BACK TO PASS — Big Red quarterback Aydan Manning will look to help lead Steubenville to a seventh-straight win when Big Red hosts Allderdice on Friday night. - Andrew Grimm

STEUBENVILLE — Big Red’s quest for a 23rd consecutive trip to the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs continues Friday when Pittsburgh Taylor Allderdice invades Harding Stadium.

The opening kick for the fourth all-time meeting between the schools is set for 7 p.m. Steubenville has won the previous three encounters.

Steubenville improved to 6-1 thanks to last week’s 27-19 victory over Linsly.

Reno Saccoccia’s club, which currently is second in the Division IV, Region 15 computer standings, built a 21-0 halftime lead then held off a second half charge by the Cadets. Big Red, by the way, is sixth in this week’s Ohio AP D IV poll behind five unbeaten squads (Sheridan, Cincinnati Wyoming, Canton South, Sandusky Perkins and Clinton-Massie). Sheridan is the top ranked team in Region 15.

“I thought our game against Linsly was a great game,” Saccoccia said. “We went up 21-0 at the half. I think the turning point came when we had them second and long–we missed a sack and they hit a long one. I really think that brought the best out of us. We had nothing go for us in the third quarter but our kids just continued to fight.

“I was proud of the way our kids fought for 48 minutes. We didn’t do everything right and we didn’t do everything the way we wanted to but the kids stayed in there and fought. I am proud of the way our kids fought even when we were making mistakes. I think that is important in a football team especially going forward. There is going to be a lot of adversity in the remaining weeks of the season no matter how far we do. We just have to preach the more adversity they face, the harder they have to fight and that’s what we did against Linsly. You don’t let down when you get into trouble, you just have to fight harder and that’s what we did.”

Allderdice, considered a Division II school by Ohio enrollment standards, will bring a 1-5 mark to town. The Dragons, thanks to three Azerick Jetter interceptions, held off Pittsburgh Brashear 24-8 to earn their initial victory.

Coach Jerry Haslett, who’s in his 15th season at the Allderdice helm, welcomed back six starters on both sides of the ball. The Dragons have been beaten by North Allegheny, Altoona, Dover, Pittsburgh Perry and Pittsburgh Westinghouse. Big Red, of course, recorded a 34-14 victory over Dover.

Allderdice has scored 69 points while allowing 185.

In the win over Brashear, sophomore Deondre Hill (5-9, 180) ran for 103 yards on 20 carries and scored twice. Senior Terrell James, Allderdice’s leading rusher in 2022, also gets some carries.

Junior Mekl Butler (5-10, 150) has taken over as the starting quarterback. Jetter also takes some snaps as does sophomore Mark Stucky (5-10, 158).

The Dragons have a big, physical offensive line anchored by sophomore Edward Simms (6-2, 330).

“They have made a change at quarterback and he has a lot more mobility–that has helped them offensively,” Saccoccia said. “Defensively, they want to force you to throw the ball. They’ll put a lot of guns in the box to stop the run. They want you to throw.

“Allderdice is very athletic and their coaching staff does a good job with them. They do a good job with their stances, starts and responsibilities. The one problem they have appears to be depth on both the offensive and defensive lines.”

Big Red’s passing game was clicking in the Linsly game as senior quarterback Aydan Manning completed 15 of his 25 attempts for 197 yards and a touchdown. Through seven weeks, Manning is 93 for 149 (a completion percentage of 63 percent) for 1,176 yards and seven scores. He has thrown five interceptions.

Senior Isaac Hill has been on the receiving end of 46 Manning aerials for 657 yards and four touchdowns. He has just one reception against Linsly. Fellow senior Lee Anthony Sewell is next with 12 catches for 170 yards and a pair of six-pointers.

In just four games, senior tailback Savier Faulks has compiled 631 rushing yards on 107 carries. He has found the end zone 11 times.

Offensively, the Big Red has scored 224 points and allowed 145.

“We’ve had seven really good games in a row,” Saccoccia said. “We’ve had to step up for seven straight weeks. I think our coaching staff and players have done a good job of stepping up and meeting the challenges presented by our opponents.

“Every team we have played has had a decent quarterback, a decent passing game and good defense. Our kids have fought for seven straight weeks and that is what I am most proud of.”

Going into its next to the last home game of the regular season, Saccoccia said the keys to success remain the same.

“I think they keys are always the same for us,” he noted. “We want to be fundamentally sound, be physical, fast and disciplined. I feel those are good goals to keep every week.”

Big Red will host University School (the Preppers currently are 5-2), located near Cleveland, next week before dropping the regular season at Louisville, which is 2-4.

“As a coaching staff and players we set two goals for this season — get better every week and earn two home playoff games,” Saccoccia said. “We are in Week 8 and both those goals remain possible.

“That’s what we are fighting for right now. Pre-snap penalties hurt us in the second half against Linsly and that’s one thing we are going to emphasize in practice this week. We need to make sure we are lining up properly and we have the right people in the game. Those two things are important so we don’t have those kind of penalties.”