It’s time for the OVAC All-Star Game to kick off | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo by Nick Henthorn Pictured are the Ohio All Stars. Front row, from left, are Taison Starr (Barnesville), Kaden Johnson (River), Baron Lucey (Martins Ferry), Parker Hutton (Harrison Central), Drew White (Bellaire), Lee Anthony Sewell (Sateubenville), JJ Barton (Dover) and Jason Costello (Barnesville). . Second row, from left, are Luke Detling (Barnesville), Ryan Gigax (Dover), Ben Wach (Shadyside), Kabel Isaly (River), Cole Thoburn (St. Clairsville), Brady Hastings (Dover), Sabron Felton (Steubenville) and Dorian Burchett (East Liverpool). Third row, from left, are Mac Mac Pettigrew (Bellaire), Savier Faulks (Steubenville), Koen Eagon (Buckeye Trail), Trenton Davis (East Liverpool), Andrew Leiffer (Martins Ferry) Alex Beaver (Union Local), Joey Simpson (Edison) and Peyton Gorby (Steubenville). Fourth row, from left, are Jaxson Mast (Dover), Perry Patrone (St. Clairsville), Graham Baker (Fort Frye), Jase Norman (Caldwell), Griffin Fogle (St. Clairsville), Hunter Boals (Harrison Central), JR Adams (St. Clairsville) and Brendan Grimm (Steubenville Catholic). Fifth row, from left, are assistant coaches David Nameth, Drew Case and Roger Herbert, Javin Harper (Steubenville), Jacob Meager (St. Clairsville) and assistant coaches Ty Kenney, Bill Bryant and Cain Noble. In the sixth row, from left, are assistant coaches Mark Smith and AJ Barsch, head coach Anthony Hayes and assistant coach Ian White.

WHEELING — The players have been practicing, the coaches have been game-planning and everyone has been anxiously awaiting the past week. The wait is over Saturday night for the 78th annual OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game, with a roster of All-Conference, All-Valley and All-State stars converging on Wheeling Island Stadium for a 7:15 faceoff.

The long-running game served as a final send-off for a graduating class of OVAC athletes, but also a celebration of the elite talent that populates the conference. This year is no different, according to coaches who have now spent a week practicing with their respective teams.

“The talent is incredible,” said Ohio head coach Anthony Hayes. “When you’re dealing with the best of the best from the Ohio side of the valley, it’s a lot of fun for a coach to be able to pick those guys, and it’s very difficult because there are so many young men who deserve this great honor. But we feel like we have a pretty good selection of players, not just great football players, but guys of character who come from great programs and are very well-coached.”

“They are very intelligent and football intelligent,” West Virginia head coach Frank Sisinni said. “We say it once or twice and they get it. There’s not a lot of repetition, once they get it we move on. This is the elite and the top of the conference in terms of ability, so from every position on the court we just apply our system and they embrace it and have fun with it.”

Hayes and Sisinni, who lead Harrison Central and Weir respectively in the fall, undoubtedly have strong rosters, but the two opponents also saw opposing strong players on their rosters.

Hayes believes his team will favor the big fighters down the line as spearheads.

“We always try to build a football team around what we can do in the beginning,” said the Huskies head coach. “The game of football is always won and lost at the line of scrimmage. We feel good about those groups of kids, we think that’s definitely a strength for us, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

“I was really pleased with our defensive line, we have a really nice linebacker core – physical guys that are able to drop back into coverage. On the back end, we feel very athletic. We’re not really long on the back end, but we’re very athletic. We understand the threats that West Virginia can pose to us, especially with the really good quarterbacks that they have. We want to instill that in our kids, the big challenge that’s ahead of us.”

As Hayes noted, West Virginia is loaded with talent at various positions, particularly in the quarterback room, where they have five quarterbacks. However, Sisinni suggested that his staff look to the college trio of Luke Hudson, Linsley’s Atley Cowan and Morgantown’s Maddox Bowers for the center positions, while Cameron’s Colson Wichterman and Weir’s Malachi Stromile see their reps more on defense — or, in Stromile’s case, at wide receiver — than at quarterback.

“We are very strong as a quarterback,” said Sisinni. “We’re also very adept on the perimeter and that’s how it’s developed, based on the best of the best and trying to get the best size and speed there.”

Weir’s forward said he expects Wheeling Central’s Lucca Ferrera, Wheeling Park’s Derek Croghan, John Marshall’s Scott Schenerlein, Weir’s Anthony Zorbini and Magnolia’s Jaydin Lynch to start at forward, with Weir’s Corey Lyons at tailback, Nick DiProspero at tight end and Parkersburg South’s Triston Walker, Keohn Stephens and Stromile at receiver.

Whoever is on the field at the start of the game, chances are they will share snaps with the other prospects at each position. Both coaches have talked about rotating their players early and often.

“We plan to rotate everyone,” said Hayes. “We’re comfortable with the kids we have and we think every guy we put in can do the job we need them to do. We’re at least two-deep at every position and a lot of guys get reps at multiple positions. We expect everyone to play on both sides of the ball.”

West Virginia defeated Ohio 13-9 last year, but with a new coaching staff and a new roster, revenge isn’t the main message for Hayes’ team.

“History is a great teacher,” said Hayes. “But I think even more than that, and this is true to the philosophy of our team at Harrison Central, it’s the old saying ‘you never get ahead by looking back.’ This is a new team for Ohio and a new team from West Virginia, but the goal for us is to beat West Virginia. Our side of the river has selected us to put together a team that is worthy of winning this All-Star Game. It’s our obligation to do our very best and our kids know that.”

To perform optimally, you must have an effective and efficient game plan, with the two teams only having five days to practice together.

Sisinni and his assistants have put together a script that incorporates the playing styles of different schools, using staff from the school they wanted to imitate.

“These guys come from different high schools, and the great work that their high schools and coaches have done with them, now we can take advantage of the things that we picked them for, their attributes and their skills that have made them all stars,” said Sisinni.

“What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to put it all together and let some philosophies play into our philosophies. Maybe a team wants to pull — Wheeling Central is a pulling team, so when we run our pulling plays, we have Wheeling Central kids that like to do that. Certain quarterbacks like to roll out, there’s certain things you’d want to do with those guys.”

Despite their short collaboration, both teams feel prepared for Saturday evening.

“What stood out the most, and I’m sure this is true for coach Sisinni as well, is that there was a team full of kids who had to work hard in a short period of time, and these kids did an excellent job of working together,” said Hayes. “It’s almost like these kids have been on the same team all year. That’s what stood out the most, how easily these kids became Team Ohio.”

“You often get the same concepts, but the language differs from school to school,” Sisinni: “This week we really get them on the same language.

“This is the shortest period in OVAC history. Years ago, teams reported for two weeks, now they’ve shortened it to a five-day period. We really have to pay attention to what we’re trying to teach, because we want them to play fast. We don’t want them to think too much, because when you think, your feet slow down.”

This marks the first time both men have been head coaches in the OVAC All-Star Game, though Sisinni noted he was an assistant coach for the 2010 game and the 2017 W.Va. North-South All Star Game.