MARTINS FERRY — King football makes its triumphant return to the Ohio Valley this evening.

Though the regular season is still five weeks away, area gridiron fans get to wet their appetite at Purple Rider Stadium.

The 72nd annual OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game takes center stage with kickoff slated for 7:15 p.m.

Ohio and West Virginia reported to camp one week ago and have battled the heat and a loaded schedule of events to prepare to face off with bragging rights on the line.

“Our kids are ready,” Ohio head coach Karl Justus said. “The coaches are confident and I expect the kids to play with confidence. It’s been a good, positive week. The kids have worked hard, maybe even harder than they expected, but they’ve put in the effort. Now it’s time to play the game.”

While both teams want to win simply as competitors, West Virginia’s motivation might be even greater since its players are being coached by John Durdines, who is preparing for his final game as a head football coach. He had been a highly successful coach at Bishop Donahue, but the school won’t open this fall.

“Our kids are definitely ready and hungry to play,” Durdines said. “It’s been a quick, but long week. It’s a very competitive group that’s made it really fun for my coaches and me.”

The teams went through their final workouts Friday morning, practicing just once. Ohio expects to endure a brief walk through today, but the teams are scheduled for brunch at 10 a.m. and depart for Martins Ferry at 2:30 p.m.. The players must also pack up their belongings in that time span, too.

“Though it seems like you have all day to sit around and wait, it’ll be a fairly busy day,” Justus said. “Our guys have been getting their bodies right. We expect to be ready to play well.”

Both teams had to jockey their practice schedules around because of the heat and humidity that moved into the Ohio Valley this week.

“We only went in full gear during one practice a day on Wednesday and Thursday,” Justus said. “We went shorter in the afternoon. It’s just mental more than anything else. We’ve been fine tuning some things and the kids have really picked up things well as we’ve moved throughout the week.”

Durdines indicated heat indexes on the Bethany College turf reached triple digits during the week. But, still his team opted for competitive, but fun, drills despite the coaching staff offering an opportunity to back off for a day.

“The kids have always wanted to do more,” Durdines said. “We were basically giving them an out, but they elected not to take it. That made me feel really good because it showed how much this game, and winning, means to them.”

Fans making the trip to Martins Ferry should expect a lot of spread formations as both Ohio and West Virginia plan on making a solid effort to get their playmakers in space at all times.

“It’s tougher for us to prepare (for Ohio) because they have a mixture of schools on their coaching staff,” Durdines said. “Obviously Coach Justus coached at Conotton Valley, but there are several assistants from East Liverpool, too. We’re not quite sure what they’re going to run more of. But, still, football is football and we’ll adjust as need be once the game gets going.”

Actually, it’ll be a mixture. It’ll be Conotton Valley’s offensive scheme with East Liverpool’s defensive scheme since Potters head coach Josh Ludwig is spearheading the defensive unit this week for the Buckeye State.

“We’re trying to do things offensively that you can’t predict,” Justus said. “You can kind of predict what both teams are going to be on defense. We want to spread people out and try to negate some of the things they can do defensively. If you line up in traditional formations, then it’s challenging because you don’t know the front.”

Ohio will go with Austin Mayfield of East Liverpool at quarterback. Meadowbrook’s Konnor Roberts will be his understudy and see action.

In the backfield, Harrison Central’s Jesse Ball will see fullback duty, while Indian Creek’s Robert Coppa will be the starting tailback.

On the perimeter, Ohio plans to go with Bellaire’s Justyn Keyser, Martins Ferry’s Jack Davis and Buckeye Local’s Sean Millard as the first group of receivers.

Up front, the Buckeyes will utilize St. Clairsville’s Trey Elerick at center. Martins Ferry’s Dom Wallace and East Liverpool’s Freddie Plum are ticketed for guard duties, while Indian Creek’s Sam Robinson and Beaver Local’s Terry Adkins have won the tackle jobs.

“The kids have really picked up the offense well,” Justus said. “It was slow earlier in the week, but they’ve really grasped it well and they know their assignments well. I am a lot more confident (offensively) at this point than I was.”

The Mountaineers’ defensive unit will employ a 4-2-5 scheme. Up front, Weir’s Jordan Allen and South’s Jack Raitz are the ends, while Oak Glen’s Logan Kranis and Weir’s Travis Lowther will start at tackle.

The inside linebacking duties have gone to Brooke’s Alex Edgell and Wheeling Park’s Michael Meaige.

In the secondary, Bishop Donahue’s Trey Miller and Wheeling Central’s Dylan Baker are the corners. The safety trio consists of Oak Glen’s Lance Collins, Tyler’s Tyler Anderson and Wheeling Park’s Zach Torbett.

“Our defensie has been looking good,” Durdines said. “The tough part is to keep from second guessing yourself. When practicing for a normal week, your starting group is going against a second group. In this game, we have an all-star offense and an all-star defense, so there have been days where our defense has looked really good and other days where our offense has looked really good. I think the kids have grasped the system well.”

The West Virginia offense, meanwhile, will be triggered by Wheeling Central’s Isaac Rine.

Magnolia’s Chase Street and Weir’s Cody Enrietti will line up with Rine in the backfield. On the flanks, Rine will have a combination of Brooke’s Chris Yachini, Weir’s Donovan Spencer, Wheeling Central’s John Burkhalter and Bishop Donahue’s J.C. Custer.

Up front, Linsly’s Gage Giovengo is listed at tight end.

Cameron’s Lander James is the starting center, while Morgantown’s Dante Carlier and University’s Peyton Powroznik are the guards. At tackle, Wheeling Park’s Hayden Berry and University’s Zack Martin will start.

Ohio’s defense will feature Ball and River’s Mason Ladyga at the tackle spot, while Steubenville’s Drone Moore and River’s Luke Matusik are ticketed for the starting end spots.

Big Red’s Zane Zimmish will be at one linebacker spot along with Cambridge’s Garth Charlton and Cambridge’s William Lowe.

In the secondary, Shadyside’s Billy Johnson will start at strong safety, while Toronto’s Danny Zdinak will roam at free safety. The corners are St. Clairsville’s Zach Bigelow and Buckeye Trail’s Troy Pontius.

Special teams has been a point of emphasis this week, according to both coaches.

Weir High’s Michael Mills will kick and Park’s Maezi Mosby will punt. For Ohio, Mayfield will punt and his Potter teammate Dylan Kidder will handle the placements.