The St Clairsville Red Devils headed into last Friday Night with a 1-1 record taking on the Zanesville Blue Devils (0-2). The scoreboard operator was extremely busy in the first minute as St. Clairsville racked up 21 points not even one minute into the game. Senior, Kaleb Walz grabbed the opening kickoff and returned it 95 yards for paydirt. Zanesville’s first play from scrimmage ended with a Gavin Schoolcraft interception. Schoolcraft returned the Murray pass for a 21 yard pick six. After a Zanesville fumble on the ensuing possession, quarterback Brady Schafer pitched the ball to wide receiver, Colt Westlake on a trick play. Westlake then found junior, Tyson Pastor wide open in the endzone. With 4:03 to go in the first quarter, running back Dino Burk took a Schafer handoff from 12 yards out to extend the Red Devils lead to 28-0. After the Red Devils got the ball back, Cole Thoburn found the endzone from Schafer from 58 yards out to make the score 35-0 Red Devils. Ollie Muhly entered the game a running back and after a 76 yard run, he was brought down at the one yard line. Head Coach Brett McLean let Muhly finish off what he started with a 1 yard touchdown run to make the score 41-0. St Clairsville was not done in the first half as Westlake too over a quarterback and found Rowan Mellott from four yards out to give us a halftime score of 48-0. Mahki Murray got the Blue Devils on the board in the third quarter to eliminate the goose egg on the visitors side of the scoreboard but the Red Devils rolled to the 48-7 win. Westlake finished the night 3-4 passing for 37 yards and two scores. He also caught 1 pass for 25 yards and carried the ball one time for one yard. Thoburn finished with 2 receptions for 78 yards while Pastor finished with 3 catches for 43 yards. Muhly paced the Red Devils on the ground carrying the ball 7 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. Western Illinois commit, J.R. Adams forced a fumble and recorded two tackles and a sack on defense.
Meanwhile Wheeling Central rattled off an impressive victory over Perry out of Pittsburgh. Issac Martin got things going on the game’s opening drive to give Central a 7-0 lead. Perry would respond with two scores of their own, but both two point tries were no good and Perry took a 12-7 lead. The Maroon Knights struck again to make the score 14-12 and then added one more touchdown to make the score 20-12. Perry responded to make the score 20-18, but they could not convert on the two point conversion and Central escaped with the 20-18 win. Braden McWreath made his mark on this game carrying the ball 18 times for 182 yards and a score. He also added a 30 yard reception for a score and had the game winning interception to seal the deal for the Maroon Knights.
Friday’s matchup will be the tenth all time meeting between these two schools. The series was renewed in 2019. The Red Devils went into Bishop Schmitt Field and came away with a 35-20 win. After COVID canceled the 2020 game, the Maroon Knights and Red Devils met on a beautiful Thursday Night at Red Devils Stadium in 2021. It was all St. Clairsville on the night as the Red Devils shut out Wheeling Central 35-0. The series took a hiatus in 2022, but the game will take place this Friday from Bishop Schmitt Field. St Clairsville leads the all time series five games to four. Kickoff for Friday is set for 7pm.
Photo by Kayla Crum
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