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Harrison runs into hot St. Clairsville squad

FINDING ROOM — Harrison Central’s DeJuan Caldwell looks to make a play against Martins Ferry on Friday. (Photo by Joe Lovell)

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A pair of teams heading in different directions will meet for the coveted ‘Coal Bucket’ Friday night as Harrison Central visits Red Devil Stadium to tangle with St. Clairsville.

The Red Devils (4-1) open the second half of the season winners of four straight after holding off Indian Creek, 34-28, last Friday in what was a battle of 3-1 squads.

The Huskies, meanwhile, got caught up in a wild one at Martins Ferry but came out on the short end of a 42-39 verdict.

St. Clairsville looked sluggish in the first half of its opener at Carrollton. Its played solid since, averaging 40 points per game and rocketed to third in Ohio’s Division IV, Region 15 standings behind John Glenn (4-1) and Licking Valley (5-0). A pair of teams the Red Devils have defeated — Meadowbrook and Meigs — are eighth and 11th, respectively.

“We’re just being more consistent, settling into who we are,” St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said. “We have kids that have more time on the field now as a group. We’re close to where we want to be, but we have to continue to get better.”

The Red Devils entered 2017 with just six seniors, and McLean said it’s been a work in progress bringing the younger players along. Harrison Central head coach Justin Kropka sees a team ripe with McLean’s handprints.

“They’re a typical St. Clairsville team,” he said. “They’re well-coached and they do things the right way. They don’t beat themselves. They’ve found a new formula for winning. They have more of a physical stamp on them this year than maybe they’ve had in the past. Now, I think they’re more of a ‘hard-hat’-type team. They line up with three backs and run it right at you.”

Known the past few years as a team that lived off of the passing game, the Red Devils are thriving off the run this season. Led by Brady Kolb, St. Clairsville has rushed for 1,365 yards and 14 touchdowns. Kolb has 72 yards and seven scores.

“It’s a testament to their coaching staff that they’ve found different ways to win,” Kropka said. “I don’t think they’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It’s just more of the stuff coach McLean ran when he and I first started.”

McLean said it’s no secret the running game has been his team’s bread and butter offensively so far. Kolb has been the anchor of the rushing attack with Kyle Storer (244 yards) and Justin Heatherington (209 yards) providing ample assistance.

“What’s hidden in that are the five offensive linemen up front and the backs doing all the work in front of (Kolb),” McLean said. “It’s new to us, no doubt. The quality of play up front is making those things happen for us right now.”

While St. Clairsville’s offensive focus is pretty defined, the Huskies’ is in flux.

A series of injuries, most notably to quarterback Wyatt Elias, has left Kropka and his staff scrambling to find a level of consistency on both sides of the ball.

“The odds have been stacked against us a little bit, but we keep getting better,” he said. “That’s exciting as a coach. When they come to practice every day and keep getting better, then what more can you ask for?”

DeJuan Caldwell has moved to quarterback. He’s thrown for 138 yards in his short time behind center. Harrison Central’s main offensive weapon is running back Tyler West with 737 rushing yards and nine TDs.

“They have two of the best athletes in the valley,” McLean said. “I know Krop, and he’ll tell you he doesn’t have a whole lot, but I know better than that.”

The Huskies have dropped three straight, but Kropka believes things are starting to come together as best as can be expected with all of the injuries.

“When you go from a typical dropback quarterback to a more athletic one, you have to make some changes in order to take advantage of that,” he said. “We’ve been slowly working toward that the past few weeks. Last week was more of a coming out party for the the things we’ll have to do now to be successful on offense. We’ve always been able to figure out ways to get it done. We’re doing our best and the kids are responding.”

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