Photo by Kim North Wheeling Central’s Joey Jerrome (8) breaks up a pass for a Union Local player from earlier this season. The Maroon Knights welcome Tucker County to Wheeling University’s Bishop Schmitt Field on Friday night.

WHEELING — When a high school football team is still practicing over the Thanksgiving holidays, that’s a good sign. With a win over Tucker County Friday night in a W.Va. Class A quarterfinal playoff contest, Wheeling Central can do just that.

The top-ranked Maroon Knights (7-2) welcome the No. 8 Mountain Lions (7-4) to Bishop Schmitt Field on the campus of Wheeling University for a 7 o’clock kickoff on the artificial surface. The winner advances to the semifinals next weekend.

“We always take a lot of pride in being able to practice on Thanksgiving Day,” veteran Wheeling Central head coach Mike Young said.

Wheeling Central advanced in the first round with a 51-8 thumping of No. 16 Tolsia, despite not playing for three weeks.

“We showed a little rust early on, but I also think, with them being No. 16, we didn’t take them as seriously as we should have,” Young stressed. “Not playing put us out of sync a little, but the kids kept playing hard.

“Having a veteran coaching staff also helped us during the off time,” Young continued. “These guys know how to keep the kids focused and we did a lot of individual group work.”

Tucker County took care of No. 9 Tug Valley 42-6 last week in advancing. The Mountain Lions will unleash their aerial attack on the Maroon Knights.

“They’re definitely a passing team that likes to throw the ball around,” Young said. “We need to line up and be athletic. We need to get pressure on the quarterback and use press coverage on the receivers. We need to break on the ball and run to it. They have some really skilled players and we need to limit their explosive plays.”

Senior quarterback Samuel Marks is the triggerman for the Tucker County offense. He has completed 130 of 224 attempts for 2,188 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions. The Mountain Lions, as a team, have passed for 2,481 yards and 32 touchdowns while only rushing for a little more than 1,200 yards.

Marks’ top targets are Reid Kisamore with 44 receptions for 938 yards and 13 touchdowns. Cayden Arnold has caught 37 passes for 591 and eight TDs, while Keelyn Eichleberger has 32 catches for 461 and six scores. Cade Rapp is the leading rusher with 447 yards and three TDs on 107 carries. Lucas Barb, the backup QB, has run for 361 yards and five touchdowns on 69 carries.

Eichelberger is the top tackler with 78 stops and seven quarterback sacks. Arnold and Kisamore had three interceptions each.

“Our schedule is what caused us to be the No. 1 seed,” Young noted. “It has prepared us to answer that call and show that we deserve to be No. 1. Our kids are excited. They rose to the occasion last week, and I expect them to do the same this week.”

Wheeling Central has been led by a balanced offensive attack that features quarterback Nico Kusic, tailback Kade Koroneos and wideouts Max Olejasz and Joey Hall. Kusic surpassed the 1,000-yard mark last week and has 1,034 yards on 68 of 124, with 13 touchdowns and just four picks. Koroneos is the Maroon Knights’ version of the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ as he does a little bit of everything, and does it well. He has 936 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground and has caught 26 passes for 408 yards and four more scores.

“Kade does a lot of things well for us, but he will be the first to tell you that it’s not possible without the work of the guys up front,” Young said. “The workhorses up front do all the dirty work but never get the ink they deserve.”

Those interior linemen include junior Olen Ames (5-11, 215), senior Carver Bolon (5-6, 195), junior Cooper Jones (5-11, 270), junior Dom Paesani (5-10, 250), senior Luke Wear (6-7, 290) and senior tight ends Troy Mortakis (6-2, 220) and Maddox Stillion (6-0, 190).

“Those guys raise the bar every day so that when the big bell rings, we can answer it,” Young added. “They’ve done a great job.”

In addition to Koroneos, Kusic has run for 454 yards and four touchdowns, while Olejasz has caught 12 passes for 208 yards and three TDs. Hall has 16 receptions for 215 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Mortakis has caught 11 balls for 159 and two scores.

“We have an arsenal of offensive weapons,” Young said. “If we play up to our ability and stay aggressive, we will be successful.”

The Maroon Knights average 33.6 points a game and have scored 40-or-more on six occasions.

Defensively, Wheeling Central gives up 19 points a contest and has one shutout. It has allowed eight twice.

Stallion and Mortakis man end terminal positions, with Stillion leading the team with 59 tackles, five sacks and a like number of TFLs. Mortakis has charted 46 tackles, seven sacks and nine TFLs. He has also recovered two fumbles.

The tackles are Paesani, Bolon, Jones and freshman Dreydon McCardle. Of that group, Paesani has 49 tackles and Bolon 31.

The linebackers include Olejasz, Koroneos, senior Wyatt Brady, sophomore Trenton McCardle and senior Nino Jerrome. Brady and McCardle each have 54 tackles; Olejasz 34 and Koroneos 27.

The secondary has junior Joey Jerrome, Kusic and Hall. Jerome is second on the team with 55 tackles. Hall has four interceptions.

Junior placekicker Clay Petry is a weapon with his strong right leg. He has made 36 of 39 PATs and is 2-of-2 on field goals, with a long of 45.

“Clay is very consistent and that is why a lot of big colleges have been looking at him,” Young said. “He has a strong leg and when he kicks the ball in the end zone on kickoffs, that is huge for our defense for the opponents to start at their own 20.”

Young said the ability to play home games until the championship final is somewhat unusual for his team.

“It’s a great feeling to play at home,” he stressed. “There have been some years where we’ve gone 1,200 to 1,300 miles just to get back to Wheeling Island Stadium. This year we’ll be happy to stay at home before going 180 miles to Charleston.”