Photo by Cody Nespor John Marshall quarterback Brennan Sobutka throws a pass against Keyser last week.

WELLSBURG — The Brooke football team is riding high after back-to-back wins, and the Bruins look to win their third straight game this week against rival John Marshall.

The Bruins and Monarchs are set to renew their longstanding rivalry at 7:30 p.m. on Homecoming on Paul “Bud” Billiard Field inside Brooke Memorial Stadium.

Brooke went on the road this past Friday night and shut out Oak Glen, 45-0, at the Bears den to give the Bruins their second two-game winning streak of the season. The boys from Brooke County opened the season with back-to-back wins before losing their next four games.

“We played the kind of game I expected us to play,” Brooke (4-2) head coach Mac McLean said. “We excuted in all facets of the game. We took care of business. We got a lot of guys in the game. They got a lot of valuable experience.”

The game was the Green-and-Gold’s best overall outing in a long time.

“It’s been awhile,” McLean said. “With the exception of the penalties, we haven’t played a game like that since the Ripley game. It’s been awhile for sure.”

With the win against Oak Glen, Brooke moved to the 16th spot in the latest West Virginia Class AAA playoff rankings. The top 16 teams in each class qualify for the playoffs.

John Marshall enters this week’s game coming off a 30-14 victory against Keyser last Friday night at home. The Monarchs (3-3) are coach by Mark Cisar.

“I have experience against Coach Cisar,” McLean said. “When he was at Union Local, I was an assistant at St. Clairsville. He is a very good head coach. He comes from a very good coaching lineage. He puts his people in the right places.

“He wants to spread you out and throw the football. From the flim I have seen from John Marshall, they are big and powerful. He has a good program.”

The boys from John Marshall are known for their size and tough defense.

“Defensively, they are a typical John Marshall team,” McLean said. “They are big up front. They have a good defensive line. They have some hard-nosed linebackers. They have some good guys in the secondary.

“They have had some good coaches through the years. They have had Coach (Rich) Goodrich, they had Coach (Justin Kropka) last year and now they have Coach Cisar. They are a well-coached program.”

The Monarchs have the size advantage this week.

“They have the size factor,” McLean said. “The size advantage definitely tilts toward John Marshall. They are going to be hard to handle up front.”

Brooke has some good athletes on the team, and the Bruins are hoping to put them to good use against the visitors from Marshall County.

“We are going to have to use our speed,” McLean said. “Other than that, we are going to have to do the same things you have to do every week. We are going to have to execute. We are going to have to cut down on our penalties. We are going to have to put points up on the scoreboard when we get the chance.”

At times this season — especially after starting quarterback Braelyn Sperringer went down with an injury in a Week 2 win against Indian Creek — Brooke has struggled to score points. That was not the case last Friday night against the Golden Bears up at the Bears Den.

“I think the biggest part was just our execution,” McLean said. “We are able to finish it early on. We were clicking on all cylinders.”

The Bruins have taken three long road trips — to Ripley, University and Marietta — this season. Brooke is looking forward to playing in front of their home fans for the first time in about a month.

“It is nice to be home,” McLean said. “It is Homecoming this week at Brooke. There is a lot of excitement around. We are not going to have to get a charter bus this week. We are happy to be home.”

Homecoming is always more enjoyable when the home team wins the football game.”

“I am going to steal a line from my brother,” McLean said. “I am not sure where he got it from. The line is ‘Homecoming is not happy unless you when the football game.’

“There is a lot going on with Homecoming. You want everyone to have fun. You want to win the game, and you hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend.”

So far this season, John Marshall has lost to University (16-14), Bridgeport (49-21) and Parkersburg South (55-16), while picking up wins against Weir (13-6), Buckhannon-Upshur (31-7) and Keyser.

Like the Bruins, the Monarchs have already had their bye week.