Parkersburg head coach Matt Kimes walks the sideline during a game against Morgantown earlier this season. (Photo by Brian Cox Photography)

PARKERSBURG — Fourth-year Parkersburg High School head football coach Matt Kimes understands it’s just the next game on the schedule, but Friday night’s 58th all-time meeting with Parkersburg South set for Stadium Field is a pivotal one.

The Big Reds, who own a 39-18 edge in the series but have lost two of the last three, will be out to try and even their record at 2-2 while the Patriots of first-year boss Larry Thompson have yet to taste victory.

A year ago at the Erickson All-Sports Facility the Big Reds lost 26-17, but won a 43-35 shootout with the Patriots in 2023.

Last week at Hurricane, the Big Reds held a 17-10 intermission advantage before storming ahead 38-10 entering the fourth en route to a 45-16 triumph.

“First half we had some mistakes, uncharacteristic to ourselves in terms of giving them extra downs and letting them move the ball down the field a little bit in the first half,” admitted coach Kimes, whose team was flagged seven times for 75 yards with four being personal fouls. “We had a heart-to-heart at halftime and told them we’re not going to act like that.

“It’s unacceptable. We came out in the second half and played like we are supposed to play, took care of business, executed at a high level in all three phases. We’ve been telling people and telling these kids we’ve got a pretty good football team, but we can’t beat anybody with self-inflicted mistakes. When we cut those out in the second half we showed what we are capable of.”

Ethan Jones found paydirt thrice and led the ground attack with 158 yards on 14 attempts.

Cole Sisk converted all six of his extra points and booted a 25-yard field goal, his first of the campaign, while quarterback Alex Greer ran for a score and also hooked up with Austin Craven on a 40-yard TD strike.

On a night when the Big Reds limited the Redskins to a 4 of 15 showing on third-down conversions, PHS had the ball for less than 17 minutes.

“Ultimately you want to possess the football and keep your defense off the field, but at the same time if you are able to make some explosive plays, that’s a huge bonus, too,” said the coach. “Obviously our kids feed off of an explosive play and it goes the other way for the opponent if you give up an explosive play. We feel like we are pretty dynamic on offense right now.

“We got a lot of weapons across the field. We’re able to use each guy’s skill set to the best of their abilities and possess the football, whether it’s meticulously moving the ball down the field getting first downs or if we are able to get a guy in space and he’s able to make a big play. We’re trying to do all that and taking what the defense gives us.”

Brady Thorn (9-104-0) and Tytan Parsons (7-105-1) have been the top targets thus far for Greer, who is 20 of 45 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Big Reds, who have watched Greer average 11.2 yards a carry on 20 attempts, are led on the ground by Jones’ 254 stripes and four six-pointers.

“I think they are trying to be aggressive on defense and cause confusion, make plays and really put the pressure on you so to speak offensively to make plays,” coach Kimes said of the Patriots. “At the same time when defenses play that way there’s going to be opportunities for us to make plays. It’s just a matter of finding the right time with the right play they call and if it works out for an opportunity to make a play, but we’re going to work hard on their pressure packages and make sure we got a plan for all those.

“That’s kind of been their M.O. since coach (Nate) Tanner took over. There’s a lot of pressure on defense and they’ve kind of continued that this year. From that standpoint it’s not something different from what they’ve done in the past, but there’s a couple different wrinkles here and there. It just comes down to us getting our guys to understand how they are going to try and attack and us trying to put ourselves in position to be successful no matter what type of defense they bring.”

Adam Elder, who has a team-high five tackles for loss, is one of four Big Reds (leading tackler Devin Widman, Jones, Zach Medina) to have registered a sack.

Thorn and Javel Chandler have an interception apiece as too does Sylas Cheuvront, who joins Craven with a blocked kick.

“It’s a different feel anytime you play your arch rival,” stressed coach Kimes. “It’s an opponent that the kids know each other so they want to have bragging rights for the year. It’s huge for the community as well. There are a lot of people on northside and southside that only really care about this game. Obviously for us it’s just the next game on the schedule. It’s huge in terms of stacking a win, putting a winning streak together to try and get to where we want to be at the end of the year which is hosting a playoff game and having an opportunity to extend our season once we get into the playoffs.

“It’s a huge challenge. They are a good football team. They are very capable. They’ve showed that in all three games they are capable of putting it together. If they would put it together for all four quarters then they are going to be a successful football team, but that’s high school football. Hopefully we can make more plays than they do and I think more importantly the team that makes the least amount of mistakes is probably the team that wins.”

Kimes knows it’s going to take a team effort on Friday night to emerge victorious and he’s also hoping the Big Reds continue to grow together as a unit.

“They got a little heart-to-heart from every coach at halftime. I didn’t have to do a whole lot. The assistant coaches took over,” reiterated Kimes. “It’s a game that you look forward to as a coach because you know it’s going to be all eyes on you so to speak throughout the community. I’ve got some friends over there on that staff that I’ve worked with before so you always want to one-up your friends.

“It’s a fun game. It’s a pressure-packed game though because it does hold a lot of merit. It’s something that you want to go out and be your best in. That comes with a little bit of added pressure, but at the same time it’s just the next game on the schedule and I’m sure they feel the same way.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com