Football Preview 2018

Wellsville Hopes To Build On Strong Finish

By KYLE LUTZ WELLSVILLE — In Rob Ramsey’s first year at the helm at Wellsville, he experience some growing pains. However, when a team is young, it is imperative to let the players know the main goal of the season. That’s pretty much what happened with the 2017 Tigers. “Last year we were very young, very inexperienced,” Ramsey said. “As the season went, we grew to acknowledge attention to detail was a very important part of what we were trying to get done. The kids started to believe in themselves and we finished the season pretty strong.” Indeed Wellsville did. ...

Oak Glen Filled With Youth, Experience

By ANDREW GRIMM NEW MANCHESTER — The Oak Glen Golden Bears finished 2-8 last season, dropping each of the last six games of the season after a 2-2 start. The culprit for that may just be the reason Ted Arneault’s team takes a step forward this season — young players. The Golden Bears have the majority of everybody back from 2017 and, while still youthful, they now have experience. “I think the kids that we have on the roster have a lot of Friday night experience,” Arneault said. “We’re still young but experienced, so it is kind of like the best of both worlds. That ...

Rockets Want To Be Better Conditioned for 4th Quarter

By TRACY WATSON BOWERSTON — Entering his second season at Conotton Valley, Coach Brant Gardner is concentrating on conditioning and having the chance to play meaningful fourth quarters. Gardner felt confident entering the 2017 campaign, however, early injuries played a big part in the Rockets never really getting their footing. It took Conotton Valley four weeks just to dent the scoreboard, which they did in a 20-7 win over Chalker, its only victory of the season. “Last year turned in to a big learning curve for us,” Gardner said. “And it didn’t help anything that we had ...

Injuries Behind, Hilltoppers Thinking Big Things

By DON CLEGG WEST LIBERTY — A series of injuries short-circuited a promising start to West Liberty’s 2017 campaign but head coach Roger Waialae expects a brighter 2018 when the Hilltoppers return to West Family Stadium this fall. “I like our talent level and I’ve been around this game long enough to know our starters can compete against anybody,” Waialae said. “Obviously, it presents challenges when you get into your twos and threes but we were 2-1 before the injuries hit last year and I’m an optimist. The game rewards preparation, effort and consistency. When you ...

Southern Looks to Continue Its Upward Trend

By CODY TOMER SALINEVILLE—Improvement continues to be the main focus at Southern Local this season. The last three years, the Indians have increased their win totals from two, to four and five last year. In his fourth year as head coach, Rich Wright is hoping to increase the victory count again. “We improved a lot of things last year,” Wright said. “Our defense got much better at tackling. My first two years here, we gave up over 28 points a game. We cut that in half last year to just 14 a game. “It is my fourth year now and it’s time to get better. We have a young ...

South Hopes to Close Gap

By DOMINIC CATACORA PARKERSBURG — Parkersburg South coach Mike Eddy and company know the challenges of competing in Class AAA very well. “It’s been disappointing for us the last two years. The last two years we’ve missed the playoffs by a tenth of a point. In both of those seasons we kind of put our selves behind in the beginning of the year,” Eddy said. “But I’m really proud of the guys. They’ve held on, they’ve battled, they put themselves in a position to maybe have a chance to be in the playoffs. So for us, getting off to a strong start this year is going to ...