photo by: Nick Henthorn

Bellaire’s Michael Dippel winds up for a throw last Friday during the Big Reds’ game against St. Clairsville. The Big Reds will host Harrison Central on Friday on Nelson Field.

BELLAIRE — Bellaire (3-4) and Harrison Central (2-5) are in the middle of preparation for one another in the lead-up to their meeting Friday on Nelson Field, and the two teams saw something familiar when they turned on the tape- themselves.

“When I first turned the film on and I watched it, the thing that stands out to me more than anything is I think they’re a lot like us,” Harrison Central head coach Anthony Hayes said. “I think we’re very similar. I think their kids play very hard, just like ours do. I think they have some good skill athletes, just like we do. I think upfront, they’re gritty, kind of like we are. It’s funny, you know, if you take the colors away from each school on their uniforms, we look very similar to one another.

“I think they’re good enough to beat anybody on their schedule. I know obviously, they have not, but I think they’re good enough to beat anybody on their schedule. And I think that we are as well. So it just depends on which team has the greater week of practice and is mentally prepared. Because at this point, everybody’s physically prepared. So it’s all about mental preparation.”

“We match up with them pretty well, I think they might match up with us pretty well,” Bellaire head coach Mark Bonar said. “I think it’s a pretty even game as far as athletes go. So, it ought to be a real good game.”

The stage is set for Friday, where kickoff is due at 7 p.m., between two teams whose similarities starts at quarterback. Both teams feature gunslingers who rank near the top of the Ohio Valley in terms of passing production. Bellaire junior Michael Dippel and Harrison Central senior Brady Hyre each tossed two touchdown passes in their respective games last week, and their head-to-head matchup will go a long way towards deciding the victor Friday.

“He gets better and better,” Bonar said of Dippel. “He keeps learning stuff every week, he’s a good kid, he works hard at what he’s doing, so good things are going to follow him.”

“Brady’s gotten better every week,” Hayes said of Hyre. “I think that one of the big keys for him is he’s been coachable. He wants to learn. He takes coaching in and learns from his mistakes. He wants to get better every day. He came in with a tall task of following two really good quarterbacks we had prior to him.

“You’ve seen a reduction in turnovers from him. Last week, he had no turnovers. And consequently, we were in the game and we were within striking distance of winning that game. Each and every week he gets better. He’s studying the game a little more now than he has in the past. So, you know, the game for him has slowed down a lot because he’s become such a better mental quarterback. He understands the game and understands what we’re trying to do a little bit better.”

Both teams are coming off of close losses to quality opponents– Bellaire dropped a contest vs. St. Clairsville 21-14, while the Huskies lost to undefeated Indian Creek 41-28. Only one team, however, can get a bounce back win.

“We’re where we want to be,” Bonar said about his team’s preparation this week. “We had that rain day yesterday, but we stayed out there the whole time. We got everything done we wanted. So we feel we are where we want to be.”

“[Harrison Central] has a lot of skilled guys. They have a nice quarterback. They do spread the ball around a lot. They’re a big challenge because they do what they want to do. They want to throw the ball around and they’re doing a good job of it.”

“Our preparation this week’s been really good,” Hayes said. “In high school athletics, obviously I can speak towards football, you hope to see growth each and every week. And if you continue to improve and your kids are getting better and your coaches are getting better, then you like to think that you’re doing the right things. And for us, thankfully, we’ve seen a steady improvement every week since week one. So for us, let’s keep working as hard as we can and keep helping these kids grow and get better each and every week.”

Friday’s will be the first matchup between the two teams since 2021. The Big Reds lead the all-time head-to-head 11-4. Both teams have nothing but local matchups the rest of the season– Bellaire will travel to Union Local and host Martins Ferry in their final two games, while Harrison Central will host Edison before traveling to Buckeye Local for their final game.

“Every game is fun,” Bonar said. “Every game that’s against people who you’re gonna see all out and about, I mean, it’s local people, it’s tradition. You know, it’s a shame that other people can’t play local. But we play the teams that’ll play us that are local, and it makes it a lot of fun every week.”

Either team would feel better going into their homestretch with a win Friday.

“Our kids are starting to understand how important each repetition is in practice,” Hayes said. “Let’s not worry about Friday, let’s worry about Wednesday. Let’s worry about Thursday, let’s just worry about every play, every snap, every repetition. How are we getting better?”