Unbeaten Cadets, Shamrocks meet Friday
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BEVERLY -- It's been a stellar season for the Fort Frye and Barnesville football programs, and both squads will put their perfect 6-0 records on the line when they square off Friday night in Beverly.
Both in Division V, the Cadets are rated second in Region 19 while the Shamrocks occupy the fourth spot in Region 17.
It's a fairly familiar matchup for both sides -- since 2016, they've met eight times. Fort Frye is 6-2 in those battles, with three of those wins coming in the postseason, but Barnesville has bested FFHS each of the past two seasons.
"It's just one of those teams we've played quite a bit," said Fort Frye head coach Eric Huck. "It's a big game. We know them. They know us. It's become a bit of a rivalry."
Barnesville has dominated its competition, outscoring opponents 278-59. However, the Shamrocks have only defeated one team with a winning record, whereas Fort Frye owns three victories over teams with four or more wins.
"They're really big up front," Huck said. "Size-wise, we don't really match up with them. They're bigger than us. They're pretty balanced. They throw the ball well and they have one of the best running backs we've seen or will see -- the Trey Toliver kid. He's that good."
Harrison Central can attest to Toliver's abilities. Barnesville's senior running back put up 311 yards and four touchdowns versus the Huskies in a 68-13 win last week. Colt Carpenter, who threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns against HCHS, forces defenses to respect the Shamrocks' passing attack.
Despite being 6-0, it's taken the Cadets a little time to get rolling on all cylinders. The Fort Frye running game was a bit quieter than usual to start the season, but has come on of late. Huck attributes that to the development of a young offensive line.
"They keep getting better and better," he said. "There's a couple freshmen doing a good job. Zavier Springer is the only guy playing the same spot as last year, so we needed people to step up. Those guys have really progressed, which we thought they would, and we'll need them to be very good in order to find a way to win against Barnesville."
Springer, a senior, anchors the line at left tackle. Freshmen Deangelo Jones and Rhyan Pyatt have stepped up at left guard and right tackle, respectively, while senior Xavier Huck, who had never played on the line before this year, is at right tackle. Junior Grayson Goodwin, who used to play guard but moved to center this year, rounds out the group.
Goodwin has also been stalwart on the defensive side of the ball. He leads the unit with 57 tackles and eight tackles for loss.
"He had a really great game against Caldwell last week," coach Huck said of Fort Frye's 38-7 win over the Redskins. "He had 16 or 17 tackles. He's come along really nicely. Him and Parker Kern have both really stepped up at inside linebacker."
Gavin Rauch leads Fort Frye’s running game with 429 yards and nine touchdowns on 7.4 yards-per-carry. Sam Bricker (45-243-2 TDs), Tytan Waller (47-228-1 TD) and quarterback Grady Hesson (41-213-4 TDs) can also do damage on the ground.
Speaking of Hesson, he's given the Cadets some of the best quarterback play they've had in Huck's tenure at Fort Frye. The senior has completed 60% (30 for 50) of his passes for 674 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions against solid defenses.
"He's carried us," Huck said. "We've been a little more balanced this year. He's been about as good as we've had at quarterback. He's not throwing too many incompletions, has no interceptions, is making good decisions, and has used his legs when he's had to to get first downs and keep the offense on the field. He has that ability to make something happen out of nothing."
Hesson's top target has been sophomore Clayton Tullius, who has 16 catches, 384 yards and five TDs.
Defensively, Tytan Waller has seven TFLs, while he and Ethan Wagner lead the team with three sacks apiece.
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.