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By SETH STASKEY, Times Leader Sports Editor
No matter the level of football -- high school, collegiate or professional -- injuries are a huge part of the game.
Obviously as the players become faster and stronger you hear more about serious injuries at the upper two levels out of the three just named.
But this year all over the Ohio Valley, the injury bug is taking its toll.
No matter the team or school, injuries have played a role in the season.
Look at Martins Ferry and Bellaire for example.
The Purple Riders had almost enough guys in street clothes during Friday's game to put together an exceptional team. Bellaire had no fewer than 13 guys out for this past Saturday's game.
Most of these injuries aren't muscle tweaks or anything of that nature. There are guys with casts, arms in slings, etc. A lot of these are season-enders.
Those two are just an example. Shadyside had players taken off the field by an emergency squad in back-to-back weeks. River has lost several players to injuries for the season. St. John has battled injuries, Union Local was without key personnel for a week, Buckeye Trail has missed ingredients at times.
No one can seem to put their finger on what's causing these injuries. Are they freak accidents? Are the players not in good enough shape? Is it due to lack of activity outside of practices and games for prep sports? No matter the rationale, the injuries are unfortunate.
Not only for the teams, but for the players. You never want to see a kid get hurt especially in terms of breaking bones or suffering a concussion or something that may require surgery. You hear about guys in the NFL who've undergone countless surgeries and they are never the same.
Obviously, the majority of the players suiting up during this year's prep season aren't even going to play college football let alone ever sniff the National Football League, but it's still unfortunate just the same.
Hopefully, area teams can get through the next two weeks relatively injury free and the teams who are headed for the post season can get guys healed up and back into the mix before the quest for the state championship opens in early November.
WELCOME BACK GUYS
A lot has been written and talked about the Harrison Hills School strike. With all of that now in the past, it was just great to see the Huskies get back to on the field. And then for them to win the game the way they did in dramatic overtime fashion couldn't have been scripted any better.
Well, to be honest, I am sure Justin Kropka would have liked it a little easier, but seeing the fact that they didn't practice with their actual coaches for two weeks, a win is a win.
The school officials who filled in for the coaches deserve a major pat on the back, and hopefully, Coach Kropka at least hooks them up with a t-shirt or maybe even a gift certificate. The Huskies came out after not playing for a week and not practicing, so it's not like it was a bye week, and scored 36 points.
It's a shame that Harrison Central had to go through what it did, but it's over now and things can begin to get back to as close to normal as possible.
WAKE-UP CALL AGAIN
The Union Local Jets have been the more superior team in their past two games. They knocked off Bellaire and Buckeye Local. However, it took an entire half for the Jets to awaken in each week. They let Bellaire and Buckeye both hang around and the Panthers even had a 7-6 lead at the intermission.
The Jets eventually got off the tarmac and flew past both teams to convincing victories and are now 7-1 on the season.
The thing of the matter is the Jets might not be able to live like that for too long. Against St. Clairsville, way back in Week 3, the Jets came alive late and eventually fell in overtime. In their win against Martins Ferry, the Jets came out focused and took the game to the Purple Riders.
If the Jets qualify for the playoffs -- which all signs are pointing toward -- they will need to be able to start quickly.
I have a feeling that Coach Mark Cisar and company will be stressing that in the next two weeks.
A side note about the Jets involves junior Kyle Blackman. Sources close to the Jets have informed us that Blackman was an invited guest of Duke University this past week in the Blue Devils' loss to nationally ranked Virginia Tech.
WEHR IN THE MONEY
The Barnesville senior has taken over games for the Shamrocks the last few weeks. One of the lone key returnees from last season's 11-1 team is making his presence felt once again this year.
After watching the Shamrocks stumble out of the gate, Barnesville posted a late comeback and nearly knocked off Shadyside. Since then, the Rocks have been playing extremely well and have been gaining confidence each week.
Michael Wehr has had a lot to do with that mentality. He's seemingly all over the field defensively from his secondary spot and he's also a serious big-play threat offensively.
Well, this past Friday he showed that he's a big play threat on special teams as well. After stopping Monroe Central and forcing a punt with less than 20 seconds to go in the game and Barnesville trailing, Wehr was the guy on the receiving end of the punt.
A few moves and cuts later, Wehr had ripped the hearts of the Seminole fans, coaches and players as he crossed the goal line with .9 seconds to go, seemingly recording a walk-off touchdown. Barnesville is now 3-5 on the season and with Wehr, sophomore quarterback Dalton Smith and running back Jonny Miller all gelling and maturing with each passing game, there's no need to believe the Shamrocks won't be highly competitive the next two weeks.
The Shamrocks' opponents -- Magnolia and Union Local -- are both in the thick of their respective playoff hunts and I would be willing to bet there's no better send off for the Shamrock seniors than playing the role of spoiler and finishing the season at 5-5.
Along with the coming along of the players, I think it's safe to say, Luke Johnson can coach. The guy just does it every year. You think Barnesville is going to struggle and he goes 8-2. This year, you think it's going to be a major rebuilding year and now the Rocks have won two straight and could legitimately finish the season at .500.
SPEAKING OF MONROE Doesn't Jay Circosta deserve a little better? The guy is the all-time winningest coach in the Ohio Valley and one of the finest gentlemen in the game.
However, his Monroe Central Seminoles are struggling at 3-5, but here's the thing, the Seminoles have had every opportunity to win basically all but one of those games.
Obviously, we talked about the Barnesville game earlier. The Seminoles led undefeated River at halftime, led Magnolia in the second half and led Shenandoah at the half. But for some reason, the Seminoles can't close the door.
Monroe Central is one of the proudest football programs in the area. The Seminoles have struggled to run the football and have relied on sophomore quarterback Derek-London Dierkes most of the second half of the season.
Obviously, Circosta would like to run the ball, but he's seen the struggles and has to give his team the best chance to win each week, and it appears he's doing it, but for some reason or another, they can't close the deal.
However, if I were a betting man, I would put money on the fact that Circosta will have team ready for Frontier and Buckeye Trail to end the season. The Seminoles will go down swinging like they always do.
WHAT'S HAPPENED TO BRIDGEPORT?
The Bridgeport Bulldogs were one of the feel-good stories of the early season. They reached the mid-way point unscathed, but knew they had a challenging schedule in the second-half of the season.
The schedule has definitely been challenging.
Bridgeport hasn't won since Sept. 22 against Valley. The Bulldogs have found the going tough against the likes of Weirton Madonna, River and Beallsville. By the way, those teams have a combined record of 22-1. The road gets no easier this week as Coach Rudy Vavrock's team must trek to Shadyside to meet the 7-1 Tigers before finishing with 0-7 Cameron.
While the second-half obviously hasn't gone like Bulldog players, coaches or even fans would have liked, the Bulldogs are a youthful outfit with a lot of young talent. They do have some key pieces as seniors, but you just get the feeling that Bridgeport's going to break out one of these seasons and it could be in the not-so-distance future. Vavrock is doing a tremendous job of restoring the program. Let's face it, the level of the program was as low as it could almost possibly get, but with Vavrock continues to reinstill the Bulldog pride.
Couple the pride with some talented players coming up through the ranks and it's probably not too far away that Bridgeport is on the opposite end of some of these losses.
OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY
The media falls in love with the touchdown. It falls in love with the guy who scores them after a long run, pass or catch. The touchdowns are the exciting part of football. That's what people remember, but let's face facts here, it all starts up front.
While St. Clairsville was improving to 8-0 this past week with a 41-14 win over Martins Ferry, the play of the Red Devils' interior men was hard to overlook. Not that you would want to overlook it, but the openings the Red Devils' skill players had to work through were impressive.
There was a drive that stood out in the first half where the Red Devils gained first downs on four consecutive plays on the ground. Most of those runs were up through the tackles.
The Red Devils' line -- comprised of seniors Anthony Skrabak, Cody McKeever and Jake Antolak along with sophomores Matt Shutek and Trenton Soukup -- flexed their muscle much of the night en route to the Red Devils' victory.
There were some after the game pushing the entire group for athlete of the week. This is for sure, it would be hard to differentiate between the five. Other than Skrabak and Antolak's imposing size, all are athletic and fairly fleet of foot.
If the cliche that says it all starts in the trenches is true, then Region 15 had better look out because St. Clairsville might be around for a few weeks.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW
Traffic flow could be congested in Hannibal this Friday. And it's because of the huge football game slated for Flannery Field at River High School.
The 8-0 Pilots will roll out the red carpet for fellow 8-0 Buckeye Trail. It's going to be a doozy, so fans planning on attending had better get there early for this PVC showdown.
Before even starting to think about the players involved, look at what's on the line in terms of team goals. Both teams are battling for playoff positioning. Buckeye Trail is currently second in Region 19, while the Pilots are second in Division VI, Region 23. Both teams are ranked in the Associated Press Poll…River third and Buckeye Trail 10th. The winner will all but wrap up the PVC title and the winner will all but wrap up the OVAC Class 2-A title and the winning staff will probably be invited to coach the Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Classic.
That's what's on the line before you even think about the quest for a perfect season.
The game on paper appears to be as good as any we've seen all season. You've got the stingy Pilots' defense against a high-octane Buckeye Trail offense. You've got a versatile Pilots' offense against Buckeye Trail's talented defense. So, as is the case normally when teams of basically equal talent get together, what's going to give? Could be something on special teams or will it be the turnover battle?
Read more about this showdown in Wednesday's Xs and Os section of The Times Leader's sports page.
WEST VIRGINIA POWER?
I thought that's what Williamstown was considered. Well, the YellowJackets probably still are considered that, but Shadyside showed them the difference a big river can make.
The Tigers rolled up more than 200 yards of offense in the FIRST QUARTER (yes you read that correctly) and then went on for a convincing 47-13 pasting.
It was just a simple case of Shadyside having way too much speed for Williamstown. Senior playmaker Nathaniel Haney ran by people as did Dustin Sadlowski and all of the other Tiger weapons. It appears another home playoff game is right around the corner for Coach Ty Fleming's crew, but before that they must take care of Bridgeport and then finish with St. John.
Needless to say, Shadyside will be favored in both of those contests and then will be one of the favorites in a deeper Region 23. Last year, the Tigers stormtrooped the region and could do that again, but on paper the regional looks a lot deeper than in the past.
ROLL RED
The weekly check in with the Steubenville Big Red machine is much the same. Another over-matched opponent results in another Big Red pasting.
The Big Red came down the river and headed back north with a 40-0 walloping of Wheeling Park. It was defense and special teams that did the trick.
The Big Red pounced on an opening kickoff fumble and went directly into the end zone, making it 7-0 before the fans had settled into their seats.
That's the Big Red way. Deliver the knock-out blow before the other team knows the game had even started. It's amazing how often they do that. What's not amazing is how easily they win.
Most of the time, they've got better players, better coaches, better fans more of a hard-nosed approach than anyone else.
However, the Red will face a test this week (at least it appears that way). Steubenville will board up the busses for the second straight week, but this time they will leave the area and go to Stark County to meet Canton Central Catholic, which owns an identical 8-0 mark.
Once again, don't bet against the Red. Some way, some how, they find a way to win these kinds of games. Oh wait, I know how it works, it normally comes down to the simple facts listed a few sentences above.
CHECKING IN AROUND THE STATE
It was a tough week for most of the area natives who are currently serving as head coaches around the Buckeye State.
Former Bridgeport great Ted Wierzbicki saw his Columbus St. Charles drop its third straight decision. The Cardinals were beaten 14-7 by defending Division IV state runnerup Plain City Jonathan Alder.
St. Charles is now 5-3 and the road gets no easier as they must travel to Columbus Bishop Watterson Friday.
Former Martins Ferry great Tom Bruney saw his Maple Heights outfit drop a 55-0 verdict to defending Division I state runnerup Mentor Friday. The loss drops Heights to 6-2 on the season entering this week's game against 7-1 Euclid.
River product Chad Massie saw his River View Black Bears drop another one Friday. River View was upended by Claymont by a 27-12 count. The loss drops the Bears to 1-7.
Former Bellaire High standout Jerry Buti -- owner of a state championship at Defiance -- watched his Bulldogs post a big 52-7 win over winless Elida.
Staskey can be reached at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com