Washington County grid teams hoping to be competitive
In the world of sports at any level of play, it is said that for a team to be competitive it must win more games than it loses.
Working and playing hard is important but not enough, because it is assumed that even mediocre (.500) and subpar (less than .500) teams will at least be doing that.
Hey, let's face it, some schools just don't have the talent to be competitive in some sports.
Working and playing harder, of course, does help winning teams trying to be championship competitive.
With that being said, and prep football practice set to begin at the end of the month, Waterford and Belpre were the only competitive gridiron teams in Washington County last season.
The Wildcats finished the 2007 campaign 9-1, while the Golden Eagles were 7-4 and playoff-bound.
Overall, the other four Washington County high schools - Marietta, Warren, Fort Frye and Fronter - combined to compile an 8-32 mark or a .200 winning percentage.
Let's take a brief look at all of the schools.
n Waterford enjoyed its best-ever season last fall and didn't even make the playoffs. Such is Ohio prep football.
Too bad the Wildcats didn't play in the nearby state of West Virginia. They might have been state finals-bound.
The Wildcats have a new head coach in Chad Ross, who is succeeding longtime mentor Doug Baldwin. They also have some big shoes to fill with the graduation of running back Derek Hoge, quarterback Gary Tornes, and linemen Taylor Sams, Daniel Miller and Brad Eichmiller.
Keep an eye on returnees' Jeremy Strahler and Cody Hall.
n Belpre, under first-year coach Curt Shriver, was a pleasant surprise last season, bouncing back from a 2-8 fall the year before.
During the course of the 2007 campaign, the Golden Eagles snapped Williamstown's record-setting, regular-season winning streak in the state of West Virginia.
BHS will definitely miss graduates' R.J. Walker (quarterback), Mike Waderker (linebacker), and Zach Kress (lineman), among others.
Belpre does have running back Ashton Packard back, and he's a good one.
n Marietta is under new management with Andy Schob at the helm in 2008.
Last season, the Brian Spicer-coached Tigers started out competitive at 3-2 before dropping five straight games in the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League.
MHS has some excellent skills people back in quarterback Cody Westbrook, running backs Anthony Tabler and Perry Wheeler, and wide receivers Sean Munfield and Zane Eschbaugh.
But the Tigers have some holes to fill on both the offensive and defensive lines.
n Warren, like Marietta, was also 3-7 a year ago. Both schools play in one of the toughest conferences (SEOAL) in the state.
The Jim Pifer-coached Warriors have a couple of good running backs in Seth Wellspring and Andrew Dunfee.
Warren - which has not enjoyed a winning season since Mike DeVol had the reins back in the late 1990s - will need to shore up a defense that allowed 40 points per game in its seven setbacks in 2007.
n Frontier snapped a long losing streak when it knocked off Pioneer Valley Conference rival Fort Frye last fall. It turned out to be the Todd Bradford-coached Cougars (1-9) only win, though.
It wasn't really that long ago when Frontier was regularly competing in the Ohio playoffs.
The Cougars graduated several seniors last season, but have their quarterback Corey Fickiesen back - and that's a plus.
n Fort Frye also has its QB/running back returning in Tyler Stevens, who was injured much of last season when the Cadets went 1-9.
FFHS will be starting 2008 fresh with first-year head coach Eric Huck, who is succeeding Sonny Bidwell.
Ron Johnston is The Marietta Times sports editor, and can be reached at 376-5441, or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com.
