Trending
WELLSBURG -- Beaver Local got to experience its first game-conditions taste of life without graduated quarterback Austin Cline.
Cline ran for 1,203 yards and passed for 1,849 yards with a combined 41 touchdowns passing and rushing.
The team's leading receiver, Taylor Johnson, made the switch to quarterback after a three-way battle in the preseason at QB.
The Beavers were humbled in a 41-7 loss on the road against Struthers in Week 1 and will look to bounce back against a team that's building an entirely new identiy, from staff and scheme to, like the Beavers, quarterback.
Brook finished 5-5 in 2023 but battled through a multitude of key injuries, including to then longtime quarterback Braelyn Sperringer.
Sperringer graduated, but his younger brother is keeping the mantle in the family as Ty Sperringer takes over behind center in Brooke County.
Brooke also takes the field with a new coaching staff, headlined by Casey Goff, who made his way to Brooke County after six seasons coaching Division III's College of New Jersey.
The schemes are different, the culture is being rebuilt, and the Bruins are looking to make a return to prominence in West Virginia's newly-altered four class system which finds the Brooke dropped down to Class AAA instead of with the largest schools in the state in AAAA.
Goff made special note to work with the defense as it's a totally revamped scheme, but one that if ran properly, will have the Bruins swarming to the ball like in the past, meeting ball carriers and quarterbacks alike with bad intentions.
Both sides of the ball will see plenty of new faces Friday as the Bruins lost a total of 23 seniors from 2023, including key offensive and defensive lineman and most of the prominent skill position players.
Joining Sperringer in the backfield with be the combination of Dante Tulenko, Garrett Moore, and Triston Stevens. Leading pass catchers will be Darion Hilton, Owen Haught, Ethan Fisher and Marcus Reed.
A key will be who can take over the job as main enforcer and pass rusher vacated with the graduation of Tyler Wise at defensive end.
Wise was an integral part of the Bruins' defense in 2023 and his production will need to be made up, either indivually, or in the aggregate by the team as a whole.
Beaver Local, meanwhile, does return three starters from its line in 2023, along with h-back Brock Severs, a capable weapon both in and out of the backfield.