This year marks the 50th year The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register has produced its annual Football Preview. In that time, a lot of good players have graced the gridirons of the Ohio Valley. Many have went on to excel in college and even have careers in the NFL. To pick the best ...

(in order of graduating year) Allan Hornyak, St. John, 1969 Ron Lee, Bellaire, FB, 1971 Bob Haught, Stanton, RB, 1972 Tom Perko, Steubenville Catholic, DL-LB, 1972 John (Fuzzy) Filliez, Magnolia, WR-Athlete, 1973 Ernie Washington, East Liverpool, RB, 1973 Jim Woofter, Oak Glen, ...

By JOSH STROPE WHEELING — After winning a state championship in 2015, expectations for Wheeling Park have reached new heights. Even a first-round playoff loss last season has done nothing to diminish what many predict to be a deep playoff run for the Patriots this season. The Patriots ...

By SHAWN RINE WHEELING — Perhaps nobody in the Ohio Valley knows winning on the football field like Wheeling Central coach Mike Young. The owner of five West Virginia Class A state championships, Young acknowledges being blessed. During the 2017 season, one could make the argument that ...

By BUBBA KAPRAL WHEELING — B.J. Depew enters the 2017 season a happy man. The classy Linsly coach is upbeat for two good reasons. One, his roster numbers are up dramatically. Two, the Cadets will be tackling an OVAC-laden schedule for the first time in many seasons. Depew will have ...

By KYLE LUTZ WELLSBURG — For Brooke, it was the season of the injury bug in 2016. After the first two weeks on both sides of the ball, the Bruins lost 13 starters. In fact, the starting and backup quarterbacks eac suffered injuries and the third-string quarterback played six weeks. But ...

By SHAWN RINE GLEN DALE — If the assimilation of quality depth is the key component to contending at the West Virginia Class AAA level, John Marshall will be far more prepared to navigate the storm than it was last season. The Monarchs welcome back a wealth of returnees on both sides of the ...

By SETH STASKEY ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Not many motivational speeches have been needed around St. Clairsville’s football camp this summer. That’s what happens when a team so accustomed to winning at a high rate experiences a ‘down’ season. Or the type of season that head coach Brett ...

By SETH STASKEY MARTINS FERRY — Dave Bruney has experienced it before. He’s not one to get caught up in the number of players listed on the roster. He prefers the quality of the players listed. As the veteran Martins Ferry head coach prepares for his 39th season at his alma mater ...

By ED LOOMAN STEUBENVILLE—As veteran coach Reno Saccoccia likes to say— year in and year out, “kids graduate. One thing, however, that never graduates is tradition.” Saccoccia and his 2017 Steubenville squad will be looking to “add to the tradition of Big Red football when it ...

By KIM NORTH BELLAIRE — It had been awhile since Bellaire fans had something to cheer about at Nelson Field. The 2016 Big Reds advanced to the Ohio Division VI state playoffs and finished 6-5 under first-year coach Mark Spigarelli, a Bellaire alum. “We had a real good year,” ...

By SETH STASKEY SHADYSIDE — As he prepared for the 2017 season, Mark Holenka had several thoughts running through his head. Many tied into the tough-to-swallow way in which last season ended in the Division VII regional quarterfinals against Harvest Prep. Just three seconds away from ...

By SHAWN RINE NEW MARTINSVILLE — During the preseason, Dave ‘Doc’ Chapman precisely summed up Magnolia football in one small sentence. When the Blue Eagles are physical on both the offensive and defensive lines, he said, they’re good. In his first season at the helm, Chapman started ...

By RICK THORP COLUMBUS — Urban Meyer doesn’t like to dwell on the past. Ohio State’s sixth-year head coach is more of a forward thinker. So, when discussing his team’s prospects for the upcoming season, Meyer prefers not to talk about last season; or the year before that, or the ...

By RICK THORP ATHENS — After years of being the bridesmaid, Ohio is ready to be the bride. The Bobcats have appeared in the Mid-American Conference title game four times since 2006 and have come away from Ford Field empty handed each time. Frank Solich, entering his 13th season in ...

By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer Defending Big Ten champion Penn State returns a Heisman Trophy candidate at running back and a record-setting quarterback, and it generally is regarded as one of the 10 best teams in the country. The Nittany Lions are not even picked to win their ...

By JIM BUTTA MORGANTOWN — In 2016, West Virginia won 10 games for one of the best seasons in recent memory, climbing as high as No. 10 in the College Football Playoff poll at one point. It marked only the ninth time the Mountaineers finished with double-digit wins. WVU finished with a ...

By JOSH STROPE SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brian Kelly built up a lot of goodwill with his early success at Notre Dame. Unfortunately for him, even one 4-8 season doesn’t sit well in South Bend. Notre Dame entered last season the preseason No. 10. A double-overtime, opening-game loss to Texas ...

By CARLY CONTRAGUERRO MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown High football team faced replacing key production after the graduation of top receivers and tacklers following its road to the state semifinals last season. Head coach Matt Lacy made adjustments to where overall team speed is better at ...

By CODY TOMER MORGANTOWN—In 2015, veteran head coach John Kelley and the University Hawks suffered their first losing season since 1995, but they rebounded in amazing fashion in 2016. University sent a message to its opponents that it was back in full force by turning in an 8-2 record and ...