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Park’s Bittner Inks With Marshall

OL was first team all-stater for Patriots

Photo by Shawn Rine Wheeling Park standout Tristen Bittner signed his letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at Marshall. Bittner is flanked by his father, Matthew, and mother, Jessica. Back row is Wheeling Park athletics director Dwaine Rodgers and football coach Chris Daugherty.

WHEELING — Generally speaking, the life of an offensive lineman is not a glorious one. To the naked eye few can tell the difference between a talented one and an average one, relying on the game’s officials to tell us when a lineman has done something — wrong.

Thankfully for guys like Wheeling Park’s Tristen Bittner, college recruiters are able to watch a game or film and ascertain the good ones from the bad ones. And in Bittner, Marshall Univeristy liked what it saw.

Wednesday inside the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center on the campus of Wheeling Park High School, friends, family and coaches looked on as Bittner signed his national letter of intent to continue both his academic and football careers with the Thundering Herd.

”Being an offensive lineman there’s a lot of stuff on your back,” Bittner said. ”You’ve just got to remember that you’ve got to protect the guy in the back … that’s the main priority.

”I’ve gone through a lot of emotions (in four years), from being the new guy to wondering if I’m going to lose my position, to being the happiest man alive because you get to be a part of a team that wants to do so well.”

Patriots coach Chris Daugherty said he wouldn’t have wanted anyone besides Bittner protecting his skill players. Daugherty thought back to when Bittner first arrived at Wheeling Park as a freshman, thinking at the time that he had the potential to be special.

”We knew he had some talent between his freshman year and today, but he’s done everything right,” Daugherty said. ”Any kid that is signing has worked hard in the classroom, because in today’s college football world you don’t get there without working in the classroom.

”He’s done that. He’s done the offseasons and everything. I think it’s neat that he’s going to represent our state at one of the state’s universities. It’s going to be great to watch it play out.”

The list of honors for Bittner is extensive. To his credit, the 6-foot-5, 300-pounder has been named first team All-West Virginia, All-TRAC, All-Valley, was a a Blocks of Granite finalist, a team captain and was invited to the Blue-Grey All-American Game.

”He bends well and he can move. When we would pull him and he would get out in the open area … it’s hard to see a high school lineman redirect his feet and be able to get a hat on a linebacker or a safety,” Daugherty said. ”He did that over and over and over. A lot of people judge on pancake blocks, but nine times out of 10 you blocked a kid that is a foot and a half away from you.

”But can you block the kid who is 10 feet away from you? Most high school linemen cannot.

”I know as a head coach that if I can get my safety matched up on your lineman, I think my kid is going to beat that kid and we’re going to make that tackle. With (Bittner)? It’s just play after play where he is picking up kids in the middle of the field who are a hundred pounds lighter than him and a whole lot faster.

”I think that is what got him a scholarship.”

Bittner becomes the latest in a long line of Wheeling Park football players who have signed with college programs. He watched and took notes as some of his former teammates went through the process, and that experience made things easier.

Bittner said that he is unsure of whether he will play guard or tackle at the next level, but does have a preference.

”They like that I am the size to be a guard but I also have the length of being a tackle, so they could put me at either spot,” Bittner said of the Marshall coaching staff. ”Preferably guard because the D-linemen (at the collegiate level) are just like going against a wideout, only stalkier.

”It’s about the work ethic. You have to work hard in anything to get where you want to be.”

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