MOUNDSVILLE – One of the longest running high school football rivalries in the northern panhandle continues Friday night when Brooke heads south on W.Va. to meet John Marshall on the artificial surface at Monarch Stadium.

This will be the 57th all-time meeting between the two programs who have played annually since 1969, with the Bruins (3-4) holding a commanding 41-15 advantage in the series, including last year, 33-6. Brooke won 22 of the first 23 meetings – JM won in 1973 by a 2-0 count – and 27 of the first 30 matchups.

Brooke head coach Frank Sisinni, in his first year at his alma mater, knows the rivalry all too well. He was a member of the Bruins’ powerful squads in the 1980s that had their way with the Monarchs.

“I knew this rivalry went back a while, but I wasn’t sure how long,” he said Wednesday afternoon over the telephone. “It’s always been a rivalry for me.”

“This is definitely one of our biggest rivals,” John Marshall head coach Mark Cisar said. “We went up there last year and had a decent first half, but we just killed ourselves with mistakes in the second half.”

The downfall started just prior to the half last year. Following a field goal by Chase Hile late in the half, his ensuing squib kick was recovered by the Bruins, allowing Hile to kick another long field goal before the half ended.

“We didn’t play very well up there. They’ve beat us twice in a row and we didn’t play well in either game,” Cisar recalled. “This is a big game. We’re 4-2 and they’re 3-4. Both of us are coming off weeks where we played pretty decent teams.”

The Monarchs (4-2) were thumped 55-13 at state-ranked Keyser while the Bruins fell to state-ranked Frankfort 66-13.

Sisinni said the teams enter the game in similar fashions.

“Both are trying to get back in the win column and both are still fighting for a playoff berth,” he pointed out. We ran into a buzzsaw last week and so did they.”

The Monarchs will be celebrating Homecoming.

“It will be nice to finally play at home. We haven’t played at home it seems like forever,” Cisar remarked. “It’s been four weeks – three road games and an off week – since we played at home, so hopefully we can get back on track.

“It should be a big crowd since we haven’t been at home for a while,” Cisar added. “We’re excited to be back home.”

Brooke likes to throw the ball but they can also run it.

Quarterback Ty Sperringer had 333 total yards of offense two years ago as he threw for 172 and five TDs in a 49-23 win.

He also had an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the third quarter.

“They are big on the offensive line. They do some good things. They have two decent receivers and their quarterback, obviously, is very athletic,” Cisar noted. “He can run the ball as evidenced two years ago when he ran all over us and hit some deep balls against us. He has done some of the same things this season in the films that we’ve seen.”

Sperringer is 65 of 135 for 842 yards and seven touchdowns, but has been picked off 11 times. He has also run for 193 yards and a score.

His favorite targets are Grant Yost (25-388-3tds) and Crosby Morris (18-232-td). Michael Gibson is the leading rusher with 282 yards and a touchdown on 54 carries.

“We need to get back to what we were doing when we were winning,” Sisinni insisted. “That is getting off to a fast start in all three phases of the game. We need to be fast and physical.”

Ciscar said his team is the “most beat up team that I’ve ever coached. We’ve got a handful of guys out again this week, with five or six being down for the season with broken legs, broken arms, an elbow issue and concussions.

“We lost a couple more offensive linemen for this week. Everyone always says, ‘next man up,’ but our next men up are JV guys that haven’t played any varsity snaps,” he stressed. “We must limit our mistakes, move the chains and keep possession of the ball.”

Sophomore running back Dalton Cooper was banged up in the loss at Parkersburg South and still isn’t 100 percent, according to Cisar. Cooper has run for 568 yards and five touchdowns on 78 carries.

“He won’t play any offense this week, but he could see some time on defense,” Cisar said. “We are more banged up on defense. It’s hard to make tackles with backup players in there. It’s tough … really tough.”

Senior Kayden Knapp has thrown for 1,113 yards and 14 touchdowns on 80 of 134. He has eight interceptions. His prime targets are Landen Snyder (29-347-5), Cain Martin (28-288-6) and Xavier Wells (17-394-3).

“Our passing game has carried us. When you’re replacing guys in the offensive line with younger guys, it’s easier to pass block than it is to run block, so we’ve gone more to the passing game,” Cisar said. “We’ve had trouble getting the ground game going, but we’re going to try again this week. If you control the line of scrimmage, you can control the game, but if we have to throw it, we will. We have to give ourselves the best chance to win.”

The game could serve as an elimination contest for the loser as John Marshall enters at No. 17 in W.Va. Class AAA, with Brooke three spots back in 20th. The top 16 make the postseason.