Bruins set to host key matchup with Park
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WELLSBURG -- When all is said and done Wheeling Park football Coach Chris Daugherty wants his team to go out and win every week, however, the veteran mentor also knows that winning games against West Virginia Class AAA teams holds even more importance for his Patriots who are continuing their climb up the big-school playoff charts with just three regular season games to play in the 2022 campaign.
Park, which sits at 5-2 on the season, has split four games against out-of-state schools, including a pair of Ohio powerhouses, but coming off an impressive 34-7 victory over previous No. 1 Class AAA school Musselman last week is 3-0 against Mountain State big schools, all of which are currently in the playoff hunt.
"We want to win them all, there is no question about that," Daugherty said. "But at the end of the day what we do against West Virginia schools is very important, and we play a pretty tough state schedule. We just need to keep doing what we have been doing. This is a team this week that we are used to seeing and there is a lot on the line, including bragging rights."
Friday night the Patriots, who have clawed their way up to a tie for ninth in the playoff polls, head up Route 2 for a battle with Northern Panhandle rival Brooke (4-3) at Brooke Memorial Stadium. Coach Mac McLean's Bruins are coming off a stinging 27-0 setback to John Marshall last week and are sitting at No. 19.
"We are not going to back down from anyone, but I honestly believe next year we are going to need to make some schedule changes," McLean mentioned. "I don't mean dropping teams, as long as there is a Wheeling Park and a Brooke we will be playing each other, but I don't like playing two of the biggest schools on our schedule back-to-back late in the season.
"These are games we can't afford to go into beat up, so I think we just need to space them out better on the schedule."
For the second consecutive week Wheeling Park is coming off one of its best outings of the season. The Patriots led the Applemen 13-7 at the half last Friday before pouring it on in the second half and finishing with over 500 yards of total offense. Overall, Park's three W.Va. victories this year, over Musselman, Morgantown and University, have come by a combined 123-54 margin.
Senior quarterback Brett Phillips was once again outstanding, hitting 19 of 30 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns while speedster Jerrae Hawkins caught nine of those passes for a whopping 221 yards and three scores. The Patriots also had the running game going with Zac Lydick finishing with 88 on the ground, Max Wiley adding 71 and Phillips chipping in 31 and a score.
"This is a gigantic challenge for us," McLean added. "We are going to need to be at the top of our game in every phase to get out of here with a win. They just do so many things well. We know it is going to take a special game plan and a special night for us to beat them."
Even more impressive was the Wheeling Park defense, which has been spectacular the last two weeks, and held Musselman to just 216 total yards and the one touchdown on the night.
"Our defense was exceptional last week," Daugherty said. "We knew coming into the season the offense was going to be good and have to carry us a little early, but the defense has continued to get better and better. I believe last week may have been our best defensive effort of the season so far.
"When the defense is playing that well it turns into extra touches for the offense and then you can make the other team's defense pay."
Brooke, which was held to just 103 total yards of offense and five first downs while racking up nine penalties against the Monarchs last week, trailed 3-0 late in the half before shooting themselves in the foot and watching that deficit grow to 10-0. The Bruins' defense surrendered 270 yards of offense.
Quarterback Braelyn Sperringer completed 10 of 25 passes for 77 yards while carrying the ball twice for 14 more stripes.
"This is a rival game for us no matter how they are playing or how many they have won or lost," Daugherty added. "I told the kids that I can remember back when Brooke was rattling off wins against us and we couldn't beat them. Bottom line is that it is another important game for us and we can't afford to sit back and be happy about the Musselman win very long.
"We have three regular season games left and they all matter. If you are sitting at 1-5 or 1-6 then you are probably just playing for pride right now, but a loss for us right now could be devastating. We are playing to try and secure a home playoff game and we have to continue to win to get that."
After Brooke the Patriots will close out the regular season with a huge battle at current No. 1 Parkersburg South next week before hosting arch-rival John Marshall in the regular-season finale.
Wheeling Park has won the last five meetings against the Bruins by a combined score of 255-55, including a 56-7 triumph last year. Brooke's last victory in the series was a 21-18 win in 2015.