WHEELING — When Ohio and West Virginia take the field this evening for the 74th annual OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game, nine players will be leading the way.

Five Ohioans and four from West Virginia were voted as captains for their respective teams this week by their peers.

And head coaches Andrew Connor and Mike Eddy were more than pleased with the results of the vote.

Set to lead the Ohio side are Shadyside’s Connor Banco, Meadowbrook’s Davis Black, St. Clairsville’s Brady Kolb, Steubenville’s Erik Lulla and Indian Creek’s Brennon Norris.

“Those guys have done a great job of leading by example at practice and have the intangibles in leadership,” Connor, the Ohio head coach from Indian Creek, said. “They’re vocal at practive and they’ve pushed their teammates to get better.”

Meanwhile, set to lead West Virginia on the field for the coin toss are Linsly’s Bastian Geher, Linsly’s Wyatt Hirt, South’s Nick Yoho and John Marshall’s Brady Williams.

“We allowed the kids to vote and those four were nearly unanimous,” Eddy, the West Virginia head coach from South, said. “These guys all treat everyone around them with resepct and are always vocal and direct in the huddle.”

Kolb, who was a captain for his high school team at St. C., is expected to see action this evening at running back.

“It really means a lot to me that my teammates picked me to represent them and be a leader for Ohio,” Kolb said. “I feel very honored to be playing in this game. There are so many leaders on this Ohio team and I will do my very best to lead them to a win (tonight).”

Banco, meanwhile, also was one of the unquestioned leaders for his prep program at Shadyside as well. He’ll see the bulk of his action at linebacker.

“It’s an absolute honor that I get to represent (Shadyside) as a captain,” Banco said. “I hold the title with pride and I’m happy to be a part of this team with such an outstanding group of guys.”

Both Black and Norris are expected to share time at quarterback tonight. Black helped lead the Colts to the regional championship game, throwing for more than 2,400 yards and 23 touchdowns last seasons.

Norris, meanwhile, saw much of his senior season cut short due to an injury. However, he passed for more than 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior.

On the West Virginia side, Geher is just the second foreign-born player to play in the game, joining kicker Urs Mueller, who represented Martins Ferry as a kicker in the 2003 game.

Hirt passed for 1,376 yards in 2018 along with 15 touchdowns and was a three-year starter for the Cadets.

Williams is the lone lineman on either squad to gain a captaincy nod. He could see time both at center and along the defensive line. He was a second-team all-TRAC selection last season.