Prep Football: Marietta hosts Williamstown in river rivalry
Trending
The Marietta Tigers would like nothing better than to celebrate their homecoming night by picking up their first win of the season Friday night as they welcome the undefeated Williamstown Yellowjackets to Don Drumm Stadium.
The Tigers let one of their better opportunities of the season slip away last Friday when they fell to the Amanda-Clearcreek Aces 20-13 at home.
Marietta scored 13 points in the second quarter to close the Aces lead to seven at halftime but were unable to score in the second half of a very chippy contest that resulted in a handful of ejections late in the game.
The Mike Kupfner-coached Tigers got touchdown runs by Zach Carver and Braydon Frye.
Frye led the Tigers in rushing with 53 yards on 13 carries while Daymeon Gulley carried the ball eight times for 34 yards.
The Yellowjackets come into the game 4-0 after last week’s big 34-26 win over Chapmanville.
Junior quarterback Breck Allen is having a break-out campaign as he has rushed the ball for a team-high 379 yards on 56 carries while completing 29-of-48 pass attempts for 430 yards and six touchdowns.
Sophomore Daniel Cunningham has rushed the ball 56 times for 329 yards while receiver JP Strobl leads the team with 10 pass receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns.
Strobl also leads the Yellowjacket defense with 38 tackles including four for loss.
Last season in Williamstown, the Tigers stunned the 'Jackets 14-6 to pick up their first win of the season.
CONOTTON VALLEY (4-2) at FRONTIER (5-1)
NEW MATAMORAS -- It may just be week number seven but Friday night’s showdown between the visiting Conotton Valley Rockets and the Frontier Cougars could have playoff implications for both squads.
Conotton Valley comes into the game clinging to the 12th and final spot in the D-7 Region 27 standings after blasting Bridgeport 50-16 last week to improve their record to 4-2.
It will be homecoming night for the Cougars who picked up a critical 29-20 win last week over the arch-rival St. Marys Blue Devils.
In last week’s win over St. Marys the Damon Metheney-coached Cougars pulled out to a 23-7 lead and then held on to notch their fifth win of the season in six tries.
Austyn Kephart ran the ball five times for 73 yards and a pair of touchdowns while quarterback Luke Mendenhall carried the ball 18 times for 50 markers.
Mendenhall also completed 6-of-11 pass attempts for 123 yards including a 75-yard scoring strike to Caden Barrows in the second quarter that gave the Cougars the lead for good.
Frontier sophomore kicker Preston Binegar kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
The Cougars are currently ranked seventh in the same D-7 region as the Rockets and a win over Conotton Valley could well push them into the top six in the region putting them on target to host a postseason game.
Frontier will have their work cut out for themselves down the stretch as the four teams they play to close out the season have a combined 17-5 record over the first six games.
Last season at home the Rockets downed the Cougars 54-34.
SOUTHERN (3-3) at WATERFORD (4-2)
WATERFORD - After suffering back-to-back losses to Fort Frye and Nelsonville-York the Waterford Wildcats needed a win in the worst way last Friday when they hosted the Eastern Eagles.
The Eric McCutcheon-coached Wildcats dominated Eastern with a 35-0 win to get their season headed back in the right direction.
The Wildcats passing game was unstoppable against Eastern as quarterback Avery Pottmeyer completed 12-of-16 pass attempts for 219 yards and five touchdowns.
Senior Finn Pennock caught Pottmeyer's first scoring toss (39 yards) and his last (62 yards) in his first extensive playing time on offense this season.
Hayden Jones, Lucas Roberts and Braydon Smith all hauled in a touchdown pass from Pottmeyer as well.
The Wildcat defense allowed Eastern just 177 total yards as they posted their third shutout of the season.
Waterford is ranked No. 6 in this week’s Division 7, Region 23 standings.
The Tornadoes come into the TVC contest on a bit of a roll as they have scored wins in three of their last four games including last week’s 39-12 win over Trimble, their first over the Tomcats in 53 years.
A win over the Wildcats would go a long way into helping the Tornadoes playoff chances as they are currently ranked 18th in the latest playoff rankings.
Key players to watch for Southern include quarterback Colten Jones and two of his favorite targets in Jesse Sayre and Wyatt Templeton.
Last season in Racine, the Wildcats cruised to a 47-0 win over Southern.
WARREN (2-4) at JOHN MARSHALL (4-1)
GLEN DALE, W.Va. - Warren needs a win Friday at John Marshall to keep any hopes of having a winning season alive.
The Warriors fell to Athens last week (40-7), their third loss in their past four games.
Warren actually scored first when quarterback Braylen Murray connected with Jaxon Venham on a 19-yard touchdown pass in the opening quarter but that would prove to be the only time the Warriors would score in the game as Athens reeled off 40 unanswered points.
The Monarchs picked up their fourth win of the season in five tries last week with a 27-24 win over Parkersburg South.
Key players to watch for John Marshall include quarterback Jacob Cisar as well as skill level players in Tiler Clemons and Landen Snyder.
Last season in Vincent, John Marshall edged the Warriors 30-27.
BELPRE (4-2) at TRIMBLE (1-5)
GLOUSTER - Two TVC teams heading in completely different directions will do battle when the Belpre Golden Eagles visit the Trimble Tomcats.
The Eagles captured their third consecutive win last week with a convincing 39-0 win over Federal Hocking.
Belpre has already doubled their win total from last season as they continue their break-through season under the direction of first-year head coach Brian Hutchinson.
The Golden Eagles featured a very balanced attack against the Lancers as they rolled up 434 total yards.
Quarterback Mason Baxter completed 14-of-21 pass attempts for 244 yards and three touchdowns.
Malik Currie hauled in a touchdown pass from Baxter as did Kade Hutchinson and Alex Parker.
Malaki Ensor hauled in 7 pass receptions for 156 yards.
The Eagles still find themselves on the outside looking in for a playoff berth as they are currently ranked 16th in the latest D-7, Region 27 rankings.
The 2026 campaign has not been kind at all to Trimble as the Tomcats have now lost four in a row including last week’s 39-12 loss to Southern.
Key players for Trimble include Miles Ward, Wyatt Templeton and Jesse Sayre.
Last season Trimble blanked Belpre 44-0 at Ralph Holder Stadium.
EASTERN (4-2) at FEDERAL HOCKING (0-6)
STEWART -The Eastern Eagles had a four-game winning streak halted last week with a humbling 35-0 loss to the Waterford Wildcats.
The Eagles will look to start a brand new streak Friday when they visit the winless Federal Hocking Lancers.
Eastern came into the Waterford game averaging over 30 points per game but came up empty against a very good Wildcat defense.
Kyler Bashan led the Eagles with 83 yards on 17 carries while quarterback Braxton Yonker was intercepted three times.
The 2026 season has been a huge struggle for the Lancers as they have been beaten soundly in all but one of their games.
The Lancers lost to Green (38-32) in three overtimes in their opener and have not been able to capture a win since.
Last year the Eagles rolled to a 50-16 win over Fed Hock.
MONROE CENTRAL (3-3) at SHENANDOAH (4-2)
SARAHSVILLE -- Either Monroe Central of Shenandoah will take a huge step in the right direction towards qualifying for postseason play as they face off at Shenandoah High School with playoff implications on the line.
Both teams presently find themselves on the outside looking in with just four games remaining in the season.
The Seminoles hope to right the ship after losing for the third time in four weeks last week to the Wheeling Central Catholic Knights (21-14) in the first ever meeting between the two.
MC quarterback Cooper Howell fired touchdown passes to Max Demchak and Corbin Farnsworth in last week’s loss.
The 'Noles are currently ranked 13th in the latest D-6, Region 23 rankings, two places higher than the Mac McLean-coached Zeps.
The Zeps come into the game on the heels of a blistering 42-14 loss to unbeaten Shadyside.
Key players for the Zeps include quarterback Brody Brown and running back Davyn Kunkle.
Last season in Woodsfield the Seminoles downed Shenandoah 35-12.
OAK GLEN (2-3) at ST. MARYS (1-3)
ST. MARYS - It has not been the best of starts by any means for St.Marys head coach Jodi Mote and his Blue Devils as they have tasted victory just once in four tries.
The Devils come into Friday night’s game against Oak Glen on a three-game losing streak after last week’s 29-20 loss to Frontier.
Ethan Pierce carried the ball 10 times for 124 yards and a touchdown while Elijah Kimble rushed the rock 10 times for 34 yards against the Cougars.
Oak Glen snapped a three-game losing streak last week with a 41-14 win over Buckeye Local.
Last season Oak Glen routed St. Marys 53-18.