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Wheeling Park at Brooke
WELLSBURG -- The Brooke Bruins face a tough challenge to start the season tonight when the Wheeling Park Patriots come to Brooke Memorial Stadium.
"They are a quality, conference opponent," Brooke coach Mac McLean said. "They are a tall task for anyone to start the season against. It's definitely a tall task for a young team like us, but we are really looking forward to the opportunity.
"With the ceremony naming the field after coach (Paul) Billiard, there is going to be a lot of alumni. Being on Thursday night, it is one of the first games of the season, so there is going to be a lot of people. It is going to be a packed house and a great atmosphere."
While it is a test for a lot of his young players, McLean knows it is just the first game of a long season.
"I think it will be a pretty good measuring stick for them, but I don't think it will tell the tale of the whole season," he said. "We are going to be a week-to-week work in progress."
The Bruins have been in the midst of a quarterback battle during the preseason between seniors Logan Williams and Gage Yost, and fans will know tonight who gets the start.
McLean expects the Patriots, who won last season's opener 24-6 at Wheeling Jesuit University, to be a well-coached team with good athletes.
Cambridge at Indian Creek
WINTERSVILLE -- As they have for the last few seasons, the Indian Creek Redskins start the season with a matchup against Cambridge. The teams meet Friday at Kettlewell Memorial Stadium after the Redskins defeated the Bobcats 28-7 on the road in last season's opener.
Starting with the same opponent, Creek coach Andrew Connor knows what to expect from Cambridge, which went 3-7 a season ago and has a new coach in former assistant Josh Lowery.
"They are quality program," Connor said. "They have a new coach, but he has been there for a while. He did a good job for them when he was running the offense.
"We look for a good contest with them. We can't give up big plays against them -- we have to get 11 guys to the ball. Offensively, we need to make some big plays. We want to strike a balance with run and pass and put pressure on Cambridge to figure out which one to stop."
One thing that Connor's team has going for it is returning senior quarterback Brennon Norris leading the offense.
Edison at Southern Local
SALINEVILLE -- The Shane O'Brien era at Edison kicks off Friday night when his Wildcats travel to take on Southern Local.
"It has gone really fast," O'Brien said of his first offseason. "It has been a great process, but it has flown by. I'm excited for the guys. They have put in a lot of hard work over the summer, and I am excited to see how they do week one."
The Indians went 5-5 last season, and O'Brien expects them to provide a challenge, with the key being winning the battle up front.
"They are very aggressive team," he said. "Defensively, I know they are going to fly to the football. They play downhill. Offensively they are going to try to run the ball, that is their game. I think trying to win the line of scrimmage is going to be big for us. The team that prepares to do that better is going to have the advantage."
Martins Ferry at Buckeye Local
YORKVILLE -- The Buckeye Local Panthers have a chance to showcase improvement as they look to continue to improve under second-year coach Roger Herbert, beginning tonight with Martins Ferry.
"Our focus this year is 10 times better than last year, and I would say 100 times better than last year," Herbert said. "We had two good scrimmages. I am pretty happy with our preseason. There are more positives than last year."
Ferry took last year's game 47-0 at Purple Rider Stadium, but Herbert is optimistic this time around will be different.
"We're not coming to play a competitive game, we are playing to win the game," he said. "That is what our goal is. We don't coach or teach anything different. Hopefully it will be a big turnaround for the program and the school if we can come out and sneak one out for everybody."
Harrison Central at Garaway
SUGARCREEK -- Anthony Hayes begins his tenure coaching the Harrison Central Huskies Friday night in challenging fashion, with a trip to battle Garaway.
"They are extremely good," he said. "They are very well-coached and have a lot of returning starters from last year's team. They started a lot of sophomores and juniors last year. Coach (Jason) Wallick has done a really good job. They have numerous playoff appearances during his tenure."
The Pirates went 5-5 last season, as did the Huskies under then-coach Justin Kropka.
"They are extremely skilled," Hayes said. "Their defensive and offensive lines are both very athletic. They are definitely one of the better teams we will see this year."
Briefs compiled by Andrew Grimm