Fort Frye quarterback Sebastian Huck (10) carries the ball during a high school football playoff game against West Jefferson. (Photo by Kayla Adkins)

PARKERSBURG — Longtime Ravenswood High School defensive coordinator Jason Jackson knows all about the Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis Football Classic.

The current Eastern High School head football coach was on the losing end when the Mountaineers, led by then Red Devil head man Dick Sturm, came up short to Ohio back in 2004.

Jackson will be entering year three at the helm of the Eagles, who finished 12-2 last fall and were defeated in the regional final by Caldwell, 20-19.

The coach will get the opportunity to lead former players Ken and Kam Smith, Colin Wilcoxen and Brandon Oldaker – the Division VII defensive player of the year – one more time.

“We had 13 linemen, led by Brandon Oldaker and Brady Colburn from Meigs,” Jackson said. “Brady is 6-6 about 290 and he’s really a stout kid. Just really excited about seeing him and Oldaker play side by side. He’s 6-5 and about 270. That’s a pretty special deal right there.

“The Waterford kids, Jase Miller, unbelievable athlete and athletic lineman, and Jud Cooper, we’re excited to have him. Cole Wright from Trimble is another good lineman. Of course, we got Matt Rasmussen the Belpre kid and he’s done a really good job at center for us in practices. We’re pretty excited about him, too. He doesn’t have that huge stature like those other guys, but he’s a stout kid, plays hard and his motor doesn’t quit.”

Jackson’s team, known for being opportunistic on defense and pounding the ball, is excited about his plethora of signal-callers.

“We ended up with five quarterbacks,” Jackson admitted of Trimble’s Brandon Burdette, Beallsville’s Garrett Perkins, Morgan’s Logan Niceswanger, Fort Frye’s Sebastian Huck and River’s Kabel Isaly. “One of the guys that stands out big-time for us is Kabel Isaly. He’s just a tough quarterback.”

Jackson also said Niceswanger “was looking pretty good. He had a great year and he’s been doing really good in practice, so we are pretty excited about those two guys, for sure. Huck’s a guy who can do about anything. He runs equally as well as he does pass. We got a lot of options there at QB.”

Someone Jackson also knows well is River’s Finn Bowers, whose team lost to Eastern in the regional semifinals.

“He’s a big fullback type running back,” Jackson said of the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder. “He has the skill set, but the Trimble guys had a really nice running back in Xavier Cunningham and we were familiar with Xavier. Of course, the other quarterback was Brandon Burdette of Trimble and what we’ve done is we kind of recruited it this way,

“The quarterback matches up to the running back. We felt like those guys were familiar with each other and it would make our job a lot easier to run those guys in together and that’s how we are kind of running our packages in. It’s a pretty good little deal.”

Although Ohio is expected to test the Mountaineers’ defensive line, Jackson is anxious to see how things will work out throwing the pigskin.

“I’ll tell you what, one of the best receivers we’ve seen is Kole Searl from Morgan,” Jackson said. “He can play both receiver and defensive back really well. I had a guy come clear from New Lexington, Chase Dumoit, and he can do about anything. I think we got a pretty well rounded roster and a lot of guys who can do some really good things.

“(Offensive coordinator) coach (Kemp) Kelly is going to spread the ball around. It’s an all-star game. My philosophy is ground and pound and get the offensive line going, but at the same time we’re going to throw the ball and let kids try to go have some fun. We want to play good defensive football. One of our goals is to have a defensive touchdown. The guys are all believing in that. We’re pretty excited about it.”

The same can be said for the Buckeyes’ defensive unit.

“Eugene Pahl is a kid from Warren and we’re pretty excited about him on the defensive line,” added the coach. “At our Mike, Gavin Richards from Nelsonville, is a pretty big deal to get him to play. He had 200 tackles his senior year. I mean he covers sideline to sideline as good as any linebacker I’ve ever seen. We’re pretty excited to have him. Oldaker is an oversized linebacker, but at some point we have a package where we get Oldaker and Gavin Richards on the field at the same time.

“That’s a pretty exciting thing to see those two guys play together. Kam and Ken Smith are going to be playing the strong safety position for us. A couple Marietta kids, Elyjah Lieras-Kelley and Junior Smith, they are going to be playing in the defensive backfield.”

Overall, Jackson is anxious to see how things play out come 7 p.m. Friday inside St. Marys’ Bill Hanlin Stadium as the Buckeyes look to close the series gap to 16-13.

“I talked to the guys about it,” Jackson stressed. “The number one thing is they are here to raise money to help them find a cure for cystic fibrosis. All the guys seem like it’s an honor to be asked and they are all willing to do whatever they are asked to do.”

OHIO

No. Name School Position Hgt. Wgt.

1 Elyjah Lieras-Kelley Marietta WR/DB 6-0 185

2 Chase Dumolt New Lexington WR/DB 6-0 175

3 Caden McDougle Waterford WR/DB 6-2 175

4 Brandon Burdette Trimble QB/DB 5-10 165

5 Garrett Perkins Beallsville QB/LB 6-2 180

6 Ken Smith Eastern WR/DB 5-9 150

7 Mark Louden Beallsville TE/DE 6-2 205

8 Kole Searl Morgan WR/DB 6-2 195

9 Willis Starcher Belpre RB/LB 5-9 185

10 Ethan Snyder Frontier WR/DB 6-1 208

11 Gavin Richards Nelsonville-York RB/LB 5-10 175

12 Logan Niceswanger Morgan QB/LB 6-0 195

13 Junior Smith Marietta RB/DB 6-0 175

14 Sebastian Huck Fort Frye QB/LB 6-0 180

16 Kabel Isaly River QB/DB 5-10 165

17 Kam Smith Eastern WR/DB 5-9 150

20 Kadan Johnson River FB/DL 6-0 220

21 Finn Bowers River RB/LB 6-1 215

32 Xavier Cunningham Trimble RB/LB 5-10 160

36 Preston Stamp Frontier OL/DL 6-0 190

50 Brandon Oldaker Eastern OL/LB 6-5 270

51 Cole Wright Trimble OL/DL 6-1 225

54 Steven Davis Gallia Academy OL/LB 6-1 180

55 Eugene Pahl Warren OL/LB 6-3 190

60 Keegan Strode Belpre OL/LB 6-0 210

61 Matt Rasmussen Belpre OL/DL 5-10 200

68 Colton Shriver Beallsville OL/DE 6-2 210

70 Adam Wolfe Frontier OL/DL 5-9 190

71 Colin Wilcoxen Eastern OL/DL 6-0 215

72 Jud Cooper Waterford OL/DL 6-0 230

75 Jase Miller Waterford OL/DL 6-4 230

78 Brady Colburn Meigs OL/DL 6-6 280