ST. MARYS, W.Va. -Williamstown's special teams don't take a backseat to the Yellowjackets' offensive and defensive units.
Especially after Brandon Yost returned two punt returns for touchdowns during last week's 69-6 homecoming victory against Calhoun County.
"Brandon is doing a good job catching the ball," Williamstown coach Terry Smith said.
The Yellowjackets will need all three phases to respond when they travel to Pleasants County to meet the Blue Devils of St. Marys. Game time is 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Since defeating Tyler Consolidated on Sept. 15 for its first victory of the season, St. Marys has had an extra week to prepare for Williamstown. The Blue Devils are led by quarterback K.D. Arnett, who has managed to stay healthy. The senior has thrown for 284 yards and three touchdowns for the 1-3 Blue Devils.
During last year's 22-12 victory, Williamstown sacked Arnett was sacked six times in the second half.
"Being a strong kid, Arnett does a real good job running and throwing," Smith said.
Teammate Noah Spitzer is the leading ground gainer with 224 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while backfield mate Cole White has added 133 yards and two TDs. Spitzer carried the ball for 127 yards in the first half against the Yellowjackets in last year's meeting at Williamstown High School.
"Spitzer had a really big game against us last year and ran like crazy - he's real fast," Smith continued. "Between Arnett and Spitzer, those two guys are as good as we've played against."
Williamstown fullback Matt Hendrickson, who graduated this past spring, enjoyed a blockbuster night against the Blue Devils after rushing for 154 yards on 29 carries.
Now St. Marys turns its attention to Trey King, who had his streak of three consecutive games of 100-plus yards snapped only because he took just two handoffs during the blowout of Calhoun County. For the year, the senior has churned out 562 yards and scored 10 TDs.
"Trey King is like Dalton Brindo is to Wirt County -he's their go-to guy," St. Marys coach Jodi Mote said. "Zach Zide comes in and runs hard and gives them a lot of depth.
"When you have that plus some size up front, plus their sophomore quarterback is coming along I guess they have a lot of weapons."
Mote is also impressed with the Yellowjackets' leading tackler, senior linebacker Aaron Jones.
"You can tell Jones loves the game," Mote said. "He is one of those kids you can't ever have enough of. He just has a nose for the ball."
Mote realizes his team has its work cut out against a Williamstown squad which is unbeaten at 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class A.
The St. Marys head coach doesn't consider playing at home an overwhelming advantage.
"My opinion is if a top-ranked team is playing in any environment or any venue, you just play your game and I believe that is what Williamstown does," Mote said. "For good ballteams, it doesn't matter where you play."
