photo by: Kim North

Barnesville’s Trey Toliver will see a lot of carries Friday night when the Shamrocks travel to Morristown to meet Union Local in the 67th meeting between the schools. Kickoff is set for 7 o’clock.

MORRISTOWN – Barnesville and Union Local high schools are separated by less than 20 miles. However, they are a lot closer in the latest Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V, Region 19 ratings.

Entering Friday night’s 67th annual Western Belmont County Showdown at Jets Stadium, the Shamrocks (7-2, 15.3406) sit in the No. 5 spot, two notches ahead of the Jets (7-2, 12.9989). The top 4 teams in the region receive first-round byes in the playoffs, with Nos. 5-8 hosting first-round contests as the top 12 make the postseason. Kickoff is set for 7 o’clock.

Barnesville, which has already clinched a playoff berth, leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1959 – 41-22-3 – and has been played on an annual basis since for the coveted ‘Milk Bucket.’ The Shamrocks have won the last seven contests between the two and nine of the last 10, including 40-19 two years ago in Morristown and 55-14 last year at Shamrock Stadium in Barnesville.

“Whether you’re 9-0, 0-9 or anywhere in between, you’ve got to throw everything out and focus on one thing – Union Local,” Barnesville head coach Blake Allen said. “I’m proud of the kids for the tough schedule we’ve played and at least we know we are in the playoffs, so that will allow us to focus even more on our opponent.

“For the kids, they can sort of compartmentalize and put that (the playoffs) aside. That is not a concern yet,” Allen added. “We’ll figure out who we’re playing and where we are going next week. This week it’s about UL.

“We love playing there. They always take good care of their field,” Allen said of making the short trip east on I-70. “As I’ve said before, we could be playing in the parking lot in front of nobody and the kids would be up for it.”

The two rivals enter the matchup on different ends of the spectrum. Barnesville has lost two of its last four – both to West Virginia-ranked powerhouses – while Union Local has won seven straight since starting 1-2

“It was nice when we had the (regular-season win) streak going, but you can learn from losses and I think this team has learned a lot from the two games we’ve lost this season,” Allen said. “The kids responded really well after the first loss (17-14 to George Washington). We beat two good football teams after that. Last week (a 41-21 loss to Independence, W.Va.) it was a good game at halftime (21-21), but they came out and scored to start the third quarter, we got stopped on fourth-and-1 and they scored and we turned it over and they scored again. All of a sudden they were way ahead, but there was a lot of stuff that happened in that quarter that we can take away and learn from.”

While the Shamrocks were falling in the second half at Don Drumm Stadium at Marietta College, the Jets re-fueled in the fourth quarter before flying past Bellaire, 38-13, in a game that was knotted at 13 after three quarters.

“Watching the film, Union Local was in a dogfight going into the fourth quarter, but they closed the game out well,” Allen noted. “It all starts with (Brody) Perzanowski. The more carries he gets the better, the harder he is to tackle. We know we will have our hands full with him. Even though we won last year, he had a great game against us. We know what he is capable of.”

Perzanowski, Union Local’s all-time leading rusher (4,377 yards) and rushing touchdowns (41) as a junior, exploded in the fourth quarter against the Big Reds. He carried five times for 160 yards and three long touchdown runs (70, 41, 39) after managing just 91 stripes on 20 attempts in the first three quarters.

Barnesville has a pretty good running back of its own in Trey Toliver, also a junior. He has run for 1,143 yards and 20 touchdowns this season after gaining more than 1,000 last fall.

“We really hang our hat on being able to establish the run and so does Union Local, but they also try to spread you out and use their speed,” Allen pointed out. “They’ve got more than Perzanowski. They’ve got a couple kids in the backfield that can run.”

Union Local head coach Bernie Thompson agreed.

“I think for both teams it starts up front. They have a great offensive and defensive lines and so do we,” Thompson said. “They’ve got a great running back and so do we. The game is going to be won up front and I don’t think that’s a secret.

“They like to get the ball to their athletes and so do we. We know who we are up against. There are a lot of comparables there,” Thompson added. “When you have comparables like that, I think, in my mind, that it comes down to believing in what you are doing and executing.

“We know what we are up against. Barnesville is a phenomenal team. They are one of the best in the Ohio Valley for a reason,” he continued. “We understand we’re going to be the underdog and we’re going to use that as we continue to battle and battle.”

Barnesville’s offensive line consists of Christien Hannahs, Dillon Lucaas, Gavin Morris, Braxton Byers and Mac Cacioppo. The Jets front five are Konnor Kovacs, Logan Webb, Johnny Hercules, Brady Hunt and John Kovacs.

“In our mind, the playoffs have already started so we’re not even thinking about that,” Thompson noted. “We’re attacking this week. We’re going to go out and take a big swing and see what happens. Whatever the point standings are Saturday morning, the main objective is to get in the playoffs, we’ll live with them and move on.

“We pride ourselves this year on being a second-half team,” Thompson said. “I think we’ve done a phenomenal job with that all year. We had the two early losses (Wheeling Central, 25-19, and Indian Creek, 23-15) and I think a lot of people wrote us off, but here we are 7-2 and having a lot to play for in week 10. I’m proud of everyone’s effort.”

Whoever is able to throw the ball effectively could come out on top.

Barnesville’s Colt Francis is 64 of 109 for 1,158 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His favorite targets are Toliver (288 yards, 2tds) and Colt Carpenter (230) with 14 receptions each. However, Carpenter has missed some time due to various injuries. Phoenix Graham and Koby Jones each had 10 catches.

Union Local’s Colby Carpenter has completed 49 of 64 attempts for 829 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. Max Duncan (326, 3tds) and Ayden Graham (166) each have 11 receptions.