Warren’s Aubrey Pepper (23) follows through on a jump shot during a game against Parkersburg South earlier this season at Rod Oldham Athletic Center. (Photo by Aaron Lee)

VINCENT — The second annual Clash at the Coliseum is set to take place this weekend at Warren High School, featuring some of the top high school basketball teams from the local area and beyond.

Last year, the inaugural Clash was a tip-off tournament at the beginning of the season. Being closer to the holidays this year could result in a better crowd and atmosphere.

“I hope there’s a lot of excitement for it, and I’m hoping people find time to get here,” said Warren boys basketball coach Blane Maddox. “With it being closer to the holidays, there’s maybe more people in town. There’s a lot of great local matchups, and it seems like there’s a lot of excitement in talking to people in the area.”

The action kicks off at 3:15 p.m. Friday when the Chris Murray-coached Parkersburg girls take on Southeast Ohio powerhouse Fairland.

At 5 p.m., it will be an all-Wood County clash when the Phil Wilson-coached PHS boys take on Scott Sauro’s Williamstown squad.

Warren’s Trent Taylor (2) battles for an opening tip with Belpre’s Chris Copen (24) during a game earlier this season. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“That’s absolutely huge,” Maddox said. “I think it’s been a few years since they’ve played each other. Parkersburg-Fairland is big, too. That’s what’s nice about this tournament – it gives local teams a chance to play a team they might not usually get to see.”

Friday will be capped off with a Warren Warrior double-feature, as the Brad Venham-coached girls team will face Fred Sauro’s Williamstown Yellowjackets followed by Maddox’s Warren boys taking on a Cambridge team that is much better than its 1-3 record indicates.

Then on Saturday, it’s a jam-packed slate of high school hoops from AM to PM.

Dan Liedtke and his Fort Frye girls team open the day against a strong Federal Hocking team at 10 a.m.. It’ll then be Fort Frye’s boys, coached by Eric Henniger, challenging the tough Trimble Tomcats at 11:45 a.m.

At 1:30 p.m., Roger Kirkpatrick’s Frontier Cougars go up against the Southern Tornadoes, followed by the red-hot Belpre boys, coached by Ryan Leasure, taking on West Virginia foe John Marshall at 3:15 p.m.

An intriguing boys matchup at 5 p.m. pits D.J. Cunningham’s Waterford boys against Clint Crane’s Caldwell Redskins.

Then, the Warriors cap off this year’s tournament with back-to-back games to close out the night. The girls take on perennial powerhouse Waterford, led by head coach Jerry Close, in a must-see 6:45 p.m. matchup before the boys square off with a feisty Federal Hocking squad at 8:30 p.m.

“We’ve got our hands full with two tough games, but we’re very excited about the Clash,” Maddox said. “We get to play two home games. We know there will be coaches here to watch, and hopefully a lot of basketball fans.”

With so much local talent all in one place, WHS is the place to be for hoops fans this weekend.

“There’s so many people involved in making this happen,” Maddox said. “A lot of guys do a lot of work for this. The administration does a good job getting officials. There’s so many volunteers. It’s a big project and there’s a lot of time and expense that goes into it. Hopefully the fans enjoy it. It’s $10 to get in and watch as much basketball as you want. We’re proud to host it.”

Warren last played Friday, besting Logan 72-18 to improve to 4-1 on the year.

“We’re playing well,” Maddox said. “You wonder after taking a week off how you’ll come out, but we’re doing the small things well. Our defensive pressure is outstanding, and our offensive rebounding is good for our size. We haven’t clicked shooting yet, but we’ve still been able to win. I want to see two or three of our shooters get hot on a given night, and balance it out with our inside game. I think we can be dangerous.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.