photo by: Nick Henthorn

Linsly’s Malaki Washington takes a handoff Saturday during the Cadets’ opening-week game against Westinghouse.

WELLSBURG — Believe it or not, Friday will be the first meeting between the Brooke Bruins and Linsly Cadets in the two schools’ long histories. As Linsly head coach BJ Depew sees it, the two schools’ first meeting comes under special circumstances.

“They have a very proud tradition, as do we,” Depew said. “And now that coach [Frank] Sisinni, who’s a Brooke alum, is back running things– I know how much pride he’s going to take in the job that he does there. So it’s a neat game to be a part of, as a Linsly alum coaching Linsly against a Brooke alum coaching Brooke.”

Linsly’s current squad is their 129th in school history, while Brooke has fielded a team since the school opened in 1969, but the two programs had never crossed paths– on the varsity level, the two teams’ JV squads have played before– until now.

Brooke played Wellsburg 18 times between 1900 and 1965, and played Follansbee four times between 1916 and 1935.

“We’ve never played a varsity football game until this coming Friday, which is really exciting.” Depew said.

The Cadets are coming off a loss to Westinghouse Academy in Pittsburgh, while Brooke took a loss to Beaver Local in their own week one game.

The Cadets faced Westinghouse on Saturday, which made for a short week leading up to Friday.

“For us, it was a quick week, playing on Saturday,” Depew said. “We always give the kids Sunday off, and although we had a Labor Day practice, having a day off of school, it really makes it feel like Thursday is getting here fast. So, you know, basically two practice days after having four weeks to get ready for that first game, it certainly feels like the Brooke game is getting here in a hurry. We’re excited to get back on the field. I knew we would be.

“Our practices have definitely been energetic and spirited, and we’ve had two good days. Brooke gives us a lot to prepare for. In their first game, they showed multiple offensive approaches along with multiple defensive approaches. So given the short week and all the variety we may have to contend with Friday night, that’s probably been the biggest challenge.”

The biggest factor going towards Friday’s outcome? Depew is looking to the trenches.

“I think what will be the biggest impact on the game for either team is who wins the battle at the line of scrimmage,” Depew said. “They have some good size and they do a lot defensively. They do a lot of slanting and blitzing and it’ll be important that offensively our line plays well, that we protect well and we find a way to establish the run.

“On the flip side, I think Brooke wants to run the ball by nature and they have a good dual threat quarterback, a good tailback and then a big strong fullback that they like to feature in the run game. Stopping the run will be a big part of whether or not we can be successful.”

Linsly throws the ball as much as any team in the Ohio Valley, and senior quarterback Braden Wade slung it 43 times in Linsly’s first game, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Skyler Hunter.

“We’ve had some good quarterbacks and receivers over the last couple of years and Braden Wade is an excellent quarterback,” Depew said. “So, we know that we have a strong passing attack.

“To control the game a little better, we’d like to do a better job establishing the run. We didn’t come close this past weekend. Looking back at last year with a full year of Braden as a starter, he had some of his very best games when we were able to get the run going. So it is a priority for us, but we know that we have the ability to throw and sometimes you have to throw to open up the run. That’s also built into our game plan.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Brooke Memorial Stadium.