The Fort Frye Cadets (2-1) will look for their third consecutive victory Friday night when they travel to Weirton to battle the Blue Dons (1-1) in a non-conference contest.
After being handily defeated by River in Week 1, the Cadets have reeled off back-to-back wins against Belpre and Waterford by scores of 45-20 and 63-13, respectively.
Fort Frye quarterback Chandler Lang has had his hand in no less than 10 Cadet touchdowns the last two weeks, completing 11-of-16 passes for 316 yards and four scores, while rushing for 171 yards on just 14 carries while scoring six rushing touchdowns.
Article Photos
PAM BROOKER Special to The Times
Fort Frye quarterback Chandler Lang (11) gives Max Alsbach (32) a shovel pass during prep football action against Waterford last Friday night in Beverly. The Cadets are slated to play at Madonna this Friday night.
Chandler's older brother Spencer Lang has been equally impressive the past two weeks as the senior running back/receiver has rushed for 203 yards on 14 carries for three touchdowns and hauled in four pass receptions for 160 yards and three more scores.
Madonna may come into the game a bit fresher as they had last week off.
Two weeks ago, the Blue Don's threatened to pull off an upset over Wheeling Central before dropping a 28-22 decision at Wheeling Island.
Key players for Madonna figure to be wide receiver/linebacker Gabriel Hypes and quarterback Ross Comis who rushed for 130 yards against the Maroon Knights and passed for 145 more.
FRONTIER (1-2) AT BRIDGEPORT (1-2)
A pair of teams will look to climb back up to the .500 mark when the Frontier Cougars travel to Bridgeport, Ohio, to battle the Bulldogs in a match up of 1-2 teams.
The much improved Cougars feature a defense that has allowed just 58 points in three games after being torched for an average of over 49 points in their winless 2011 season.
Frontier opened the season with a 20-14 win over Shenandoah before dropping consecutive games to Steubenville Catholic Central (23-8) and Buckeye Trail (21-12).
Last week against Trail, the Cougars rallied in the second half on long touchdown runs by both Taylor Merckle and Eddie Salazar before succumbing to a grinding Warrior running game in the fourth quarter.
Merckle gained 107 yards in the game on the ground on nine carries and added 22 more receiving yards, while Salazar totaled 52 yards on the ground on five touches and hauled in four catches from quarterback Jordan Jefferson for 40 more yards.
Bridgeport owns a Week 2 victory over Toronto (20-19) sandwiched around a pair of losses to Bellaire St.John (14-6) in week one, and Conotten Valley (26-21) last week.
Key players for the Bulldogs figure to be quarterback Bailey McGrath and half back Dallas Fields.
CALDWELL (0-3) AT MONROE CENTRAL (2-1)
The Caldwell Redskins head into Week 4 still searching for that elusive first win of the 2012 season as they travel up State Route 78 to battle the always-tough Monroe Central Seminioles.
It has been a very rough start to the season for head coach Josh Perkins and his Skins as they have been outscored by a combined score of 110-21 in losses to Newcomerstown, Buckeye Trail, and Harrison Central.
Despite the tough beginning for Caldwell, an upset victory over the Seminoles would throw the Redskins right back into the hunt in the wide open Pioneer Valley Conference title chase.
Caleb VanMeter paced Caldwell with 96 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries last week against Harrison Central.
Monroe Central rebounded nicely last week from a Week 2 loss to Shadyside as the Seminoles dominated the River Pilots 50-26 in their home opener.
The Noles exploded for 30 third quarter points against River to break open a game that was tied 14-14 at the intermission.
Seminole quarterback Kory Lafferre rushed for 259 yards on just 17 carries while scoring five times, while Levi Brown added 94 rushing yards on 16 carries last week against River.
Four of Lafferre's touchdowns came in the pivotal third quarter.
Last season the Seminoles hammered the Redskins 41-14 in Caldwell.
SHADYSIDE (3-0) AT SHENANDOAH (0-3)
The Shenandoah Zeps will look to pull off a major upset when they host the Shadyside Tigers Friday night in Sarahsville.
The Zeps come into the game looking for their first win of the season after falling to Frontier (20-14), Martins Ferry (65-0) and Meadowbrook (49-6).
Shadyside comes into the game on quite a roll as it has defeated the likes of Toronto, Monroe Central, and Strasburg-Franklin by combined scores of 124-20.
Last week against Meadowbrook, Danny Neuhart took over behind center and completed 6-of-13 passes for 50 yards, while scoring the only Shenandoah touchdown on a three-yard run.
Pacing the Zeps ground game was Blake Rossiter with 51 yards on nine carries.
The Tigers are led by quarterback Chase Kinemond who connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Cody Hudson for one score a ran for another in last weeks win over Strasburg.
Last year the Tigers routed the Zeps 47-6 in Shadyside.
PHILO (2-1) AT MORGAN (1-2)
The Morgan Raiders figure to have a tough battle on their hands when the Philo Electrics make the short trip from Duncan Falls to McConnelsville in a Muskingum Valley League contest Friday night.
Last week the Electrics dropped a 15-13 decision to New Lexington after a Week 2 14-13 win over Crooksville and a season opening 33-12 victory over the Warren Warriors.
Philo got an outstanding offensive performance from Kaleb Wiseman a week ago against the Panthers as the Electrics running back rushed for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 20 carries.
Morgan is coming off of a 35-13 conference loss to Sheridan last week after shutting out Union Local 20-0 in Week 2.
The past few weeks the Raiders have seen the emergence of big 240-pound running back Justin Head.
The junior rushed for 230 yards on 26 carries against Local and followed that up with 157 more yards on 18 carries last week against Sheridan.
Last year at Philo the Electrics rolled to a 28-7 win over the Raiders.
EASTERN (1-2) AT WATERFORD (1-2)
The Waterford Wildcats will look to rebound from a big loss in the backyard brawl last week when they host the Eastern Eagles in a Tri Valley Conference battle Friday night.
The Cats will be looking to break a two-game losing streak after being drilled by the Fort Frye Cadets 63-13 last week, one week after dropping a tough 16-14 decision to Federal Hocking.
The Wildcats feature a tough running game as evidenced by the 204 yards they gained on the ground against Fort Frye.
Austin Lang led the Wildcats in rushing with 64 yards on 12 carries, while Hunter Munjas added 60 more on just four rushes.
Eastern is also coming off of a big loss as Wahama handed the Eagles a 47-7 defeat last week.
The Eagles lone win of the season came in week two as they drilled Miller 47-6.
Key players to watch for Eastern include running backs Chase Cook and Ethan Nottingham as well as quarterback Joey Scowden.
Last year the Wildcats traveled to Reedsville and returned home with a hard fought 20-12 victory.
BELPRE (1-2) AT WAHAMA (3-0)
The Belpre Golden Eagles, fresh off of their first victory in 13 games, will travel to Wahama Friday night to tussle with the always-tough Wahama White Falcons in another TVC contest.
The young Golden Eagles came up with a convincing 48-13 victory over Southern last week after dropping decisions to Fort Frye (45-20) and Paint Valley (54-14) in the season's first two weeks.
Running back Manny Tullius rushed for his second consecutive 100-yard game against Southern as the sophomore tallied 179 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries.
Freshman quarterback Tavian Miller completed 9-of-15 passes against Southern for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Cody and Tyler Martin respectively.
If the Eagles are to make it two in a row they will have to defeat a very tough Falcon team that has outscored its three opponents by a combined 107-26 score thru the first three weeks.
Wahama has won 13 games in a row after going a perfect 10-0 a season ago to easily capture the TVC title.
Key players for Wahama are quarterback Trenton Gibbs and running backs Zach Wamsley and Kane Roush.
Last year, Wahama cruised to a 61-3 over the Eagles in Belpre.
FEDERAL HOCKING (2-1) AT SOUTHERN (1-2)
The Federal Hocking Lancers will look to make it three in a row when they travel to Racine Friday night to battle the Tornadoes in TVC Hocking division action.
Fed Hock easily defeated Hannan by a 40-6 margin last week after nipping Waterford 16-14 in week two.
The Lancers used a very balanced offense last week in the victory over Hannan as Andrew Smith, Delbert Crum, Ivan Santiago, Terence Mayle and Payton Seel all scored touchdowns.
Federal Hocking could very well be undefeated after three games as their only loss was a heartbreaking, week one, 22-21 loss at the hands of Alexander.
Southern has a Week 2 24-14 win over South Gallia to its credit, sandwiched by losses to River Valley (13-12) and Belpre (48-13) one week ago.
The Tornadoes will need a better performance from a defense that yielded some 337 yards worth of total offense to Belpre last week.
Tyler Barton was a bright spot for the Tornadoes as he picked up 183 yards on the ground on 20 carries against the Golden Eagles.
Last year, the Lancers edged the Tornadoes 19-12 in Stewart.
ST. MARYS (2-1) at TYLER CONSOLIDATED (0-3)
The St. Marys Blue Devils head to Kidwell Friday night looking to improve their record to 3-1 on the season as they battle the Tyler Consolidated Silver Knights.
The Devils rebounded from their week two loss to Wirt County (35-22) with a 20-7 victory last Saturday over Parkersburg Catholic.
Noah Spitzer scored touchdowns on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for St. Marys last week, while Andrew Cosper and David Gray teamed up on a long 73-yard touchdown pass.
Consolidated has struggled early in the 2012 season, suffering losses to Williamstown (52-19), Doddridge County (26-24) and Magnolia (41-13).
Key players for the Silver Knights include quarterback Hunter LeMasters, running back Jordan Baker and receiver Alex Doak.
Last year in St. Marys, the Blue Devils rolled to a 49-0 victory over Tyler Consolidated.
CALHOUN COUNTY (2-1) AT PARKERSBURG CATHOLIC (1-2) (SATURDAY)
The Parkersburg Catholic Crusaders will look to get their struggling offense untracked when they host the Calhoun County Red Devils Saturday night.
The Crusaders are averaging just nine points a game thru the first three games of the season.
Catholic dropped its season opener to Buffalo (45-0) before defeating Pocahontas County (20-14) in week two.
Last week, the Crusaders were defeated 20-7 by St. Marys.
Mitch Davis took a swing pass from quarterback Payton Sturm 16 yards for a fourth quarter touchdown for the Crusaders lone score in the loss to the Devils.
Calhoun County got off to a good start with victories over both Gilmer County (38-30) and Sherman (46-26), before falling last week to Doddridge County (27-8).
The Crusaders figure to have their hands full trying to contain Red Devil stand out quarterback Logan Moore.
Last year Catholic shut out the Devils 40-0 in Mt. Zion.
