St. Clairsville, Union Local Renew Their Rivalry After A Season They Didn’t Play
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE - For the first time since 1989, Belmont County neighboring rivals St. Clairsville (0-1) and Union Local (1-0) did not meet in high school football action.
However, after that brief one-year hiatus, the two will do battle Friday night inside Red Devil Stadium in front of what is expected to be a standing-room-only contest.
Both head coaches said the game is a lot more than just about football.
"It means a lot to Union Local. This is a big game and we're happy to have St. Clairsville back on the schedule," Union Local head coach Bernie Thompson, who played in this rivalry, said. "My personal beliefs are that Union Local and St. Clairsville should play each other."
St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean echoed those thoughts.
"This game means a ton for both communities ... for the kids, especially," he said. "These kids know each other so well. They play little league teams together and compete against each other in all sports. We're obviously next door neighbors. When it was the (Belmont County) Fair game, it was really unique."
"This is a big test for us," Thompson stressed. "It's week two against a very talented St. Clairsville team. We have all the respect in the world for Coach (Brett) McLean and his staff. They have a great program over there. We'll get to see what we are made of real fast heading over there, a place that we haven't won there since 2009 (19-16) in the final Belmont County Fair game."
In fact, the Jets have won only once since then, that coming in 2016 (28-7) in Morristown as St. Clairsville holds a 37-12-1 advantage in the all-time series, which actually began in 1962 and was an annual affair until after the 1975 season when they didn't meet again for 14 seasons.
"We're looking to change that on Friday," Thompson said.
The Jets opened with an impressive, 34-0, victory on the road at Warren Local.
"We wanted to come out fast against them because they are a tough team," Thompson said of the Warriors. "Going on the road in week one is never easy, but we wanted to establish our run game and I thought we played well up front to get those running backs going."
Senior Brody Perzanowski ran 16 times for 130 yards and scored two touchdowns. Classmate Kolten Snyder blocked well and also reached the end zone twice on runs of 1 and 2 yards.
"We trust both of those guys and it's no secret that we're going to give them the ball," Thompson said. "They are both big, physical guys who are both all-state wrestlers.
Thompson was also impressed with first-time sophomore starter Evan Poziviak at quarterback.
"We wanted to play efficient football and try to not put a lot on his plate," Thompson noted. "I thought, for the most part, we did that."
Poziviak completed 10 of 16 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, which was a 21-yard strike to senior tight end Brody Kerns just before the half to make it 21-0.
"We've got some things to fix up this week in practice to get ready for Friday."
Defense isn't one of them as Union Local held Warren Local to 137 yards of total offense.
"That was definitely pleasing. (Assistant) Coach (Vaughn) Butler and his staff did a great job of preparing the kids, but we know we are going to have our hands full on Friday. We'll see what we are made of then."
St. Clairsville had an auspicious debut as it fell, 37-6, to visiting West Branch. The Red Devils have not started 0-2 since 2016 when they lost to Carrollton and Coshocton.
"We learned a lot about ourselves," McLean stressed. "You learn something from each game. Obviously, you don't like to lose, but you look at the film and find places where you need to improve and get better. West Branch was a good opponent and we knew that going in, but we've played a lot of good opponents since I've been here and they rank right up there with the best. No doubt about it.
"A film like that gave us a lot of things to work on this week in practice to get better. It's all about how we respond," McLean added. "You can lose your confidence, tuck your tails, put your head down and that can grow into a problem or you can get better. That's what we told the kids."
While the final score was on the lop-sided side, the Red Devils did have some notable performances.
Backup quarterback Brody Clifford entered the game in the second half and completed 5 of 7 passes for 50 yards, which included a 32-yard scoring strike to Jackson Mercer late in the fourth quarter. Mercer had three of the completions.
Hunter Orum had 10 carries for 38 yards as St. Clairsville picked up 96 stripes on 31 rushes.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.