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WHEELING -- Let's just get this out of the way now: This year has been anything but normal. But a big first step toward a return to some semblance of normalcy for players, fans and our communities makes its debut this evening as high school football kicks off in the Ohio Valley.
Schools in Ohio start their gridiron season first this year, with the opening game today featuring Buckeye Local at Barnesville. That's followed by a handful of games on Friday including St. Clairsville welcoming Carrollton and a big contest as Martins Ferry hosts Shadyside. Steubenville also travels for a tough opener against Youngstown Cardinal Mooney at Youngstown State's stadium.
West Virginia begins its prep season the following week, with the showcase local game on Sept. 4 seeing St. Clairsville travel to Wheeling Park. Wheeling Central hosts Poca while Linsly travels to Martins Ferry to battle the Purple Riders. John Marshall travels north to play Weir while Magnolia hosts Ritchie County.
All these games and more -- along with a complete team-by-team breakdown of our area high school squads -- are included inside today's newspaper in The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register's 53rd annual Ohio Valley Football Preview. Our sportswriters spent the past month traveling to practices to talk with coaches and get pictures of players -- masked up and remaining socially distant, of course -- in an effort to help you be ready for the 2020 season.
And what a season it likely will be. As our cover this year illustrates -- who would have ever thought you'd see a mask on a football helmet? -- COVID-19 and how players and coaches have had to prepare for the season has dominated talk of all high school sports including football. Coaches will be wearing masks on the sidelines, and players will be given more room to remain apart.
We are hopeful that all our participants make it through their seasons without any outbreaks or issues concerning not only the coronavirus but also injuries in general.
Along with coverage of our local high schools, our 68-page preview also features regional college programs that will be playing this year. West Virginia University, a member of the Big 12, kicks off its season Sept. 12 with a home game against Eastern Kentucky. WVU has decided to host its first home game without fans -- how strange will it be to see the game with no one in Milan Puskar Stadium? -- before heading to Oklahoma State for its first conference game on Sept. 26 and then hosting Baylor at home Oct. 3.
Pitt and Notre Dame, both members of the ACC (Notre Dame has signed a one-year deal to be a conference member), also are scheduled to kick-off in September. Notre Dame faces Duke at home Sept. 12 while Pitt has its opening game Sept. 19, hosting Syracuse. Oct. 24 will see the Fighting Irish travel to Heinz Field to face the Panthers in what could be one of the conference's marquee games of the season.
Marshall, meanwhile, starts its season Sept. 12 on the road at East Carolina.
All in all, the 2020 season is set to go down as one for the record books. We hope you'll join us as we lace up our cleats and strap on the shoulder pads for the season.