STEUBENVILLE — As far as mutual respect goes, it doesn’t get much better in the Ohio Valley than the feelings of the coaching staffs at Wheeling Park (1-0) and Steubenville (2-0). At 7 on Friday night at Harding Stadium, the two cross-river schools that are Nos. 1 — Big Red — and 2 — the Patriots — in the Ohio Valley Athletics rankings, will meet in what can only be described as a huge early season showdown.
Combatants on the field, each coach — the Patriots’ Chris Daugherty and Big Red’s Reno Saccoccia — couldn’t have been more complimentary heading into the contest.
“You can see they are a different animal right now,” Daugherty said. “They look like the other Steubenville teams we have played — they’re very, very fast and it’s a credit to their staff that they play fast and hard all the time. They don’t take a play off. They don’t take a second off.”
Saccoccia says he’s happy to see Park back on the schedule, and would like for that continue.
“I think that Wheeling Park is always a good way to see how you defend athletes,” Saccoccia said. “This is a game that should be played every year. Park likes to get after it and we like to get after it. Doc does a great job and they are well-coached, and (the late Mark) Nardone did a great job before him.”
Big Red enters the game off two impressive victories, opening with a 22-7 smothering of Olentangy Liberty before blowing past New Philadelphia, 41-7, a week ago. Saccoccia, however, sees a stark difference in those two schools and Park.
“The first two (opponents) were physical teams and we were outmanned size-wise,” the veteran Steubenville coach said. “When you put this year with last year, (the Patriots) have not only speed, but elusive speed. They have the ability to catch in space and break a tackle. We will see how we do with speed this week. We’re going to have the same focus we always do, which is stop the run first and defend the pass,”
Ironically enough, that’s the same thing Daugherty said. He saw Big Red rack up nearly 300 yards rushing last week against the Quakers, led by a 14-carry, 148-yard, two-score performance from Rodney James. However, Savier Faulks picked up 66 yards and a TD on six carries, and Phaeton Hill was good on 12 of 20 passes for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“They’re always going to run the ball well,” Daugherty said. “They’re going to get the outside zone going, their line is so fast and quick, and all the backs they choose from are great. They’ve got it going and they run it on everybody.”
“They do a great job of finding the area you’re weak and they attack that area through the pass, and while they don’t always pass a lot, the times they do always seem to be back-breakers. Their game plan is not always what you’ve seen the week before. They are putting those kids in the right spots, always.”
That offensive line that Daugherty spoke of, has been moving mountains for Big Red. The group is fast and physical at the point of attack, and is relentless once it gets to the second level and beyond.
“We take a lot of pride in our offensive and defensive lines,” Saccoccia said. “That’s still where football games are won and lost, is up front. They don’t get a lot of notoriety in the newspapers or on the radio or on TV or on the internet, but we definitely take a lot of pride in that.”
This is undoubtedly a big test for a young Patriots team that passed its first one a week ago, going on the road and knocking off a St. Clairsville team that has deep postseason aspirations, 18-14. Park, which had 11 new starters offensively, went toe-to-toe with the Red Devils, a regional finalist a season ago, and came out on top thanks to a Brett Phillips-to-Nate Shelek TD pass in the fourth quarter, and then a fourth-down stand by the defense.
“They were growing up in the middle of the game. We made a ton of mistakes, but probably not ones that were visible to the naked eye,” Daugherty said. “As the game was going on they were making less mistakes and you could just tell they knew that they had to get it together. One that kind of rose to the occasion was Jerrae Hawkins. He allows us to have that one burst and … wow.”
Hawkins, who was offered by the University of Pittsburgh before playing a varsity game and hauled in five Phillips passes for 134 yards and a touchdown, might not be available, however. He was ejected following the final play of the St. Clairsville game after inadvertently kicking the ball and hitting an official in what could only be described as an accidental, overzealous celebration. Park has appealed the suspension.
Regardless, Daugherty saw a lot to like in that opener. He said Shelek, who was all over the field on both sides of the ball, played what the coach considered perhaps the best game by a Park football player in a decade. As for Phillips, Daugherty said it was exactly what he expected — calm, cool and collected backyard football, where he made plays with his arms and his feet.
“And I wouldn’t say it was his first dose, but Jacob Stewart played an unbelievable game. You look from last year to this year, and he stood out as exceptional. Maybe not super young, by Devon Rayford played well and those young receivers, Will James and Keohn Stephens played well.”
You can bet Saccoccia and his coaching staff are aware of all those guys and more.
“The one key defensively is being able to tackle in space,” he said. “And we want to dominate the line of scrimmage. We talk about that a lot (having a target on their back). I think the big thing we do is prior to the game, you have to focus on what you do as individuals and as team. You have to improve every week.”
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