Lest we forget, the BACF in tonight's BACF Football Classic at Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta stands for Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis.
And the BACF slogan is: ''It's not just a game, it's a battle for a cure.''
Thus is the reason why the 7 p.m. game pitting high school seniors from both sides of the Ohio River in an Ohio versus West Virginia matchup was started 19 years ago on the same spot it will be played tonight.
In the initial BACF football game in 1994, Ohio won 10-7 at Don Drumm, but West Virginia has come out on top in nine of the last 11 meetings to forge a 12-6 lead in the series.
All the proceeds from tonight's game, the first at Don Drumm since that opening one, like the previous 18 will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for research into finding a cure for this genetic disease that affects both the respiratory and digestive systems.
Last year's game at Stadium Field in Parkersburg was an oddity of sorts as both West Virginia touchdowns in a 14-0 win were not only scored by the defense, but even more unusual, on a pair of first-quarter fumble returns - first a 94-yard dash to paydirt by St. Marys' Jordan Mixer, then just 4:17 later, a 44-yard romp into the end zone by Calhoun County's Bronson Clark.
Fact Box
at Don Drumm Stadium, 7 p.m. tonight
TEAM OHIO Roster
## First Last Team Height Weight OFF DEF
5 Jeremy Hastie Warren 5' 9" 170 QB DB
8 Dustin Baker Marietta 6' 0" 185 RB LB
9 Mitchell Gearhart Marietta 5' 8" 175 RB LB
10 Darren Hesson Caldwell 6' 3" 180 WR DB
11 Jeremy Border Caldwell 5' 8" 150 WR LB
12 Justin Futrell Marietta 6' 2" 180 QB DB
13 Alex Hannum Shenandoah 6' 4" 170 WR DB
14 Zachary Sayre Meigs 5' 10 175 WR DB
18 Austin McConn River 5' 11" 170 RB LB
21 Shane Crum Shenandoah 6' 1" 215 RB LB
25 Tyler Abrams Caldwell 6' 1" 175 WR DB
26 Jeffrey Rousch Meigs 5' 9" 175 RB DB
33 Austin Henthorn Warren 6' 0" 220 RB LB
41 Dustin Harlow Warren 6' 2" 195 RB DL
43 Matt West Waterford 6' 0" 160 RB DB
44 Kole Hogue Monroe Central 5' 11" 190 RB LB
51 Logan Postle River 5' 9" 190 OL DL
52 Jacob Milligan Morgan 5' 9" 180 OL LB
53 Jon Scott Fort Frye 6' 1" 270 OL DL
55 Bryan Sawyer Caldwell 6' 3" 275 OL DL
56 Joey Lane Warren 6' 2" 210 OL DL
57 Tyler Davis Shenandoah 5' 10" 175 OL DL
58 Tyler Pyatt Waterford 6' 3" 220 OL LB
63 Brandon Kring Frontier 5' 10" 205 OL DL
65 Kalob Davis Shenandoah 6' 0" 210 OL DL
67 Timothy Schenkel Caldwell 6' 1" 240 OL DL
69 Blake Crow Meigs 6' 2" 215 OL LB
72 Cole Haas Caldwell 6' 0" 185 OL LB
75 Zach Kehl Fort Frye 5' 10" 220 OL DL
78 Jimmie Buck Warren 6' 3" 300 OL DL
85 Josh Windland Warren 6' 3" 200 WR DL
86 Jeremy Fivecoait Warren 6' 3" 205 WR DB
COACHES:
Andy Schob - Head Coach
Shawn Taylor - Defensive Coordinator, Curry Ryan WR's & DB's
Jason Schob - Offensive Coordinator & QB's, Chad Smith OL & DL
Jason Johnson - RB's & LB's, Brian Hutchinson WR's & DB's
Jerry Hamilton - WR's & DB's, Curt Shriver - OL & LB's,
Bubba Farnsworth - OL & DL, Zane Eschbaugh K's & WR's
TEAM WEST?VIRGINIA Roster
No. Name School Ht. Wt. Position
2 Reno Jackson Ritchie County 5-7 155 RB/CB
3 Chris Satterfield Doddridge County 5-7 175 FB/LB
5 Nathan Cosgrove Calhoun County 5-8 171 WR/CB/S
7 Darrenger Goff Ritchie County 5-10 190 RB/FB/LB/CB
8 Carl Boyles Parkersburg 5-9 180 RB/OLB
10 Dustin Derito Ravenswood 6-0 205 QB/S
11 JT Nemeth Wirt County 6-2 160 WR/S
12 Taylor Campbell Wirt County 5-11 168 QB/FS
18 Josh Lewis Parkersburg 6-0 180 RB/OLB
21 Jeremy Lawrence Ravenswood 5-9 160 RB/WR/S
27 Cole White St. Marys 5-8 185 RB/FB/LB
30 Tyler Newell Ravenswood 5-8 170 FB/OLB
32 Brandon Cunningham Ravenswood 6-1 190 K/P
40 Evan Cline Tyler Consolidated 5-10 180 FB/OLB
41 Chazz Jones Ritchie County 5-8 185 FB/LB
52 Kyle Staton Paden City 6-0 225 C/DE
53 Dakota Allen Tyler Consolidated 5-5 230 C/DT
56 Chad Burrows Ravenswood 6-0 220 G/DE
60 Kyle Griffith Ravenswood 5-9 205 G/LB
67 Cole McKinney Doddridge County 5-10 275 OT/DT
70 Lane Boyce Wirt County 6-0 390 OT/DT
72 Eric Young Wirt County 6-1 310 OT/DT
73 Keith Hardbarger Paden City 6-2 240 OT/DT
75 Slade Dillon Tyler Consolidated 5-11 254 OT/DT
77 Justin Nichols St. Marys 6-4 215 TE/LS/DE
Head coach: Mike Dawson (Ritchie County)
Assistant coaches: Dan Vanoy, Brian Powell, Daniel Dunfee
Of course, that has not been the norm for this game, which has seen only four shutouts in its history, with both head coaches - Ritchie County's Mike Dawson for West Virginia and Warren's Andy Schob for Ohio - certainly envisioning a win for their respective squads, which number 25 members for W.Va. and 33 for Ohio.
With six, Ravenswood has the most players on the West Virginia roster, followed by Wirt County with four, and Ritchie and Tyler Consolidated with three each. Warren, with seven, has the most players for Ohio, while Caldwell has six, Shenandoah four, and Marietta and Meigs three each.
Heading up the Ohio offense will be Marietta quarterback Justin Futrell with a quartet of 1,000-yard running backs in Meigs' Jeffrey Rousch, Marietta's Dustin Baker, Shenandoah's Shane Crum and Monroe Central's Kole Hogue.
Meanwhile for West Virginia, Ravenswood's Dustin Derito, who both passed and rushed for over 1,000 yards as a senior, and Wirt's Taylor Campbell, who threw for 1,352 yards last fall, will split the quarterback duties.
Running the ball for W.Va. will primarily be handled by Ritchie's Reno Jackson, who rushed for 1,236 yards as a senior, along with Ravenswood's Jeremy Lawrence, Ritchie's Darrenger Goff and St. Marys' Cole White.
