And then there were four. As the high school football season winds down, four OVAC teams remain. Two teams on the West Virginia side and two teams on the Ohio side look to solidify their names in history on a wild ride towards a state championship.
We start in West Virginia as both Weir and Cameron will hit the road to try and advance to the state semi-finals. The Red Riders of Weir finished the regular season at 9-1 and number five in West Virginia Class AA. Weir knocked off Frankfurt in round one and their opponent Scott defeated Nitro to improve to 10-1 on the season. Scott and Weir are set to do battle this Saturday at 1:30pm from Skyhawk Field. The Red Riders are led by senior quarterback, Malachi Stromile and classmate Corey Lyons at running back.
The eighth ranked Dragons of Cameron will make the trip to Linfield, West Virginia to take on the top seed, James Monroe. Kickoff is also set for 1:30 on Saturday. James Monroe eliminated Sherman, while Cameron took care of business against Man. After a season opening loss to West Green (PA), the Dragons have rattled off ten straight victories heading into the matchup with James Monroe. Junior running back, Kylpson Wallace and senior quarterback Colson Wichterman lead the way. Wichterman also has talented receivers in Kason Angel, Max Scott and Trey Estel.
As we flip over to the Ohio side of things, we are talking about Regional final action. In Ohio Division IV, Region 15 side, the number one ranked Big Red of Steubenville look to reach the OHSAA Division IV Final Four. To do that they’ll have to defeat a talented (12-1) Thornville Sheridan team. The Big Red and Generals both boast a 12-1 record with both of their losses coming to Division III playoff teams. Steubenville took a loss in the season opener to Youngstown Ursuline, who’s still alive in the Ohio Division III playoffs and Sheridan took a loss to Tri-Valley. The two squads will head to a neutral site in New Philadelphia for a Friday Night kickoff at 7pm from Quaker Stadium. Steubenville had to fight off a feisty Indian Valley team 42-35 last week to advance to the Regional Finals. The Generals of Sheridan had a battle on their hands as well but were able to push by Columbus Bishop Hartley 34-27.
Our final OVAC team looking to make a run to the State Championship is 7-3 Caldwell. Coach Chance Rucker’s squad had to play through some adversity near the end of the season. After jumping out to a 6-0 start, the Redskins ran into three straight buzzsaws in Region 19 finalist Barnesville, Region 23 finalist Fort Frye, and Region 25 power, Toronto. Heading into Week 10, Caldwell responded with a dominating 37-6 victory over rival Shenandoah in the Noble County Super Bowl. This set up a Round One matchup with Bridgeport. After a slower start, Caldwell ran away with the game 41-14. After dismantling Portsmouth Notre Dame 50-0, the Redskins had a rematch with Waterford. The Wildcats battled the Redskins hard, but Caldwell was able to come away with a 20-13 victory setting up a matchup with Region 27 #1 Reedsville Eastern. The Redskins will rely heavily on the school’s all time leader passer, Senior Cale Bender. Classmate Dylan Wheeler has carried the load in the backfield while Bender has found some of his top targets in Alex Herlan and Ethan Crock, both juniors. Eastern and Caldwell battle it out on Friday Night from Vincent, Ohio on the campus of Warren High School. Kickoff is set for 7pm. All of us at Ohio Valley Athletics would like to wish good luck to all the teams.
Photo Courtesy of Kayla Crum
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