— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards Stadium won’t be empty on the second weekend of the upcoming college football season despite the Thundering Herd playing that weekend at East Carolina.
Two of the Huntington area’s winningest high school football programs, Cabell Midland and Ironton (Ohio) have scheduled a game at Marshall’s home venue on Saturday, September 9. Kickoff for the Week 3 affair is set for 7 p.m.
The Knights and Fighting Tigers have previously scrimmaged each other, but this will be their first meeting in the regular season.
Ironton, a two-time state champion in Ohio, is 20 miles from Huntington, but hasn’t faced a West Virginia opponent since 1997. Cabell Midland last faced an Ohio opponent in 2017 when it lost 49-41 to Anderson of Cincinnati.
Coached by Trevon Pendleton, Ironton has lost three of the last four Division 5 title games. The Fighting Tigers finished 15-1 in 2022.
Cabell Midland has been in the Class AAA playoffs every year since 2010 and last played in a state title game in 2019. The Knights were 6-4 last year and lost in the opening round of the playoffs to Bridgeport.
Knights’ head coach Luke Salmons played collegiately for Marshall and says he’s excited about taking his team to play a Division I venue in the near future.
“We think it will be good for football in the area and we were going to play them anyway,” Salmons said. “Any time you get to play at Marshall in front of a good crowd, it’s good for the kids and it’s cool.”
Both teams have several players being recruited by FBS and FCS schools. The Knights received a boost this spring when former Parkersburg South quarterback Robert Shockey, a first-team Class AAA All-State pick, transferred to Cabell Midland. Shockey led the Patriots to a state runner-up finish in 2022 as PSHS lost to Huntington in the title game.