×
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.

Battle of the Patriots May Determine Home Game

Photo by Alex Kozlowski Wheeling Park receiver Devaughn McWhorter has scored eight touchdowns this season for Chris Daugherty’s Patriots.

PARKERSBURG — There may still be two weeks left in the high school football regular season in West Virginia, but Friday night’s big school battle between Wheeling Park and Parkersburg South at the Erickson All-Sports Facility should have all the feel of a postseason contest.

Both teams will enter coming off victories that improved them to 6-2 on the year. Coach Chris Daugherty’s team and Coach Mike Eddy’s squad will also be looking to solidify their Class AAA playoff hopes and possibly help secure a home game.

While the Ohio County Patriots are 2-2 in their last four games, with a pair of heartbreaking losses, they routed Princeton by a 52-20 margin last Friday night. That same night the Wood County Patriots stretched their winning streak to five games with a 48-14 triumph at Greenbrier East.

Wheeling Park will also be looking to improve on a seven-game winning streak in the series, including a 35-28 win last year at Wheeling Island Stadium. South has not recorded a victory in the series since a 41-14 win in 2010.

Offensively, Daugherty’s Patriots have scored 31 or more points in all eight of their games this year, however, in their two losses to Parkersburg and Musselman they were outscored by a 92-86 margin.

On the other hand, Eddy’s Patriots have scored at least 35 points in each of their games during their five-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents by a whopping 225-28 margin during their run.

“Our kids have been doing a great job offensively and part of the reason is that we have been able to narrow down the things we do well and keep doing them,” Eddy said. “We are versatile and able to do different things, but we also have great leadership and football knowledge.”

Quarterback Braydon Mooney makes the Parkersburg South balanced offense roll. Last week it rushed for 246 yards while accumulating 268 through the air. Mooney ran for 102 yards and two scores against East while throwing for 268 and two more touchdowns.

Nick Yoho is also a huge double-threat and is coming off a nice performance in which he ran for 126 yards and three scores and caught two passes for 78 and another score last week. For the season Yoho has rushed for 942 yards and 16 scores while catching 26 passes for 391 and four touchdowns.

Junior Dylan Day also has over 400 receiving yards on the campaign for the southern Patriots.

“They are a very good and confident football team,” Daugherty said. “I believe this is the best South team we are going to face in a long time. They cause a lot of turnovers on defense and the offense has a great ability to score off of them.

“Somehow they manage to take advantage of most of their extra touches. They are aggressive on both sides of the ball, they blitz a lot of defense and have a very nice play-action package that provides them some big plays.”

Wheeling Park has an offensive machine of its own, something that wasn’t a given coming into the 2018 campaign given that they lost their record-setting quarterback and every skill position play but one.

“We feel like we have weapons at our fingertips everywhere,” Daugherty said. “And we are OK no matter which tailback is in the game at any particular time. We have the ability to put the ball into a lot of different kid’s hands.

“Hopefully that will all continue and our line continues to play well also and pick up blitzes. That is going to be important this week, along with containing their quarterback and running back on offense. They are very similar to us in style.”

Adding to the intrigue this week is the fact that these two big schools boost two of the best kickers in the area, and possibly the state. Sophomore Andrew Glass has scored 46 points for Wheeling Park on 37 PATs and three field goals while junior Ben Haught has 43 for South on 31 extra-points and four field goals.

“I was really, really happy with Andrew Glass last week,” Daugherty said. “We had good field position late in the first half but were running out of time. Instead of going for it we sent Andrew in and he pounded a 30-yard field goal.

“This kid is turning into a steady weapon. He is among the leading scorers in the valley and didn’t even play in the Brooke game that we scored over 60 points in. We have a lot of confidence in him.

“There is an awful lot riding on this football game for both teams. The winner has a shot to host in the playoffs while the loser is probably going to need to go on the road. They know what is coming this week and we know what they have and need to be ready for them.”

While a lot of coaches don’t want to talk about playoffs during the regular season, Eddy and his group are the exact opposite.

“Fortunately, we have a veteran group of kids and we have never been shy about talking about the playoffs being the main goal,” Eddy said. “We talk weekly about how important each game is toward the playoffs and how a win or loss will impact the season.

“This is a group of kids that really enjoy challenges, it’s what they play for and what inspires them. They are not complacent, they know what each game means and we prepare and are ready for each and every challenge.”

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? *

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today