Photo Provided The head coaches for the Ohio and West Virginia all-star teams have been selected for the 80th annual OVAC Rudy Mumley game that will be played on Sat., July 18 at Wheeling Island Stadium. Pictured, from left, are OVAC Executive Director Dirk Decoy; Assistant OVAC Executive Director Barb Sleek; Wheeling Park head football coach Chris Daugherty who will lead West Virginia; St. Clairsville head football coach Brett McLean who will guide Ohio; and Game Director Corey Murphy.

WHEELING — Despite the now and frigid temperatures the Ohio Valley has been experiencing of late, plans are well underway for the 80th annual OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game, which will be played at Wheeling Island Stadium on Sat., July 18.

Earlier in the week the head coaches of Ohio and West Virginia were announced during a meeting at Wheeling University. The staffs of St. Clairsville and Wheeling Park will lead their respective squads, and it will mark the second time that the Red Devils’ Brett McLean and the Patriots’ Chris Daugherty have had the honor bestowed upon them.

“This is a tremendous honor for me and my staff,” McLean said. “To me, this is the jewel of the summer. Everybody in the Ohio Valley looks forward to high school football and this game triggers people to get in the mode.”

Daugherty echoed those thoughts.

“I think every football player and coach grew up wanting to be a part of this game. I was selected to play following my senior season but I sustained a knee injury and had to withdraw,” he explained. “I know how important it is to every 17- and 18-year-old kid out there that gets nominated.”

McLean coached in the 2006 game and Daugherty followed 10 years later.

“I’ve been nominated other times but graciously passed so that some other coach could enjoy the awesome opportunity,” McLean added. “I was motivated to do it this year because I’ve got some younger guys, and some that have been with me for 20-some years, that will enjoy it. It’s a celebration for our staff.”

Daugherty also expressed his graciousness for being selected.

“This is truly a great time for me and my staff,” he said. “We’ve been nominated several other times, but we all couldn’t get together. This time we’ll be there.”

From now until the start of summer, both McLean and Daugherty will sit down with their staff members and go over the prospective names of players eligible to participate. They will then select 33 players from that group.

“It’s not an easy task,” Daugherty admitted. “We’ll sit down and try to get the best 11 offensive players and the best 11 defensive players. Then we’ll look for backups. We’ll put a couple of hours into it.”