Wheeling Central running back Riley Watkins carries the ball against Martins Ferry during last week’s 60-22 victory at West Liberty University. Photo by Joe Lovell

WHEELING — Veteran Wheeling Central head football coach Mike Young is an old coach that, like many others, will tell you it is all about going 1-0 every week.

However, the Maroon Knights have built a mighty program over the decades and the 2022 campaign has been much more of the same as Central has roared to a 6-0 start and are currently sitting in the No. 2 spot in the latest West Virginia Class A state playoff rankings.

Friday night Young and his crew will look to improve on that record and avoid the dreaded “trap game” when 2-5 Pittsburgh City school Carrick pays a visit to Wheeling University’s campus for a 7 p.m. contest.

“You can’t jump the gun with these things,” Young said. “You can’t get caught thinking ahead. You have to practice every day to improve and get better and just worry about the next opponent on the schedule, no matter who it is.”

Wheeling Central, which will face Ohio Division IV Beaver Local in two weeks, is coming off a big second half last week in which it dismantled Martins Ferry by a 60-22 margin. The Knights, led by their two-headed monster of Riley Watkins (10-179-2) and Lorenzo Ferrera (10-174-4) rushed for 423 yards and eight touchdowns in the victory.

Through six games Young’s offense has outscored its opponents by a whopping 268-85 margin, with the 22 points allowed to the Purple Riders a season-high. They have scored at least 45 points in four of their six wins.

“I am very pleased with the chemistry and the senior leadership of this group,” Young added. “They just all work together so well. But there is still a lot of football ahead for us and as I already said, we need to continue to get better.

“The bottom line to the whole thing is blocking and tackling. Fundamentals are not always easy to execute but we have a veteran coaching staff that understands the game, which means so much, and some very intelligent kids. We practice fundamentals every single day and we always will.”

Quarterback Peyton Hildebrand directs the offense and has the capabilities to throw the ball around the field when not handing off to his stud running backs. Hildebrand was an efficient five of six for 25 yards and a touchdown to Ferrera last week through the air.

But when push comes to shove, as it has been for years for the Maroon Knights, the rushing attack is the bread and butter.

“Our two main running backs are a two-headed monster,” Young added. “They love the game of football, they love running the ball and they love blocking for each other. And the two of them will be the first ones to tell you that they could never do it without the guys up front on the line. They really feed off of one and another.

“Riley and Lorenzo are honestly two of the finest, most unselfish kids I have coached in all my years of doing this. They are definitely a great 1-2 punch, and they are back-breakers for the defense. If they stay healthy and we continue to improve it is going to open so many other things up for us.”

Next up is Carrick, a team that is coming off a 54-7 setback to PTA last week and dropped a 29-0 decision to Steubenville Catholic Central earlier this year. They have lost three games in a row and been outscored in that stretch by a 119-7 margin. Last week they allowed 173 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air.

“They won a couple of games earlier this season,” Young said. “They are a big, athletic bunch, just like most of the Pittsburgh city schools are. We just hope to be able to out-scheme them, get a victory and come out of this injury free. We are on a pretty nice roll right now and we are looking to keep that going.”