WHEELING – The bite in the Ohio Valley air over the last few days has been a reminder that a great time of the year is upon us.
High school football season is here.
Starting today, the valley welcomes back teams up and down the Ohio River, all with the goal of a state championship on their minds. The action begins today over in Ohio with teams such as Shadyside, Martins Ferry, Bridgeport, Frontier and River in action. That will serve as a preamble to another slate of Buckeye State games on Friday and Saturday. Then, next week, West Virginia gets into the act as its season officially begins.
With each new season comes new players sprinting into the spotlight and new storylines that will engross fans all over the region. The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register are here to help them get all the information they’re looking for on the upcoming campaign.
The 2024 Football Preview debuts in today’s edition with the lowdown about teams up and down the valley, the stories painting an thrilling picture of what this season has in store for fans this year.
Fans looking for even more information on their favorite teams don’t have just our preview section to look for it. Once again, The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register have partnered with WVU Medicine to offer an enhanced online experience.
The entrance to our Football Preview 2024 site can be found on our homepage at theintelligencer.net for all the information you’re looking for – not just stories and photos, but audio from each team’s head coach and videos of each team that our family of newspapers covers. It’s easy to navigate with plenty of options to find the teams you’re looking for.
NEXT IN LINE
Several schools will welcome new passers to their huddle this year, while others still had QB competitions, the fruits of which won’t be known to the public until the offenses first hit the field.
Wheeling Park sophomore Jay Bordas, Steubenville Catholic junior Matthew Sprochi, Shadyside sophomore Jayden Johnson, Madonna freshman Maddox Bowen, Indian Creek junior Ian Starkey, and Cameron junior Kason Angel will be the new starting signal callers for their respective teams.
Among teams with less-than-clear quarterback situations, Weir is hosting a competition between freshman Ryant Lyons and sophomore Nick Dimatteis, while River will look to a pair of seniors, Peyton Blue and Lucas Dennis, to potentially make the switch to under center. Harrison Central is looking at either junior Brady Hyre or sophomore Gage Stoneking- with the possibility of receiver Cam McAfee being used as well.
Buckeye Local’s Alex McDiffitt made the switch to quarterback last season, and he will be challenged by junior Grant Dombroski this year. Ryan Dornon and Chaz Gasser are both vying for the job at Beallsville, while Bellaire’s Luke Heatherington may switch from quarterback to receiver, allowing sophomore Michael Dipple to take over. Union Local figures to insert senior Isaiah Tomolonis back into the QB1 role after he suffered an injury midway through last year, though he will have to hold off junior Colby Carpenter, who led the team in the second half of the year.
Steubenville will welcome in senior transfer Aiden Davis, who had previously been at Wheeling Park. Brooke will need to replace four-year starter Braelyn Sperringer.
PATROLLING THE SIDELINE
In addition to new quarterbacks, the area will also get their first look at a quartet of new coaches.
Buckeye Local’s Chris Kiedaisch takes over after spending time as a coordinator at Linsly. Andrew Yahn is the new headman at Bridgeport after gaining experience at Wheeling Park and West Liberty University. John McCune steps up for Madonna after multiple years coaching the Junior Dons program. Casey Goff comes into the head coaching role at Brooke after spending seven seasons leading the College of New Jersey Lions.
UNDER THE LIGHTS
In addition to the personnel and staff changes, plenty of programs received upgrades to their facilities over the summer.
Wheeling Park and St. Clairsville were two of the schools to get fresh turf on their fields, while Union Local will have a new scoreboard at its stadium.
The biggest change comes in Bellaire, where the Big Reds will play under the lights for the first time. The installment of stadium lights will allow them to play games on Friday nights, whereas Bellaire most often played on Saturday afternoons before. They won’t have to wait long for their first night game, taking on Buckeye Local this Friday at Nelson Field.
ANOTHER CRACK AT BRAGGING RIGHTS
While this season will have plenty of “new” in store, fans can also look forward to a slate of time-tested rivalry games across the valley.
Wheeling Park will play John Marshall at Wheeling Island Stadium this year in their customary week 10 meeting. Park dispatched the Monarchs last year, 31-7. Bellaire will go away from their newly-illuminated home to visit historic foe Martins Ferry in week 10. They defeated Ferry 41-14 last season.
Barnesville, coming into this year after back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, hosts rival Union Local in week 10 after defeating the Jets 40-19 last year. Brooke and Weir will face off at Brooke Memorial Stadium in week nine this season, after Weir took a 24-10 victory in last year’s rendition of their rivalry. Shadyside and Bridgeport meet on Perkins field in week nine, the Bulldogs looking for revenge after the Tigers beat them 41-7 last time.
The 2024 season looks like it will be one that players, coaches and fans will remember. We hope you join us this season as we provide you all the high school football news you crave.