Wheeling Park Seeing Old Selves As They Prepare For Spring Mills
Kerry Patrick Trending
WHEELING - The Wheeling Park Patriots were out to prove themselves last week with new faces all over the field. The conditions under which they would try to do that were less than ideal- a 90-minute drive to face Parkersburg South, and an hour-plus delay in the fourth quarter after a power outage on the field.
By the game's end though, the Patriots had prevailed 35-14 over Parkersburg South, started this season's first chapter on a happy note, and showed composure in strange circumstances.
"Anytime you win your opener, it's a big deal," Wheeling Park head coach Chris Daugherty said. "We had some fresh faces out there and we're happy with where they but they are lacking experience. It was nice to have them go out there and get some experience, and also get a win."
"I was really happy with how they embraced getting warmed up again and going and finishing the last seven minutes," Daugherty said of the delay in Friday's game. "I was super excited about their attitude and how they kept such a positive outlook. I thought it was big how we finished the game. There was no confusion, we finished the game very strong."
The Patriots (1-0) will have to keep upping their game this week, when they host Spring Mills (1-0), a team which gives Daugherty a little bit of deja vu.
"Looking at Spring Mills, it's going to be a different task and a difficult task," the 17-year Patriot head coach said. "They kind of remind me of what we looked like previously, the last four or five years- very dynamic at wideout, able to run the ball and throw the ball. Very athletic, very aggressive, run to the ball on defense. This will be a very difficult game for us."
Wheeling Park may look different than seasons past, but they were effective in their first outing. Sophomore quarterback Jay Bordas passed for 236 yards and three touchdowns in his debut, while junior Brennan Wack, converting from receiver to tailback, rushed for 177 yards and a pair of scores. Senior tight end Jameson Maynard secured six catches for 89 yards and a score.
"For the last four or five years we played predominantly four wide receivers, one back. We made a change and we're playing with a tight end, we're playing with a h-back, we're running the ball at a little bit higher level than we have in the last five or six years," Daugherty said. "Our makeup's a little bit different, we've adapted to that. They look like how we used to play- no tight end, four wide receivers, one back and you kind of never know what you're going to get, whether it's a bubble screen, to a vertical seam down the field, to a run off-tackle. To corral all of that defensively, our defense is going to have a tough task."
Cardinals quarterback Max Anderson and receivers Keyon Mills and Xavier Anderson had a field day in Spring Mills' first game against Jefferson, a 50-0 victory.
Come Friday, Daugherty thinks winning the game begins with winning in the trenches.
"We've got to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," Daugherty said. "We're going to have to run effectively- that doesn't mean we won't throw the ball, but we're going to have to run effectively. It'd be nice to keep their offense on the sideline, because they are dynamic and they've got some guys over there where I don't know if you're going to stop them offensively, you've got to hope just to slow them down and keep them from scoring at a rapid pace. It's a tough task for our defense, and I think our offense can help."