THE WORD on the streets of the All-American Town is that Bellaire High is in the market for a new head football coach.

Steve Andres is reportedly not being retained after his two-year stint which yielded a 5-15 mark, including this fall’s 2-8 record.

The Big Reds now join Buckeye Local in search of a new head grid boss. Phil Pest was not renewed after guiding the Panthers for four seasons.

Andres came to Bellaire after serving as an assistant at Cincinnati St. Xavier.

In Bellaire, football is a passionate issue. Andres’ losing record obviously proved his death knell. His cause was not helped by an OVI incident earlier this year.

Despite the recent losing ways, the Big Reds’ football job remains an attractive one. The Reds have talented young gridders to rebuild with, highlighted by a stellar eighth grade squad.

The Bellaire administration will likely have a slew of highly qualified candidates to sift through, as winning ways should return to Nelson Field in the near future.

I am a proponent of hiring one of your own when he or she meets the necessary qualifications. The Bellaire Board of Education has such an opportunity.

Longtime Big Reds’ assistant Mark Spigarelli is a teacher at the high school. He is a former Bellaire grid standout and a member of the school’s Wall of Fame.

Spigarelli was an assistant for John Magistro during the Big Reds’ glory days of the 1990s, which produced two state runner-up teams. He later served as defensive coordinator for Gregg Bonar after Magistro retired.

For the past six seasons, Spigarelli has bolstered an already strong resume as an assistant with West Liberty University. He has the experience and the Big Reds’ pedigree needed to rejuvenate the tradition-rich program.

BUCKEYE LOCAL, meanwhile, has endured tough times during Pest’s four years at the helm. The Panthers have went 4-6, 1-9, 1-9 and 0-10 during that time.

Pest is a good football man with integrity. He starred at Wheeling Central and Bethany College as a tight end. Pest knows the game and has been around it for a long time, learning from several quality head coaches.

But it is not easy to win at Buckeye Local these days, especially in football. The district loses quality athletes to several surrounding schools.

Based on Buckeye’s paltry win total the past four seasons, a change is not surprising. A 6-34 record will get coaches fired.

Two questions remain.

Who will be interested in the job? And, once hired, can that person change a grid culture?

BUBBA’S BITS

THE WHEELING Park football team is on a mission. The Patriots continue their march through the West Virginia Class AAA playoffs in impressive fashion. Park pasted South Charleston, 41-0, for a berth in the semifinals. Next up for the Patriots is a road trip to No. 2-seeded Point Pleasant, a team that averaged 61 points a game during a 10-0 regular season. Park has more than enough weapons to match Point Pleasant’s explosiveness. I am sticking to my guns, predicting the Patriots are a state champion team in progress.

THE COLLEGE bowl system is out of whack. Forty bowl games are on tap this season, meaning 80 teams are needed to fill those spots. Such a glut of bowl games will result in some 5-7 teams getting the call.

CONGRATULATIONS TO Stacey Agnew who took all of one game to pocket his first victory as St. Clairsville head girls’ hoop coach.

IF THE Michigan State Spartans weren’t the victims of a horrible call at Nebraska, the Spartans would be in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth.

Kapral may be reached at bkapral@timesleaderonline.com