Photo by Nick Henthorn Ohio’s Griffin Fogle (63) and Perry Patrone (55) come out of the huddle during the 78th Annual Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Football Game at Wheeling Island Stadium. Fogle and Patrone both played for the St. Clairsville Red Devils, two of five Red Devils who were able to play one more game together Saturday. OVAC Game More Than Final Tied Score

WHEELING — Any of the players on the field Saturday during the 78th Annual Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Game would tell you the first thing on their mind in the game, as with any of their games through their careers, was to win.

Neither side got what they wanted Saturday on the newly-replaced turf at Wheeling Island Stadium, with the game ending in a tie for the first time in its history. But what was a secondary objective, and perhaps what will endure more for those who took to the field for the evening, will be the memories of their experience.

Some of the players were the lone representatives from their respective schools, but for many of the players, their experiences include spending one last week on the field with a group of their teammates.

The St. Clairsville Red Devils were one of the most well-represented teams down at the all-star game, tied with Weir and Steubenville with five players each. Along with wide receiver Cole Thoburn and kicker/punter Jacob Meager, three of the Red Devils– Griffin Fogle, Perry Patrone and J.R. Adams– played in the trenches, and were in the fox hole with one another again Saturday.

“We’re family down there,” Fogle said after the game. “It was really nice to have my boy Perry right next to me. He’d been right next to me for two years straight. It was great to have him, Cole, Jacob Meager and J.R. Adams. They’re all dogs and I was really grateful to have the chance to play with them one more time.”

Experience playing together also helped during the game itself.

“It felt nice to have some familiar faces,” Patrone said. “We also knew some other people from different teams. It was great to come down as a group. We could sort of communicate with each other right from the first day of practice. We all have a connection.”

Each of the Red Devils did get involved Saturday– Thoburn caught a 34-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and Meager put through the ensuing extra point. Fogle and Patrone blocked for a ground game that went over 170 yards in a defensive-minded game, and Adams came up with a huge fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter, a change of possession that kept West Virginia off the scoreboard in the final minutes of the contest.

“That was a pretty big moment,” Patrone said.

“It’s not the first time and it’s not the last time you’ll see J.R. Adams make a play like that,” Fogle said.

Adams will continue his playing career at Mercyhurst University. Fogle committed to West Virginia University, while Patrone will go to Marshall as a member of their track and field team.

As much as the players were grateful to be able to be on the same sideline as their teammates one more time, the same can be said for the coaches chosen to lead West Virginia and Ohio, and their own players selected to the all-star game.

Weir head coach Frank Sisinni was joined by five of his Red Riders on team West Virginia– runningback Corey Lyons, quarterback Malachi Stromile– who played wide receiver Saturday– receiver/defensive back Devan Colson, and linemen Anthony Zorbini and Alias Pugh.

“It was awesome,” Sisinni said of the Weir reunion. “Just awesome, considering we didn’t think that we’d have that many. We had a couple guys withdraw last minute and the next guys in line were our kids. That’s what pushed that number up. I told this class when they were freshmen, that we’d be playing well by the end of their careers. At the end of this year, they’d gone 11-2 and five of them got to come here and play in the all-star game, and I was fortunate enough to get four more quarters with them.

“It was exciting because our staff was here too, and we got to be with them one last time.”

The Weir troupe made their marks too– Lyons rushed for 63 yards on six carries, and Stromile caught a pair of passes for 12 yards. Zorbini and Pugh made plays on the offensive and defensive lines, respectively.

“They all contributed in some way tonight,” Sissini said. “Every one of the guys on this team did.”

Indeed, a collection of kids from an assortment of teams came together Saturday, and while it was closure for many of the representatives from the same school, the experience from the game and the week leading up to it also included making some new connections too.

“Being able to play with my teammates was great,” Patrone said. “We also made a whole other family down here, guys who were great to be around and we’ll be able to talk with them in the future about this one, what could have happened, what we could have done better. It was nice to make some new friends too.”

“My mentality was, all throughout high school, to hate whoever we played,” Fogle said. “But I come down here with all these boys and they all become family. We all respect each other all the same. It was nice to build new friendships that will last a lifetime.”