Big Red Looking For Revenge vs. Highly-Rated Braves
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GNADENHUTTEN – Last week, Big Red found itself on the road in a battle of teams ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions by MaxPreps. This week, after a big win, they are back in the same scenario.
After earning a hard-fought victory over at the time Division V leading Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, 21-16, at Youngstown State’s Stambaugh Stadium, the Division III leading Steubenville Big Red heads back on the road to battle Division IV leading Indian Valley this Friday night at Braves Stadium in Gnadenhutten.
Big Red was ranked No. 1 in the first Ohio Associated Press poll in Division III this week, while Indian Valley was ranked third by the AP in Division IV and received multiple first-place votes.
“That was a really good, fun game for our team, and games like that can only help you, especially if you win them,” Big Red head coach Reno Saccoccia said of the win over Mooney. “The physicality of the game was exactly what we needed. I really thought that we didn’t play a very sound football game, but we played a very physical game.
“We’re going from one really good team to an excellent team this week, and that’s how football is meant to be played. The further the season goes on, the better the teams get and the more you have to be focused and sound in what you’re doing.”
The Braves, 3-0, are coming off of a bye week last week as they only have a nine-game schedule this season, similar to Big Red last season. Their victories have come at home in Weeks 1 and 2 over Uniontown Green and Akron Buchtel by an identical 42-13 score, then on the road in Week 3, 37-14, at New Philadelphia.
Indian Valley won last year’s meeting at Harding Stadium on the way to an undefeated regular season. Big Red won the prior meeting in the 2023 playoffs at a neutral site.
The Braves were the Division IV state champs in 2023 and went to the state semifinals a season ago. Those teams were led by last year’s Ohio Mr. Football Award winner Grady Kinsey, who now plays for Air Force in the college ranks.
While this year’s Braves may not have the state record setter, they still have plenty of weapons.
Senior quarterback Ryker Williams has thrown for 566 yards, completing 67.5 percent of his passes for eight touchdowns and two interceptions, averaging more than 20 yards per completion. He’s also run for another 143 yards and two scores, averaging nearly 6 yards per carry.
Senior receiver Reese St. Clair has hauled in 10 passes for 239 yards and three scores (23.9 yards per catch) and is the team’s leading rusher with 292 yards and two scores on 22 carries, averaging more than 13 yards per carry.
Senior Colt James has nine catches for 192 yards and four scores (21.3 yards per catch).
Defensively, senior Logan Burrier has 32 total tackles and five tackles for loss.
“I actually think they’re a better football team because of the number of things they do,” Saccoccia said of this year’s Braves. “They have a good quarterback, a good tailback, they have a really good receiver, they have a fullback that gets good yards, so they spread the ball around more. Although they were a great team before, I think that this is a more diversified Indian Valley team.
“You can see their kids are really playing hard and enjoying the game of football.”
For Big Red, James Turner added two more touchdowns to his season total in the win over Mooney, giving him six touchdowns on the season. Colton Henderson, the team’s leading rusher, has visited the endzone seven times.