×
X logo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account.

Rosters Set for OVAC All-Star Football Classic at Wheeling Island Stadium

WHEELING — The rosters are officially set and football is right around corner.

King Football makes its return to the Ohio Valley in less than four weeks when the 72nd annual Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Football Classic kicks off at Wheeling Island Stadium on Saturday, June 23.

The 33 players on each team — and coaching staffs — will report to camp at Bethany College one week prior to the game. Head coaches Chris Daugherty of West Virginia and Kevin Gunn of Cambridge can’t wait to begin the process of preparing their respective teams.

“I am really excited about this team,” Daugherty, who led Wheeling Park to its first state football title in December, said. “We had more than a normal amount of OVAC kids play in the West Virginia North-South Game this year. I went down and watched it and our kids really played well in that game. Every team is a stud for his team back home, but it’s neat to see how they all work and come together.”

Gunn, who is the head coach at Cambridge, described the entire process of picking the Ohio roster like a “fantasy football draft.”

“Our staff was like kids in a candy shop when we sat down and met about who to pick,” Gunn said. “It was a blast going through the rosters, researching the kids, looking up their film on the Internet, going through different scenarios and trying to get the best kids you can. It was a blast.”

Obviously, both coaches are restricted by certain rules, including representing so many schools and they’re unable to choose more than four off one team in Ohio and five off one team in West Virginia because of the difference in number of schools.

That rule made it especially tough for Daugherty after his senior-laden team claimed a state championship.

“The most difficult part of the whole process was figuring out which of our own kids we were going to take,” Daugherty admitted. “We had so many good football players that deserve to play. We literally could have picked any of our seniors. We didn’t pick anyone who played in the North-South Game. We tried to limit it that way, so we had a great representation of our kids.”

The five Patriots who will play one more game under their prep head coach include Chase Adams, Richard Blackwell, Jamez Coles, Clay McDonald and Isaiah Myers.

According to Daugherty, the West Virginia roster has one spot to fill after one player just informed that he would not be able to play due to his collegiate commitment.

Gunn utilized the all-Ohio teams and post-season accolades as his first way of paring down the nominees.

“We looked up the all-Ohio teams and tried to pick the kids who were absolute no brainers first,” Gunn said. “We tried to get as many solid players as we could and build some depth, too. The unfortunate thing was there were still so many kids to choose from and the toughest part is you can’t take all the kids who deserve to play.”

Martins Ferry led Ohio with four selections, including Emilio Appolloni, Arjay Burress, Andrew Hython and Matt Barbour. From there, Gunn selected three of his own former Bobcats. Also garnering three selections were St. Clairsville, Harrison Central and Caldwell.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today