Frontier’s Caleb Kirkpatrick (4) carries the ball during last year’s game against Beallsville in New Matamoras. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

NEW MATAMORAS — Any time St. Marys and Frontier get together, there’s an extra level of excitement.

The Blue Devils will make the short trip to New Matamoras for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday. It’s the first time the two teams have met on the gridiron since 2020, and just the second time since 2009.

“We’ve always had good matchups ever since I started coaching in 2002,” said SMHS head coach Jodi Mote. “(Former Frontier coach) Russ Morris, he was a great football coach. They always did a nice job. This is always a good game for the fans.”

Damon Metheney took over for Morris ahead of the 2023 season. He guided the Cougars to the playoffs last year.

“This is a game we’ve had circled all year,” Metheney said. “We picked up the game in the offseason. It’s a game, no matter what the records are, that you go all in on. The community has responded well to it. It should be a lot of fun.”

Frontier (2-3) had a big bounceback win last week against Valley (Wetzel) to snap a three-game losing skid.

“We really needed it,” Metheney said. “That was a really big win. We had lost three in a row with a couple losses that came down to the wire. That kind of defeats team morale a little bit, so it was huge for the guys to come up with a win last week, especially coming into a week like this.”

St. Marys also earned a win last week against Webster County to even its record at 2-2.

“We had come off two good smackings with Oak Glen and Cameron,” Mote said. “It was disheartening, but those are two great ball teams, and seeing our guys respond to that (against Webster County) was encouraging. Hopefully they can continue to improve.”

The big news out of Frontier recently is the quarterback change from Avery Powell to Aaden Bills. In his first four starts this year, Powell went 36 for 60 for 565 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. Powell, though, listed at 6-foot-2, is also a huge threat as a receiver.

Metheney and his staff gave Bills the start under center against Valley and Bills went 7 for 13 for 169 yards, two TDs and no turnovers.

“We’re going to stick with Aaden at quarterback,” Metheney said. “Avery did a tremendous job there in just his second year playing the position. We decided as a staff that he is such a big threat outside and provides a lot of mismatches for us, and we feel good about Aaden at QB.

“Aaden, I call him a football player. He’s a physical player with a good IQ of the game. He’s not afraid to run and he has a very talented arm. We’re excited to see how he takes off with this.”

Caleb Kirkpatrick is a big-time playmaker out of the backfield for the Cougars. Kirkpatrick has 80 carries for 461 yards and three TDs while also catching 14 balls for 164 yards and a score. Austyn Kephart (15 rec., 320 yards, 4 TDs) and Davyn Ferrell (17 rec., 126 yards) have done damage in the receiving game for Frontier.

“We’ve seen some good teams — Oak Glen, Cameron — and I feel like, athletically, Frontier has the most athletes,” Mote said. “(Powell) was the quarterback when the year began. Now, it’s (Bills), and those are just two of the weapons they have. Plus, they have (Kirkpatrick), (Ferrell), (Kephart) — they just have a lot of athletes for a 24-man roster.”

When scouting the Blue Devils, Metheney was impressed with their ability to control the ball via the ground game.

“It’s a classic St. Marys team,” he said. “They love to run the football and they love to try and stop the run. That’s something we’ve prepared for all week. It’s going to be a physical, old school kind of game.”

St. Marys is led by the running back duo of Eli Cox and Eli Wilson. Cox has 39 carries for 154 yards and two TDs, while Wilson has 41 attempts for 131 yards and two scores in addition to four catches for 87 yards.

Quarterback Jeremiah Demoss has rushed for 100 yards and thrown for 168 yards, accounting for four total touchdowns.

Frontier, which has surrendered 13 points or less in three of its five games, will need a strong defensive effort this week.

“This year compared to my first two, our defense has stepped up tremendously,” Metheney said. “That’s my biggest thing we’ve improved on drastically. The defense has definitely been a big surprise.”

Mote believes St. Marys will have to nail down the fundamentals against this sneaky Cougar squad.

“I think looking at Frontier, their record is deceiving,” Mote said.

“It’s a ballgame where you’re going to have to play well. You’ve got to take care of the football offensively and know your assignments defensively. Turnovers, penalties, all those things that are coach speak, they’re definitely important in games such as this.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.