive line fresh. We have a handful of guys that can play. Obviously, (defensive end) Dylan Wood and (linebacker) Jermain Snodgrass are going to anchor that defense. We feel that they are two of the better players in the state at their positions.”
The Patriots have qualified for the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons. Their schedule is backloaded with home games but they will open the season with four road games in the first half of the year. “If we can weather that and get on our field it kind of looks nice at the other end to have a bunch of home games and make a run at the end of the year,” said Daugherty.