Photo by Kristin Mazgaj Junio running back Zac Lydick leads Wheeling Park in rushing this season with 263 yards on 31 carries.

WHEELING — Two of the premier big-school programs in the Ohio Valley are set to clash once again Friday night at Wheeling Island Stadium.

Wheeling Park (3-1) will welcome Steubenville, which is fresh off a big win over Dover and sits at 5-0 on the season.

Opening kick is set for 7:05 p.m. This will be the 17th all-time meeting between the OVAC heavyweights. Steubenville holds a commanding 15-1 series lead.

Reno Saccoccia’s Big Red moved to 5-0 for the first time since 2017 with last week’s 29-13 victory over previously unbeaten Dover. Steubenville now is ranked third in the Ohio AP Division IV poll and leads the Region 15 computer ratings. Park is 3-1 after whipping University 55-33, the Patriots actually trailed 20-7 early in that contest.

Coach Chris Daugherty’s Patriots also own victories over Pittsburgh Brashear (42-12) and St. Clairsville (42-14). The lone blemish came against Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, a 54-27 setback. Park held a 21-20 halftime advantage in that contest.

“It’s going to be a great challenge,” Saccoccia said earlier this week. “It is a challenge that both teams will prepare well for and we’ll have a good game with them.”

Park’s high-octane offense, it’s averaging 48 points an outing, is directed by senior quarterback Brett Phillips (6-2, 175). He threw for three touchdowns against University and ran for two more.

In four games, Phillips has completed 56 passes for 972 yards and nine touchdowns. He also has run for 182 yards and five more scores.

He has a host of targets led by speedy Jerrae Hawkins, 19 receptions for 374 yards and six scores. Will James has caught 17 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns. Phillips and James connected for a 92-yard score in the University game.

The running game is paced by Zac Lydick, 263 yards on 31 carries.

“They have great speed and their kids are just tough kids,” Saccoccia said. “They have a very good defensive line and I think (Erick) Brothers is one of the better linebackers we will see this year.

“Overall, their strength is their offensive skilled people but for the skilled people to have the success they are having–they need someone to protect them which means the offensive line is going its job also.

“The quarterback is a typical Phillips–he’s a tough kid who loves the game of football and plays it really well. They have dangerous wide receivers and a good running back. Park is a just a very well balanced, good football team.”

Brothers leads Park’s defense with 28 solo tackles. He also has assisted on 17.

“Defensively, Park keeps you on your toes,” Saccoccia said. “They run some exotic blitzes and you have to really pay attention. You have to know where they are coming from because they blitz from everywhere on the field.”

The offensive front is led by Mike Hogan (6-4, 300), Evan Vansickle (6-2, 255) and Ian Litman (6-2 225).

“You never want to get down like that but at the same time, you never know if your kids are going to battle back,” said Daugherty, who took over as Park’s grid boss in 2009, when looking back at the University game. “Our kids did, they stayed the course. They could have shut down but they didn’t. We got back in it and were able to run away with it at the end. That is a tribute to the kids and our coaching staff. We stay focused and we kept playing football.

“I am happy with where we are at the moment. We would have liked to get out of Cleveland with a win against Villa Angela-St. Joseph. We were winning at halftime but that is a very good football team.

“We might look back and say Steubenville and VASJ might be the two best teams on our schedule. I feel good that we played someone like them prior to playing Big Red. That type of game kind of sharpens you and that’s the way I look at the Steubenville game. Win or lose, we probably are going to be a little bit better when it’s over.”

Through the first half of the season, Big Red is averaging 27.8 points an outing while allowing 8.2 The Steubenville offense puts up an average of 193 rushing yards 149 passing per game. Defensively, Big Red allows 70 rushing yards and 88 passing.

Senior quarterback Phaeton Hill has thrown for 746 yards and seven scores. He’s completed 67 percent of his passing attempts. Junior Isaac Hill, who finished the Dover game with 10 catches, leads the receiving corps with 22 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Seniors Hakim Edwards and Gavin Bozica have seven grabs each.

Bozica continues to pace the ground attack–accounting for 432 yards on 76 attempts. He has six rushing touchdowns.

“Overall, this team is like every other Big Red team,” Daugherty said. “I say this all the time–the numbers might change, the names might change but the film doesn’t. Their kids play hard. They have great schemes and throw a lot of formations at you. They are just going to do what they do.

“If they sub out, the next group of kids is going to come in and play the same way. You have to be ready to match the effort and the physicalness because if you don’t, you will lose even if you are more talented than them. That is a tribute to them. As always they are so well coached and they play so hard.”

For Saccoccia, the keys for Friday are pretty much the same as they are each and every week.

“We have do what we do,” he said. “We play with a lot of enthusiasm which covers up a lot of mistakes. We are never going to eliminate mistakes but we have to cut down on them especially against a good team like Park. University went up on them early and the next thing you know, Park is winning big.

“Park is very explosive so we have to read our keys and keep our feet moving. We can’t let them sit back and throw the ball. Park’s quarterback runs the ball out of the pocket as well as he throws the ball out of the pocket. We need to have a great week of practice and be ready to go Friday.”