WHEELING — Two teams with tons of talent, high expectations, and mutual respect. Onlookers couldn’t ask for much more Friday inside Wheeling Island Stadium as Wheeling Park (3-1) and St. Clairsville (4-1) square off in the latest rendition of what has been a frequent matchup in recent years.

With kickoff set for 7 p.m. on Wheeling Island, Friday will be the 10th matchup between the two schools, and sixth since 2019. Wheeling Park has won the last three games, but St. Clairsville holds the all-time edge 5-4.

Heading into the clash between Patriots and Red Devils, both teams have had good starts to their seasons, but both also understand the long road ahead.

“If someone would have told me, hey, you’re going to be 3-1 after that stretch, I would have taken it,” Wheeling Park head coach Chris Daugherty said. “That’s a tough stretch of games, and we’ve got another tough game this week. So, our schedule is very demanding, and to believe that we wouldn’t have any hiccups, that’s wishful thinking. You know, I’d love to be undefeated, but at the same time, we feel good about where we are. But, we’ve got to continue to grow. We’ve got to continue to build and get a little bit better at what we do.”

Wheeling Park has wins over Spring Mills, University and Parkersburg South, while St. Clairsville has won four straight against Brownsville, Beaver Local, Linsly and East Liverpool.

Ripping off a win streak after a week-one loss, does St. Clairsville– who had to replace a large and impactful senior class– feel like they’ve found themselves?

Yes and no.

“Honestly, it’s mid-season and I feel like we’re in the middle of that process still,” St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said. “You know, there’s so much that changes as the season develops. First off, your lineup can change. Second of all, the teams that you’re playing change and they see you and they have different game plans. So the chess match is in full swing as far as where we’re at, what we’re capable of doing, what we can or can’t do, what we need to prepare for.

“It’s just constantly evolving and that never stops, right? You like to try to predict in the preseason or even in the off-season what you think you’re going to be able to do, but the season will tell you what you can do. Things that occurred in the past may not be the same here in the future from week to week. It’s really the fun of it and the excitement of it for coaches and for the team and the kids. We realize that, and we’ve got to be on the ball.”

St. Clairsville has put up impressive numbers so far– starting with their passing attack, where senior Sam McLean has tossed 13 touchdowns and completed 72% of his passes. Senior Ollie Muhly has shined as both a pass-catcher and runner, scoring four touchdowns on the ground, where he has averaged over six yards a carry in totaling 294 yards, while through the air he has 229 yards and three touchdowns, tied for the team lead with Luke Schafer, who also has a gaudy four interceptions already– including a pick-six.

“They’re always coached well, Brett and his staff do a good job,” Daugherty said of St. C.. “They don’t make very many mistakes. That’s what you know you’re going to get when you play St. Clairsville. And so, we’ve got to do a good job of eliminating our own mistakes because, that’s how St. Clairsville is going to beat you. They’ve got athletes. They always have talent, but they’re going to beat you because they’re not going to make many mistakes.”

“Winning the line of scrimmage is always important, trying to have some explosive plays on our end, taking control of our own mistakes.We’ve had a couple spots, especially when you look at the Musselman game, we lost that game because of our own our own problems that we caused, whether it was offense or defense. So, if we play pretty clean, we’re not a bad football team. And so hopefully we can play clean this Friday.”

Wheeling Park’s own winning efforts has been spear-headed by senior running back Brennan Wack, whose encore season after winning W.Va.’s Curt Warner Award as a junior has somehow gone above expectations. Wack has already piled up yards and touchdowns on the ground– he has increased his rushing output each week of the season so far, most recently running for 328 yards and six touchdowns against University, to sit at 1,053 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns after four games.

Senior Owen Dobrzynski-Hines has been their leading receiver with 13 catches for 169 yards.

“We’re really impressed,” McLean said of Wheeling Park. “Obviously, they have the leading rusher in their school’s history, right? And a very rich history with some big time Division I running backs that came prior to him. I think he’s just great. I know the family a little bit, he comes from a great family, he’s a good kid. He’s the heart and soul of them. But, what you could be fooled by is– they are extremely athletic as a team. They can throw the ball well. They’ve got a multi-year starter quarterback who’s a very heady player, a great kid too.

“I think that they’re a very dangerous team on both sides of the ball. I think that their coaches do a terrific job. Coach [Keith] Phillips has been DC for a long time. He has them prepared. They fly to the ball. They’re what a good team should look like on the field.”