River hopes to take the next step

August 25, 2020

HANNIBAL — If the OHSAA is going ahead with a season starting on time with the COVID-19 pandemic hovering over all fall sports, River High head coach Mike Flannery isn’t masking his expectations for his veteran squad. The Pilots’ 42-man roster, one of the biggest in recent memory at the Hannibal-based school, is stocked with 19 lettermen, including two-time first-team All-Ohio linebacker Carter Dennis (5-10, 195) and special mention All-Ohio jack-of-all-trades Michael Johnson (–5-10, 160), among the eight seniors. Flannery’s crew, 18th at his alma mater, debuts Saturday at ...

Shadyside set to christen new turf

August 25, 2020

SHADYSIDE — It seems like there’s always a reason for celebrating the Shadyside football program. Last season, the Tigers celebrated their 100th season of football. They’ve become consistent members of the Ohio playoffs, which is always a cause for celebrating. As Mark Holenka prepares for season number 12 at the helm of his alma mater, the Tigers have more reasons to be excited. Two weeks from Friday, Shadyside will officially unveil the newly laid turf at Fleming Field when Magnolia pays a visit. The project began more than a year ago and was completed earlier this ...

St. Clairsville seeks continued success

August 25, 2020

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Brett McLean has seen and done a lot in his tenure as head football coach at St. Clairsville High School. As he prepares for his 19th season, he’s faced with a challenge that he and his team have faced before. For the second straight season, the Red Devils will need to find a way to replace a large number of graduation losses. “There has been some attrition because of graduation and now we have one of the smallest senior classes we’ve had in my time here,” McLean said. While every coach is concerned about seemingly everything before a season and/or a game, ...

Union Local using 2019 as motivation

August 25, 2020

MORRISTOWN — It’s not often that an athletic team that went winless the year prior gets a t-shirt or any type of memento to formally recognize that season. Union Local suffered through one of the toughest seasons in school history last season, dropping all 10 games, including eight setbacks that were by 21 points or more. Still, however, head coach Bernie Thompson made his way to an area clothing store and ordered each member of his team a t-shirt that read, ‘0-10’ on the front. But, it wasn’t meant to be any type of reward. “We made (2019) a rallying cry during the ...

Barnesville seeks season-long consistency

August 25, 2020

BARNESVILLE — There’s nothing like game experience, no matter what the sport. There are times when teams have to play younger kids in order to get through some tough situations. In each of Blake Allen’s three seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Barnesville has won its season-opener but hasn’t had much success in the weeks following. The Shamrocks finished 3-7 in his first campaign before posting back-to-back 5-5 seasons. However, they started 3-0 last fall and had fans in western Belmont County buzzing only to lose the next four contests. They did bounce back to win two of ...

Beallsville enjoying increased numbers

August 25, 2020

BEALLSVILLE - Numbers and optimism are trending upward at Beallsville. Rusty Lucas begins his second season at the Blue Devils’ grid helm with a roster boasting some 20 players, a nice spike from last year. Increased numbers have buoyed hopes for gridiron success this fall. The Blue Devils went 3-7 in Lucas’s maiden voyage as head coach. A record that was just a few points away from a winning campaign. Lucas inherited a 1-9 squad that featured just 15 players. “The attitude and work ethic of the team have been tremendous. The numbers are much better as well, “ Lucas said. ...