Steubenville Expecting Stiff Test From Cadets
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STEUBENVILLE -- If there is a team in the Ohio Valley that plays a tougher schedule than Steubenville, it might just be Linsly.
For an eighth-consecutive year, that tough schedule matches them up with Big Red as the Cadets come to Harding Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday night.
"Their schedule is tough," Big Red head coach Reno Saccoccia said. "It's really tough, and that’s how coach (BJ Depew) wants it.
"He preaches that to his players that they will play anybody, anywhere, anytime."
Linsly opened its season with a tough 56-14 loss on the road at Girard last week in its season opener. Girard is a top-10 ranked team in Ohio Division V by MaxPreps, which has Big Red ranked No. 1 in Ohio Division III in its rankings.
The Cadets also play St. Clairsville, Mogadore, Morgantown, University, Independence and Louisville in the coming weeks.
Despite the result in their first big test, Saccoccia expects the Cadets to provide his 2-0 Big Red with a challenge, as they have in the past.
"We expect to see much of the same as they expect from us," Saccoccia said. "We know each other pretty well now and we respect them as a football team. I'm sure that we work hard to earn their respect, too.
"We've had some great games in the past. I don't see this week being any different."
Big Red leads the all-time series between the teams 11-1-1, including a 55-7 victory last year in a game played at West Liberty and wins in the last three-straight meetings. The Cadets last won the match up in 2022.
Having played the Cadets for several consecutive seasons, Saccoccia has a pretty good idea of what to expect from head coach BJ Depew's squad.
"They do a really good job of using the play action pass," Saccoccia said. "They always have a good quarterback and always have good receivers. On defense, they always have good linebackers. That's what we're focused on right now and preparing for with them."
Big Red enters the game coming off an impressive 44-14 victory over Dover last week on Legends Night at Harding Stadium.
In that victory, Steubenville racked up 467 yards of offense, 249 of which came on the ground. They had 261 rushing yards opening week against Riverside and have utilized multiple different ball carriers with success, led by Colton Henderson and James Turner, both of whom have found the end zone in both games.
The Cadets faired OK against the run at Girard, allowing 113 yards on the ground, but gave up 353 yards and six touchdowns through the air.
While the running game has led the way for Big Red, senior quarterback Santino Haney has thrown for three touchdowns and more than 300 yards combined in the two victories and has several weapons to work with as he has completed passes to seven different receivers so far this season. Big Red has completed 78 percent of its passes overall through two games.