McLean Facing Alma Mater As Red Devils Host Brooke
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE --Friday will be a duel between two Brooke High School alumni as the Bruins visit St. Clairsville at Red Devil Stadium for the first clash between the two teams since Brooke joined the Buckeye 8 sub-conference in 2024.
The Bruins, helmed by Frank Sisinni, a member of the 1990 Brooke graduating class, has his team humming with a 4-1 record after a gutsy 19-13 comeback victory over Ripley last week.
"At this point of year, we’re seeing everything come to fruition when it comes to how we prepared after last year’s season and into the offseason," Sisinni said. "We’re seeing the payday right now between the lines on Friday nights. The kids are getting a second year of the message in the program and what the coaching staff’s doing. The buy-in with the players is what we’re seeing week-in and week-out throughout the season. We’re excited about the way we’ve started.
"It’s a situation where we want to be looking towards a possible playoff scenario, especially when you talk about Brooke High School, and we are definitely working towards that. Some of the games we’ve been in and the schedule, the way it’s built is to have a challenging schedule. And being in the Buckeye 8 gives us that."
Brooke is currently rated No. 6 in WVSSAC Class AAA, well within the 16-team playoff field.
St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean, a 1996 graduate of Brooke, thinks his alma mater will present a challenge to his Red Devils, where he has been head coach since 2002.
"They’re very impressive," McLean said of the Bruins. "They’ve got a veteran team. They’ve got some great players. It’s funny, me being an alumni, I know a lot of those kids and their families. I was teammates with their dads, and I know they’re raised right.
"They’re executing at a very high level. They’re aggressive, they swarm. They have a very formidable running game and attack, but they spread out and they can throw. They have some length and speed at receiver, some toughness. I think they’re very good and another tough opponent."
St. Clairsville is 2-5, winners of their last two contests as the Red Devils have tried to turn their season around after a rocky start. McLean's squad is coming off a tight 34-28 victory over fellow Buckeye 8 member Bellaire.
"We’re teachers at heart," McLean said. "And I think that we’ve seen a lot of learning go on in our team. We’ve had to learn how to play four quarters. We’ve got some guys healthy now, that really helps. It’s been big to get a little bit more depth on both sides of the ball. We’ve got some original starters returning to the lineup and that's helped tremendously.
"I think that our character showed last week. To lose the momentum in the game late like we did against Bellaire and to dig deep and come back and orchestrate a drive to retake the lead with two minutes to go, and then our defense comes out and gets a stop-- it tells me that we’ve matured in those scenarios because we’ve been in the lead in games earlier in the year that we let slip away. We’ve learned the process of what it takes to battle momentum throughout a game."
Despite the mismatched records, Sisinni knows better than to underestimate St. C., a team that has built a reputation as one of the perennial powers in the Valley.
"You talk about St. Clairsville football, anywhere in the Valley you bring that name up, you know what you’re getting," Sisinni said. "I don’t think we’ve played since 2014 or 2015 or so-- it’s been a while since we’ve got to play on a Friday night against St. Clairsville. We know that group’s going to be fundamentally sound in everything they do. Those are things we’ve seen in all the games they’ve played and the tough schedule they’ve played and the tough opponents they’ve seen. I know they stumbled out of the gate somewhat, but Coach McLean has everything fixed and moving in the right direction.
"We know we’re in for a tall task to go into that environment at St. Clairsville High School and play a tough ballgame."
There have been eight previous meetings heading into Friday, with each team claiming four victories apiece.
"What’s unique about this is I played in the first Brooke-St. Clairsville game in 1989," Sisinni said. "Mike Young was the head coach of St. Clairsville football back then. I know there were some games there in-between, maybe eight games. But we know it’s going to be a tough matchup for us.
"We’re up to the challenge because we’re trying to build ourselves up and be battle-tested when it comes to the final stretch of the season here. What better way to start the second half of the season than see a very strong St. Clairsville football program?"
The last time the two teams played was 2012.
"My brother was the head coach there for a while, so we got away from playing each other," McLean said. "Just didn’t want to put ourselves in that position where you got to try to beat your own flesh and blood. No one wins in that battle, right? But, they’ve joined the [Buckeye 8] conference and we’re in the big-school league with them. So it’s going to be a regular tradition now, I believe, as long as we both stay members of the Buckeye."
Brooke has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season by first-year quarterback Kamden Sperringer, who has thrown for 904 yards and 10 touchdowns across five games. Four Bruin receivers have over 100 receiving yards and five Bruins have caught touchdowns from Sperringer, who takes over under-center from older brother Ty, who graduated last year.
"He’s a kid that’s grounded," Sisinni said. "The way he’s taken the reins at quarterback and the leadership he presents us in the huddle and, you know, the things that we’ve seen him throughout games where, he’s going to make his mistakes as a young guy, but we’ve seen the maturity level of him throughout his five games so far this year where he settled in and has made some big throws for us.
"Last week he had a big game against Ripley with his throws or his runs. He had a run for a touchdown, got us back in the ballgame there against Ripley. Every game now he’s done something to elevate the team. We’re looking for plays to be made. It definitely happens through Kam Sperringer.
St. Clairsville, meanwhile, has welcomed back multiple players sidelined by injuries earlier in the season, including junior Luke Schafer, who pulled down an interception last week as well as picking off a two-point passing attempt vs. the Big Reds.
"Having [Schafer] back in the secondary, it’s big," McLean said. "It’s big because he’s a great player. But it’s also big because there were players who stepped in and filled his shoes while he was absent, which now gives us some depth and some confidence in some guys where we can be a little fresher late in the game and a little healthier.
"We also collected Kale Fisher back last week. Kale did a nice job on defense stepping up there and making some plays for us. We got Landen Serrano and Ian, my son, back the week before. That's all good news, good stories to get those kids in pads and see them get to play because it’s heartbreaking to see kids miss time."
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Red Devil Stadium.