NEW MARTINSVILLE – Brian Castilow has been down this road before. It is one he likes to travel.

Castilow is the longtime athletics director at Magnolia High School. He is one of the best in the business.

His Blue Eagles have advanced to the Super Six championship game Saturday night at Wheeling Island Stadium. The No. 1-seeded Blue & Gold will face East Hardy.

Castilow has experienced this Magnolia football euphoria before. The Blue Eagles won the Super Six Class AA title game in 2010, defeating Ravenswood, 28-13.

While playing for a state football championship triggers unabashed revelry throughout the school and community, it also proves a hectic – and often times chaotic – week for the athletics director.

For Castilow, it is a labor of love. What else would you expect from the dean of OVAC athletic directors, now in his 29th year of guiding Magnolia High athletics?

“Things get more hectic this week. There are many more details to deal with,” Castilow said. “We must provide the Super Six people a load of information.

“Also, we have had the luxury of playing the first three rounds at home. Now, even though it is not a long road trip, we must shift over to a travel-game mode. “We must not only get the football team itinerary put in place but also for the band, cheerleaders and auxiliary staff. The time demands do increase this week.”

The Blue Eagles’ home playing surface is grass while Saturday night’s title game is played on turf. The affable AD has the task of finding a practice venue this week to get the Blue Eagles re-acclimated with the surface.

“We play at St. Marys and scrimmage at St. Clairsville … both have artificial turf,” Castilow said earlier in the week. “We have great relationships with both schools, so we should have no problem using one of their facilities.”

Castilow’s duties are not restricted to those in the administrative realm. He is literally a jack-of-all trades.

Castilow also teaches half a day. He has no assistant athletics director and has no athletics department secretary.

That is a definite full plate. But it doesn’t end there.

Castilow is also the football team’s trainer.

“It makes for a long day, but I enjoy being involved and being around the football players and coaches,” Castilow said. “After 29 years of being an athletic director, you know the ropes pretty well. You may have an occasional problem arise, but we have good people here at Magnolia.”

When the final horn sounds Saturday night at Wheeling Island Stadium, Castilow hopes to have another football chore to undertake – planning the Blue Eagles’ state championship celebration.

BUBBA’S BITS

Magnolia is attempting to pull out the rarity of winning state basketball and football championships in the same calendar year. The Blue Eagles hoopsters of Dave Tallman defeated Wheeling Central in Charleston last March. Three members of the Magnolia football team also played valuable minutes on the state title basketball team: starter Kyle Ritz, sixth man Tyler Anderson and Zach Haught.

Playoff predictions: I am not a homer. I firmly believe all three OVAC schools will bring home state title trophies: Wheeling Park 28, Capital 14; Magnolia 21, East Hardy 6; Steubenville 35, Bishop Hartley 12.

My Heisman Trophy vote goes to Alabama running back Derrick Henry. He wrapped the award up via his 46-carry, 271-yard effort in the Tide’s Iron Bowl victory against Auburn last Saturday.

Bubba Kapral can be reached via email at bkapral@timesleaderonline.com.