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Photo of Cody Tomer Cole O’Neil of Wheeling Central after scoring a touchdown.
WHEELING – Each year, Shadyside and Wheeling Central host one of the flagship games of the high school football season.
This year is no different.
The Tigers and Maroon Knights will face off under the lights of Bishop Schmitt Field on Friday night and one team will claim a precious victory.
“Shadyside is still in the playoffs and they are still contenders,” center coach Mike Young said. “They have a strong program with knowledgeable staff and they have consistency in the program. The two schools are similar in different ways in terms of success in the program. We were lucky to win the last few times we faced them but it will play out in the final minutes and I’m sure it will be a good high school football game. We can use this game to gauge where we stand for the rest of the season. “
Shadyside enters the match with an impeccable 4-0 record, while Central (2-1) just lost 14-7 to unbeaten Bellaire.
“Both teams played hard last week and we’ve seen improvements,” said Young. “We just need to block and tackle better and I think we will. We are still green in some areas, but our children want to learn and they will continue to work.
Shadyside and Central both saw injuries to their starting quarterbacks, but received solid play from the next player.
In a Tigers’ 35-14 win over Barnesville last week, Ben Wach completed 6 of 11 passes for 148 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in place of Rhys Francis who is out for the season.
“I see an athlete playing a quarterback who’s wet behind his ears, but he’s doing a good job and he’s stepped up his efforts,” said Shadyside coach Mark Holenka. “He manages it the way you want and he’s growing fast, so our future looks bright.”
Young is also impressed with what he sees of Wach.
“They have a young quarterback who throws the ball really well,” said Young. “You have to put pressure on him.
As for the Knights, Payton Hildebrand had 15 of 29 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown and three picks against a stingy Bellaire defense, but led the Knights to two straight wins to start the season.
“I see a QB who is quite familiar with this attack,” Holenka said of Hildebrand.
In addition to the quarterback, Shadyside running back Wyatt Reiman will be a crucial factor in the outcome of the game.
The All-State fullback ran 90 yards and five touchdowns last week for the Tigers.
“We have to try to slow Reiman down,” Young said. “He’s a hell of a runner so offensively we have to take advantage of every possession we have.”
Bellaire managed to keep the Knights under 300 offensive yards last week, but Caleb Ratcliffe came off for a touchdown to tie his 61 receiving yards. The Tigers will look to keep him in check and limit the big plays.
“We can’t have big, explosive games,” Holenka said. “These things are going to come into play. There are a lot of battles in the war, but you have to be able to win most of the battles to win the war.
Friday night is also reunion night for the Maroon Knights.
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