Football Preview 2018

Graduation Takes Heavy Toll on Union Local

By SETH STASKEY MORRISTOWN — Someone may have to pinch Bernie Thompson. The personable, 25-year old has actually been pinching himself basically every day since March when he hired as the football coach at his alma mater, Union Local. “It’s still a little surreal,” Thompson said early in camp. “I found myself, at times, sitting around and thinking, ‘wow! I am the head coach (at Union Local)’” The reality of the matter, however, comes to fruition Friday night when Monroe Central comes calling for the season opener. “To be able to coach a game you love and are ...

Cee-Bees’ Wilson: I Think We’ll Be Fun to Watch

By KYLE LUTZ BLACKSVILLE — Clay-Battelle coach Ryan Wilson knows how much of a challenge it is to get in the playoffs, especially in Class A. While finishing with a record of 6-4 in 2017, the Cee-Bees failed to make it to the postseason for the second year in a row with a winning record. While it is a tough hill to climb, Wilson knows that his squad just has to keep grinding. “Getting to the playoffs in Single A has become more difficult,” Wilson. “In that reclassification and they brought down seven more AA schools, we got shoved down further on the enrollment. It just ...

Abundance of Talent Returns for St. Clairsville

By SETH STASKEY ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Whether it’s a practice, an opponent or even as it pertains to evaluating itself, St. Clairsville doesn’t plan to leave a stone unturned. Quite simply, for Brett McLean, the entire season boils down to the word “prepared.” And by that, the veteran Red Devils coach doesn’t just mean studying extra film or going over an opposing team’s tendencies a few extra times during the course of a week. To reach the levels at which St. Clairsville coaches, players and even fans have become accustomed again, McLean, who is preparing for his 17th ...

Paden City Has The Makings for Success

By BUBBA KAPRAL PADEN CITY — Brent Croasmun starts Year 20 at the Paden City helm with a problem all too common to his program. The veteran grid boss enters the campaign with just 21 gridders on his roster. Croasmun, however, has come to make the most with the manpower shortages the last several years. Paden City is coming off a 2-8 campaign. The 2018 fortunes are brighter, however, as the 21 players represents a slight increase from a year ago. Moreover, Croasmun has six starters back on both the sides of the ball. The Wildcats lost just five players via graduation — Rander ...

Morris Back in Charge at Frontier

By MIKE MORRISON NEW MATAMORAS — After a 12-year hiatus, Russ Morris returns for his 13th season as head coach of a very young Frontier Cougar squad in 2018. Frontier will be looking to rebound from a pair of 1-9 seasons with a roster of 24 kids that includes two seniors. Morris has been quite pleased with the effort put forth by his team leading into the season. “I was real pleased with our weight-room turnout back in the winter and the kids have worked really hard through the spring and summer,” said Morris, who owns a 61-61 career record as Frontier head coach. “The ...

Zeps Eye Return Trip to Playoffs

By MIKE MORRISON SARAHSVILLE — Heading into the 2017 prep football campaign, the Shenandoah Zeps felt “It Was Time” for their team to take the next step forward after back-to-back 4-6 seasons. The Jesse Wells-led Zeps indeed took a giant step forward as they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons finishing with an 8-3 record. After falling in a heartbreaker to Coal Grove in the first round of the Division VI, Region 23 playoffs by a 7-6 margin, Shenandoah will look to “Finish” what it started in 2018. “Last year we came really close to ...