WEIRTON — It has been nearly three decades since Quincy Wilson led Weir High to a state championship as a player. His quest to return his alma mater to glory as a coach begins tonight.

Wilson, the 1998 Kennedy Award winner and former WVU star, will lead the Red Riders onto the field at Jimmy Carey Stadium tonight as they take on county rival Oak Glen in the annual clash for the Carl Hamill Trophy.

“My first ever high school game was against Oak Glen, so it’s fitting it’s my first game as a coach,” Wilson said. “it’s always been a traditional first week rivalry and both teams are coming off similar situations with 1-9 seasons, new coaches, so it’s going to come down to the fundamentals and who makes the less mistakes.”

To get here, both teams have worked through a summer of camp and scrimmages, a process that Wilson, who is making his debut as a high school head coach but is a veteran assistant in the college ranks, said has gone well on his side of things.

“It’s been awesome,” Wilson said of the rest of the summer and lead up to game week. “Our guys have responded, they want to win, they want to work hard,we have a good group, we have good senior leadership, and I’m happy for them.

“I told them the other day I get more joy out of them, when they make a mistake and then fix the mistake, because they’re doing what we’re coaching. That earns that trust that you’ve got to build between each other. They’re buying into what we’re selling.”

The recent success in the rivalry belongs to Weir High, as the Red Riders have won the last three meetings – including a 40-21 triumph on opening night a year ago. Oak Glen had a win streak in the series of its own prior to that.

This time around, though, things are different on both sides. Both sides have a new head coach – TJ Miller is guiding the Golden Bears this season – and both have new faces.

One of those notable new faces in the rivalry is Oak Glen sophomore quarterback Maddox Bowen, who transferred to Oak Glen after Madonna canceled its season this year. Bowen had a strong freshman year with the Blue Dons last fall, racking up more than 1,700 yards and 21 total touchdowns in guiding Madonna to the playoffs.

“The first thing that stands out off the bat, obviously, is they have a good quarterback,” Wilson said of Bowen. “We got to watch some of the scrimmages, and then we went back and watched some of his tape from Madonna, and obviously, he can move the ball and spin the ball a little bit, and, I don’t know how much they’ll run him, but he is athletic and he definitely can spin the ball, so that makes you think, ‘Hey, we have to stay in coverage, we’ve got to get pressure, we’ve got to have a plan for him.’

“They have some good size up front, I think they’re going to play hard. I like some of their guys on the edge, like Cam Carter and Devin Jusczak, they have some guys, and that’s what I’ve been telling our guys, the more you watch the film, the more you’re going to see,, they’ve got some size, they have some speed, so we’ve got to make sure we’re in our gaps, we’ve got to make sure on offense that we’re able to move the ball.”

Each team has former Madonna players on the roster, making for an interesting dynamic within the game as players that wore the same jersey last fall compete against one another.

“I’m sure they’ve all been texting each other and all that kind of good stuff,” Wilson said. “I’m happy for them that they get to play football. I talked to Matt (Geer) and Angelo (DoBraska) and those guys, and I told them, ‘The situation you’re in, you’re here for a reason, so let’s take advantage of these opportunities to play.’

“Our guys have immersed them into our culture, and it’s like they’ve been there for four years, not just a month.”

Opening on a Thursday night with the eyes of the Valley on the action is a big spot to get started, but Wilson views it as a big opportunity.

“I want them to enjoy that,” Wilson said of having the spotlight. “I don’t want to be afraid to mess up in front of all these people, I want them to view it as all these people are coming out to support you, so let’s go out there and do what we’re coached and play hard, and let’s see what happens when the clock hits double zeros at the end of the fourth quarter.”