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Maragos family’s ties to Cartwright Field deep

RICHMOND — The Maragos family has some lengthy ties to Edison’s Cartwright Memorial Field.

According to Cristopher Maragos, those ties began in the 1940s when his uncle Ted played on the field. Many family members followed suit, playing through all the Jefferson Union years and a few for Edison South.

Cristopher’s father, Theodore, had nephews and a son in the graduating classes during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Theodore also took care of the football field, practice field and regularly the baseball/softball fields for the better part of 50 years. His name is now on the press box at Edison’s football facility.

The family’s ties, at least from a playing perspective, may have come to an end Friday when Cole Maragos, a junior defensive end, and his Crusader teammates trotted onto the field for their game with the Wildcats.

“I was at the game with family and friends,” Cristopher said. “My father and I sat right underneath his name on the press box.

“It was sentimental to watch my son play on Cartwright Memorial Field for the visiting team. No one in the family played on the field during the 2000s. He may be the last Maragos to play on that field in more than 70 to 90 years. That’s an amazing feat.”

Central forced five turnovers in Friday’s game and handed Edison a 33-14 defeat. The Crusaders now hold a 5-1 lead in their all-time series with the Wildcats.

After the game, Cole Maragos admitted to having some mixed emotions about playing on the field and the outcome of the game.

“It definitely was pretty exciting because of my family’s involvement here,” he said. “But, I am really glad we won the game. It was a cool experience.”

Swipes, scores

The Central-Edison contest did provide this veteran newspaper guy with a first-of-a- kind experience. I’ve seen numerous games over the years that included multiple interception returns for touchdowns and even one or two scoop and scores.

Friday I witnessed my first multiple “swipe-and-score” game.

Edison’s Dakota Clifton had the first when he somehow managed to wrestle the football away from a Crusader running back and gallop 85 yards for a touchdown.

As first-year Wildcat coach Shane O’Brien said “I’m not sure everyone knew exactly what was going on there.”

Crusader Noah Fayak stunned the large crowd when he picked the pocket of an Edison receiver, turned and sprinted 65 yards for a score. Fayak’s six-pointer came as Central was clinging to a 14-7 lead and the Wildcats were driving for a possible tying touchdown.

“He came up with a big defensive play when we needed it most,” said Central coach Steve Daley.

Five of a kind

As the football season reaches Week 5 (can you believe we’re at the halfway point?), five teams in The Herald Star/Daily Times coverage area all stand at 3-1.

Weir was the last of the unbeatens but, unfortunately, the Red Riders let one slip away on Friday, falling to Keyser 41-40. Big Red, Indian Creek, Catholic Central and Madonna are the other squads on the five-of-a-kind list.

All five remain in the hunt for a post-season berth. Weir, which goes on the road to unbeaten Petersburg this week after playing four games at home, now is ranked 12th in the West Virginia Class AA standings according to www.wvtailgatecentral.com.

After its victory over the Hun School, Big Red stands fifth in Division IV, Region 13, according to computer rankings guru Joe Eitel. Hubbard, Perry, Poland and Carrollton currently hold down the top four spots.

Indian Creek is ninth in Region 13 and has a huge home game this week with unbeaten St. Clairsville, which leads D IV, Region 15.

Central has jumped to eighth in Division VI, Region 21. The Crusaders will take a trip up state Route 11 this week for a date with Warren JFK.

The tailgate central website has Madonna ranked at the 11th best team in West Virginia’s Class A standings. The Blue Dons have a difficult road trip this week, traveling to face 4-0 Cameron.

What a night

Regardless of what happens going forward with Thomas Sessi’s athletic career, the Madonna sophomore will be hard-pressed to top his performance in Saturday’s 40-20 victory over Beallsville.

Sessi, who’s in his first season as a starter for the Blue Dons, finished with 449 total yards of offense. He ran for 234, caught eight Santino Arlia passes for 140 and returned a kickoff for 75 yards. Just for good measure, he scored four of Madonna’s six touchdowns.

He now is the leading rusher in the Herald Star/Daily Times coverage area with 503 yards.

“He’s a very talented young man,” Madonna coach Darrin Hicks said. “Whatever we ask him to do on offense or defense he does, and tonight we asked him to do a lot of things and I think he did all of them. His evolution as a player continues to grow.

“I thought that some of our perimeter blocking was very good. That’s something we talk about all the time. The difference between a 5-yard gain and a 50-yard gain sometimes depends on what’s going on out on the perimeter.”

Madonna’s line play got stronger as the game progressed, a development which definitely aided Sessi’s cause.

“I think that something we definitely pride ourselves in is being in good shape and that we’re able to go out there and physically wear on our opponents,” Hicks said. “I’m hoping that continues to be a hallmark of what we do in this program.”

It’s USO or…

The football team coming from Pittsburgh Friday to help Big Red celebrate homecoming is known as USO or, sometimes, University Prep. Regardless of what the squad may be called, it is off to a 3-1 start with victories over city-rivals Carrick, Westinghouse and Perry. The loss came to Farrell, Pa.

Students from University Prep, Science Tech and Obama Academy play for the Panthers.

Damon Macklin ran for 113 yards and junior quarterback Messiah Wilkerson hit James Mack with the game-winning touchdown in overtime against Perry. Wilkerson finished with 184 passing yards.

Big Red turned in its best performance to date in Saturday’s 27-14 brunch bowl win over the Hun.

It definitely was a big-boy football game as both teams lined up and went toe to toe in the trenches. The Hun has a nationally known football program and a roster full of Division I prospects.

Steubenville ran the football 58 times against the Raiders, collecting 264 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Caleb Mitchell (116 yards) and Tayveon Crawford (106 yards) both went over the century mark.

He has it

All three new head coaches in the Herald Star/ Daily Times coverage area now have a victory.

Anthony Hayes joined the list Friday when his Harrison Central Huskies put a damper on Union Local’s homecoming with a 28-7 victory.

“It’s a lot of emotions right now,” Hayes said following the win. “Watching the kids play hard is what it’s all about. These kids have busted their butts for three weeks. To watch their hard work payoff is what matters.”

Tyler West had his usual strong game for the Huskies, rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Kobe Mitchell threw for 110 and ran for 101.

Welcome back

Oak Glen’s offense has gotten progressively better with each passing week. On Friday against previously unbeaten Grafton, the Golden Bears were clicking on all cylinders.

Sophomores Hunter and Gage Patterson were both back in the lineup after missing action due to injuries. Hunter caught four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown while Gage shredded the Grafton defense for 195 rushing yards on just seven carries. He sprinted 97 yards for a score. In addition, Gage caught three passes, one producing another six-pointer.

Nick Chaney, the top passer in the area, threw for 242 yards and five scores. Zach Taylor had four catches for 101 yards and three touchdowns while Ethan Travis also hauled in four Chaney aerials.

The Bears have won two straight heading into this week’s huge showdown at home with rival East Liverpool.

“We played a heck of a game,” Gage Patterson said. “We’ve got to keep rolling. We can’t let this win get to our heads, we’ve got to keep working.”

Quite a rebound

Steve Daley just wasn’t happy with this defense’s performance in the Week 3 loss to Southern Local. His feelings, however, changed dramatically following Friday’s road victory at Edison.

The Crusader D forced five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) in the contest. Matt Bell got a pick six late to ice the victory. Anthony Simmons and Anthony Lefever also had interceptions.

“It was just a tremendous job by our defense,” Daley said. “I thought we played much more physical and our defense came up with two big scores. You don’t always have to do it offensively.”

Top stats

Running wild

234, Thomas Sessi, Madonna, 3 touchdowns

196, Tyler West, Harrison Central, 2 touchdowns

195, Gage Patterson, Oak Glen, touchdown

116, Caleb Mitchell, Big Red, 2 touchdowns

106, Tayveon Crawford, Big Red, touchdown

90, Donavan Kirby, Weir High, 5 touchdowns

Gunslingers

242, Nick Chaney, Oak Glen, 15 of 26, 5 scores

182, Santino Arlia, Madonna, 11 of 17, 2 scores

151, Sebastian Spencer, Weir High, 14 of 23

150, Seth Richardson, Buckeye Local, 9 of 14, score

149, Anthony Sinicropi, Edison, 17 of 29

110, Kobe Mitchell, Harrison Central, 6 of 11, score

Hands team

8, Thomas Sessi, Madonna, 140, 2 touchdowns

6, Bryce McAfoose, Edison, 44

5, Shayne Christian, Buckeye Local, 73

4, Zach Taylor, Oak Glen, 101, 3 touchdowns

4, Hunter Patterson, Oak Glen, 68, score

4, Brian Palmer, Buckeye Local, 67

4, Ethan Travis, Oak Glen, 64

4, Jake McCoy, Weir High, 58

4, Tyler Griffith, Edison 47

4, Reed Reitter, Weir High, 42

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