ST. CLAIRSVILLE — After playing every year from 2001 to 2020, Indian Creek and St. Clairsville will renew their high school football rivalry Friday night on the artificial surface at Red Devil Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Red Devils hold an 18-5 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1993, and has won three of the last five meetings after reeling off 11 straight from 2005-2015. They prevailed 41-7 in the last meeting in 2020.

St. Clairsville (8-0) is ranked second behind Indian Valley in the latest Ohio Division IV, Region 15 ratings, while the Redskins (7-1) are No. 12 in Division III, Region 11. The winner will likely claim the OVAC Class 4A title, as well.

“We haven’t played in a few years, but when we did it was always a spirited game,” veteran St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said. “I expect this one to be the same. I hope our kids don’t get complacent or go tone deaf to what the coaches are telling them.”

McLean said last week’s 28-14 victory over previously unbeaten Union Local was a good game to set up this week’s matchup.

“I was happy with the way our kids got up for the emotional game. The spirits were really high,” he said. “I thought we handled ourselves very well. We had a good week of practice and I thought we were mentally and physically prepared for the game.

“We”l have to do the same things this week because Indian Creek is a very large football team. I think our kids got a taste of the playoff atmosphere and it’s going to be the same again this week,” McLean added. “The kids were able to feel the rush of emotions after Union Local scored. We told them to keep their heads up and don’t fold. We’ll need that again this week.”

St. Clairsville has outscored its opponents 295-99, tallying at least 27 points in every outing. It has two shutouts.

The Red Devils have beaten Creston Norwayne (28-21), Zanesville (34-0), Beaver Local (27-21), Martins Ferry (55-21), East Liverpool (35-14), Harrison Central (41-0), Bellaire (49-8) and Union Local (28-14).

Indian Creek, meanwhile, holds a 269-125 scoring advantage and has posted one shutout, its first in five seasons.

“Defensively, we’ve played lights-out,” veteran Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor said. “That side of the ball is getting better and better each week. We must stop the big plays this week, though.”

St. Clairsville’s defense has also been lights-out, giving up just 22 points in its last three contests, including a 41-0 blanking of Harrison Central. In fact, the Red Devils defense has scored three TDs in that stretch as Colten Florence recovered a fumble in the end zone and Gavin Schoolcraft raced 97 yards with an interception against the Huskies, while Gage Wolfe set a school record with a 101-yard pick-6 against the Jets.

“They have two outstanding linebackers in the Balgo and Fogle kids,” Connor noted. “We can’t beat ourselves because St. Clairsville is an elite program in the Ohio Valley. We must stay in front of the chains. We can’t have penalties on offense.”

As McLean noted, Indian Creek is huge across its offensive line. The Redskins average nearly 260 pounds between six linemen that rotate in-and-out. This paves the way for running backs like Zion McGee and Gavin Pownall.

“We’ve got five juniors who have started since they were freshmen. We took out lumps for a couple of years, but they hit the weight room really hard and have really come into their own this year,” Connor said of his offensive line.

“We’re blessed to have a good group of running backs,” Connor, who is a mere 3-15 against St. Clairsville, said. “Our quarterback, Ian Starkey, has really improved this season. He has really matured and helped us this year when our running game hasn’t been moving the ball.”

On the other sidelines, McLean and the Red Devils also like to play smash-mouth football with a plethora of running backs.

Senior Dino Burk returned from an absence of several weeks with a 26-carry, 149-yard effort against Union Local. He scored two touchdowns.

“We’re excited to have Dino back but everyone has done their jobs so far this year,” McLean said. “We, as coaches, play the game like a chess match. They move their pawn and we see what we can do off of that.”