You may have heard about it.

But, there seems to be some chatter about a big game in St. Clairsville this week.

Yeah, whenever you have the top- and fourth-ranked teams in Ohio going at it in the regular season finale, it’s certainly worth the hype.

That’s exactly what will occur Thursday when St. Clairsville rolls out the red carpet for Steubenville. The Red Devils and Big Red will both put their respective 8-0 records on the line.

Both are headed for home games in the Region 13 playoffs and both sit atop their respective OVAC classes with wide gaps. So, in those regards, there doesn’t appear to be as much at stake outside of local bragging rights between two of the area’s premier programs.

St. Clairsville has lost only one regular season game during the careers of the current senior class.

Steubenville’s senior class, meanwhile, currently owns 36-12 record. Definitely not bad when you consider Big Red has won two consecutive regional titles.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools and if you don’t get enough this week, mark your calendar for week 9 of 2016 when the two clash at Harding Stadium.

A huge crowd is expected at Red Devil Stadium and rightfully so. These are the types of game football – and sports – junkies certainly will come for.

Actually, a Thursday night game every would in the Ohio Valley would be the ultimate cash cow for the host school. A premier game on a Thursday is something that should be considered.

BROTHERLY ADVICE

St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean spent much of the day Sunday with his brother, Mac, who is the head coach at Brooke. The word “Steubenville” didn’t come up in conversation as much as many might think.

It’s the only common opponent for the McLean Brothers. Big Red dealt Mac and his Bruins a 60-6 thumping on Oct. 9.

“We talk every week and share thoughts and feelings about different teams and things,” Brett McLean said. “It’s just general conversation though.”

TOUGH LOSS

Harrison Central seemingly had a home playoff game right in the palm of its hand, needing just a victory over Indian Creek to secure a Week 11 encounter at Wagner Field.

The Huskies came up on the short end of a 29-22 outcome. The win was huge in bolstering the Redskins into a possible playoff berth, but it dropped the Huskies to the fifth seed as of this moment.

Up next for the Huskies is a date with winless Buckeye Local. Though a division bigger, the Panthers’ offering nothing on the second level certainly won’t help the Huskies’ cause.

However, Justin Kropka – as much as he wanted to be on the home field – was still pumped to know his team’s headed to the tournament for the third time in school history, all of which have come under his watch.

“If you had told me this summer that we’d have a chance to go 8-2 and have a playoff spot wrapped up before the last week, I would have done back flips,” Kropka said. “Sometimes people forget how tough the first part of just making the playoffs is.”

NATIONAL RECOGNITION

Barnesville junior running back Caide Bunfill had quite the night last week in the win against St. John Central.

Bunfill carried the ball only 13 times, but he finished with 229 yards and a trio of touchdowns. His biggest gain of the night was a 98-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

The run included several broken tackles, carrying tacklers and basically looked like something out of a video game.

The video of the run was picked up and circulated by Bleacher Report Monday afternoon. As of Monday evening, the Twitter link to Bunfill’s run had been retweeted nearly 1,000 times.

Shamrocks head coach Matt Johnson, who admits to not being the most technologically advance guy, didn’t know the video was on the website until his players informed him before practice on Monday.

“It was good to see that,” Johnson said. “It’s good recognition for our school, community and obviously Caide.”

RIVER FLOWING

Though they’ve not officially clinched, the chances appear very strong that the River Pilots are going to be heading for the Division VI playoffs.

Mike Flannery started the season – at his team’s media day – by telling me that his team needed to finish games. The Pilots have done just that and then some. Outside of the loss to Magnolia and a one-score victory against Monroe, the Pilots have taken care of their business from the season’s outset.

A lot of the personnel for the Pilots is the same this season as last, but obviously being a year older has helped the cause. Ultimately, however, probably the biggest difference has been the availability of sophomore standout Lukas Isaly.

Last season, he suffered an early season injury, which put him on the shelf for much of his rookie campaign. He’s come back, however, with a purpose. Isaly has had an impressive season in many way. He’s rushed 150 times for 1,014 yards and 14 touchdowns. If that’s not enough to grab your attention, he’s caught 31 passes for 566 yards and eight touchdowns.

On top of what Isaly and company are doing offensively, the Pilots’ defense has been solid, despite six sophomores playing most of the time.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURSTS

Both Bellaire and Shadyside have been offensively challenged for most of the season.

Both teams took out a lot of offensive frustration on their respective opponents last Friday.

The Big Reds, who in their seven losses mustered just 71 points, went off for a 36-26 victory at Union Local. Not only did the Big Reds score 36, but they did it with balance. With junior Tyson Camsky doing the brunt of the work, the Big Reds rushed for 156 yards – a season high. Quarterback Mason Ramsay also threw for 271 yards and five touchdowns.

D’Eondre Burney, who had a huge game in the Big Reds’ opener against Ridgewood, caught 7 passes for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Shadyside, meanwhile, looked like the Tigers of the days when Michael Kernik was at quarterback and not serving as the playcaller. It was air Tigers against Bridgeport. Quarterback Billy Johnson, who had thrown just one touchdown in his eight prior games, landed five touchdowns against Bridgeport.

Logan Cline was on the receiving end of three of those scoring passes. He didn’t have a touchdown catch prior to the game.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see if the Big Reds and Tigers can sustain their week 9 momentum against Martins Ferry and Bidwell River Valley, respectively, this week.

CHECKING ON THE LOCALS

JOHN MAGISTRO and his Westerville Central Warhawks moved to 9-0 thanks to a hard-earned 17-13 victory over then undefeated Hilliard Darby. Magistro’s outfit has now clinched the OCC Cardinal Division and also a first-round home game in the Division I, Region 1 playoffs. They will go after a 10-0 campaign at 5-4 Dublin Jerome on Friday.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE grad Levi Nelson saw his Rittman Indians drop to 5-4 after a 38-7 setback at the hands of Apple Creek Waynedale. Rittman, which is still alive in the playoff chase in 12th place, will meet 8-1 Creston Norwayne this week.

BELLAIRE NATIVE Jerry Buti saw his Defiance Bulldogs dip to 1-8 on the season after a 56-25 setback at the hands of Van Wert. The Bulldogs will seek their first win since Week 1 against 0-9 Lima Shawnee on Friday.

STEUBENVILLE CC grad Mike Orlando will try to lead Cincinnati McNicholas to a 5-5 season Saturday when it meets Hamilton Badin. McNicholas was a 49-20 winner last week against St. Bernard Roger Bacon.

Staskey can be reached via email at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com