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Pigskin Preview 2017

Oak Glen breaking in fresh faces in spots

By JOE CATULLO For The Times Leader NEW CUMBERLAND — Even with 10 seniors on Oak Glen’s roster for the upcoming season, the Golden Bears are starting fresh on and off the field. After an underachieving 2-8 record a season ago, second-year head coach Ted Arneault knows this year will be a challenge early on. It’s just a matter of improving week after week to achieve their goals. That’s all Oak Glen can do at this point. “We have a lot of fresh faces, and everybody’s excited to get started,” Arneault said. “I think we’ll be a culturally different football team this ...

Bellaire bids to sustain momentum

By KIM NORTH Times Leader Sports Writer BELLAIRE — It had been awhile since Bellaire fans had something to cheer about at Nelson Field. The 2016 Big Reds advanced to the Division VI state playoffs and finished 6-5 under first-year head coach Mark Spigarelli, a Bellaire alum. “We had a real good year,” Spigarelli recalled. “That was mainly due to having great senior leadership. Those 11 guys — two came over from St. John — helped put this program back on the map. A lot of people said it was because of me, but it wasn’t me. The kids just needed someone to direct them in ...

Krol takes over at Bridgeport

By KIM NORTH Times Leader Sports Writer BRIDGEPORT — For the third time in the last four seasons, Bridgeport has a new head football coach. Gary Krol was hired when Zack Melton resigned after last season following a two-year stint in leading the Bulldogs. Melton had replaced Rudy Vavrock who brought the program back to prominence. Krol is no stranger to football. After graduating from Martins Ferry High School and the University of Dayton, the 49-year-old got his start in the coaching profession as an assistant at Western Connecticut State University in the mid-1990s. He then ...

Ohio State poised for big things

By RICK THORP Times Leader Sports Writer COLUMBUS — Urban Meyer doesn’t like to dwell on the past. Ohio State’s sixth-year head coach is more of a forward thinker. So, when discussing his team’s prospects for the upcoming season, Meyer prefers not to talk about last season; or the year before that, or the year before that. His sole focus is on what’s ahead. And what’s ahead, he hopes, is a trip to Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Dome for the national championship game in January. It’s a game the Buckeyes fell short of last year. And it wasn’t even close. In the ...

WVU has unanswered questions

By JIM BUTTA For The Times Leader MORGANTOWN – In 2016, West Virginia won 10 games for one of the best seasons in recent memory, climbing as high as No. 10 in the College Football Playoff poll at one point. It marked only the ninth time the Old Gold and Blue finished with double-digit wins. WVU finished with a top-20 national ranking and made an appearance in the Russell Athletic Bowl – a 31-14 loss to the ACC’s University of Miami – it’s 14th bowl in the past 15 years. But, the question in every Mountaineer fan’s mind is ‘What have you done for us ...

Toronto prepares for new-look schedule

By AARON PETCHAL For The Times Leader TORONTO - The Toronto football team has established itself as a quality program, and though they are a youthful bunch this season the Red Knights hope to continue their winning ways and make it to the postseason for the fourth straight season for the second time in school history. “We’ve got a great group of kids,” Toronto head coach Eric Meek said. “We have a lot of kids out for football. We have 47 kids. That is a tremendous number for a Division 7 school. “Football has come under attack in the media. It is a tough game. It is a ...