You'd be hard pressed to find a pair of high school football teams that understand the importance of an extra point more than the Waterford Wildcats and Federal Hocking Lancers do.
That point after a touchdown was the difference between a win and a loss in Week 1 for both schools, as they both posted identical 13-12 scores in their season openers.
The difference is that the Wildcats (1-0) made their extra point for the 13-12 win over Miller while Federal Hocking (0-1) missed, leading to a 13-12 loss to River Valley.
So the two schools will certainly meet on the field this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Waterford Elementary School with a determination to convert on those extra points.
In the season opening win over Miller, both Waterford touchdowns came through the air as quarterback Trevor Lang connected with Matt West for a 10-yard score and then with Brian Moore on an 18-yard strike.
Waterford managed just 134 yards of total offense in the win over Miller with Lang picking up 36 yards rushing on eight carries while also passing for 63 yards and the two touchdowns.
Moore led Waterford with four catches for 53 yards.
Federal Hocking faired much better offensively than the Wildcats, at least in terms of production, as the Lancers posted 276 yards of total offense against River Valley.
The Lancers also forced the Raiders into seven turnovers, but couldn't capitalize as Federal Hocking had four turnovers of its own.
Delbert Crum led the Lancers with 115 yards rushing on 19 carries while Matt Pierce picked up 42 yards on 13 attempts. Alex Nichols completed 7-of-15 passes for 120 yards but also threw three interceptions.
Fort Frye (0-1) at Belpre (0-1)
A pair of schools looking for their first win, and first points, meet on the gridiron at Belpre High School Friday night as the Cadets travel to Belpre to face the Eagles.
Fort Frye is coming off a 20-0 loss to River in Week 1 while the Eagles dropped a 39-0 decision to Bainbridge Paint Valley.
The Cadets rushed for 121 yards on 26 carries against the Pilots, but couldn't keep the ground attack of River in check.
In the first half the Cadets didn't manage a single first down and had zero total yards before bouncing back in the second half.
Chandler Lang rushed eight times for 59 yards to lead the Cadets while Max Alsbach had 23 yards on six attempts.
Lang also completed 6-of-9 pass attempts for 25 yards.
Like the Cadets, the Eagles also struggled against the run as Belpre gave up 316 yards rushing to the Bearcats.
Against Paint Valley, Belpre was held under 100 yards of total offense for the game, including only 40 yards rushing.
Manny Tullius and Wes Hatfield will lead the Eagles as they look to surpass those totals against the Cadets on Friday.
Oak Glen (1-0) at Frontier (0-1)
For one half the Frontier Cougars were locked in a tight battle against the Shenandoah Zeps in Week 1.
Oak Glen was locked in a tight battle for the entire game with Edison Local.
The Cougars gave up 36 second half points to the Zeps as Frontier fell 42-6 to Shenandoah while the Golden Bears edged Edison Local 29-28, setting up a dogfight to take place in a 7 p.m. game at Frontier High School Friday.
Frontier managed just 180 yards of total offense, 125 of it coming through the air, as the Cougars fell to the Zeps again.
Austin Amos accounted for the lone Frontier touchdown when he plunged into the end zone from five yards out with 7:48 to go in the fourth quarter. In the game Amos had 26 yards and the touchdown on 10 carries.
Quarterback Jordan Jefferson completed 8-of-16 pass attempts for 25 yards, including a 69 yard strike to Eddie Salazar, who had 108 yards receiving on four catches.
Oak Glen was impressive in its season opener last Thursday and have skilled players in wide receiver Josh Weltner and line backer Dylan Davis. Tackle Preston Murray is another strong force for the Golden Bears.
Caldwell (1-0) at Buckeye Trail (0-1)
The Caldwell defense was more than stellar in Week 1 against Newcomerstown, and Week 2 gives the Redskins another favorable opponent as Caldwell will face off against a Buckeye Trail team that managed just 89 yards of total offense in a 47-0 loss to Ridgewood last week.
Caldwell gave up just 26 yards of total offense and a pair of first downs to Newcomerstown last week, and the Redskins are looking to continue that trend against the Warriors.
Against Ridgewood, Buckeye Trail struggled both through the air and on the ground. The Warriors completed 4-of-10 pass attempts for just 40 yards, with Dakota Patterson going 3-for-7 for 10 yards with one interception while Jeff Simmons was 1-for-3 for 30 yards.
On the ground, the Warriors picked up just 49 yards on 37 carries, an average of 1.3 per attempt.
Noah Burris led Buckeye Trail as he picked up 45 yards on 12 carries, but on the other 25 attempts the Warriors managed just four yards.
Offensively Caldwell fared well against Newcomerstown as the Redskins picked up 336 yards rushing on 49 attempts and also passed for 43 yards, giving the Redskins 379 yards of total offense.
Adam Rossiter picked up 148 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries while Jensen Croucher rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns.
Croucher also completed 4-of-10 pass attempts for 43 yards.
As good as the Redskins played in Week 1, they were plagued by turnovers as Caldwell lost three fumbles. Buckeye Trail lost two fumbles in their game against Ridgewood.
Shadyside (1-0) at Monroe Central
(0-1)
A week after managing just 48 yards rushing on 26 attempts, the Monroe Central Seminoles know they have to find a way to get the offense going as they face one of the only two teams to defeat them in the regular season a year ago.
Facing off against visiting Shadyside in a 7 p.m. game in Woodsfield, the Seminoles are looking to bounce back from a 13-7 loss to Columbiana in Week 1.
Heralded Monroe Central quarterback Tyler Kinchen was kept in check by the Clipper defense as he rushed for just 27 yards on 17 attempts. Kinchen did throw for 92 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-26 passing, but the Seminole offense was "in the tank" as head coach Jay Circosta put it.
Well, the Shadyside Tigers' offense was certainly not in the tank in Week 1.
Shadyside rushed for 260 yards on 46 carries using three different backs for the bulk of the damage in quarterback Chase Kinemond as well as tailback Brooks Ramsey and fullback Chris Littell.
Littell accounted for 99 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown for Shadyside while Kinemond had touchdown runs of five and nine yards respectively in the second quarter of last week's game.
Along with Kinchen, Monroe Central will look for Kole Hogue to get back on track after he rushed for just 14 yards on four carries against the Clippers.
Union Local (0-1) at Morgan (0-1)
A pair of winless teams under considerably different circumstances meet in McConnelsville Friday night when the Union Local Jets face the host Morgan Raiders.
Union Local was stunned in an upset when Meadowbrook knocked off the Jets, 32-26, while the Raiders dropped a 29-14 decision to the Marietta Tigers.
Morgan held the lead over the Tigers 14-6 heading into the final seconds of the first half when Marietta turned one play into the ball game as the Raiders gave up a 27 yard touchdown pass from Justin Futrell to Dedder Baker as time expired in the half.
The Raiders never recovered from that blow as they fell to the Tigers despite picking up 242 yards rushing and out gaining Marietta 262-239.
Clinton Campbell picked up 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries for the Raiders while Dirk Ponchak chipped in 45 yards on eight attempts.
All told, the Raiders averaged 6.7 yards per carry on the ground as their Wing-T and flex bone offense pounded the Tigers.
Like the Raiders, the Jets watched a series of big plays in the waning minutes of a half when Meadowbrook drove 92 yards in the final 2 minutes, 36 seconds of regulation to give the Colts a 32-26 win.
Union Local quarterback Robert Simpson completed 13-of-21 pass attempts for 267 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jets in the loss. His favorite target was Zane Ayouch, who had eight catches for 162 yards for Union Local.
Martins Ferry (1-0) at Shenandoah
(1-0)
Fresh off big wins, the Martins Ferry Purple Riders and Shenandoah Zeps are ready for round two of the heavyweight bout that is high school football.
Coming off a 23-6 win over Heath in Week 1, the Purple Riders travel to Sarahsville for a 7:30 p.m. game at Shenandoah High School on Friday night.
Both teams enter the contest as the owners of a potent ground attack as the Zeps rushed for 291 yards on 40 attempts in a 42-6 win over Frontier while the Purple Riders had two backs combine for 243 yards rushing against Heath.
Michael Leasure led the ground attack for Shenandoah as he posted 95 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries for the Zeps, taking over for Shane Crum who suffered a minor injury on the game's first offensive series.
Despite that injury, Crum still picked up 62 yards on eight carries and returned to the field to play defense, though he had just one rush after the game's first drive.
Quarterback Eli Hurst rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts for the Zeps as well. Hurst also completed 3-of-8 pass attempts for 74 yards but was intercepted once.
Martins Ferry relied on the 1-2 punch of seniors Tyrel Simmons and Donte Williams to carry the load against the Bulldogs as the pair both rushed for over 100 yards.
Simmons picked up 131 yards on 35 carries with one score while Williams rushed 12 times for 112 yards and two TDs.
Against Heath, Martins Ferry scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to turn a 9-6 advantage into the 23-6 victory.
Catholic (0-1) at Pocahontas (0-1)
The Parkersburg Catholic Crusaders struggled to finish drives in their season opener against Buffalo as the Crusaders fell 20-12 in the coaching debut of Jeff Campbell.
With the exception of two pass plays from Daniel Collie to Mitch Davis, the Crusaders were kept out of the end zone by Buffalo in Week 1, so Catholic will be looking to finish off drives better in the second game of the year, set to take place at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Pocahontas County.
Catholic had 330 yards of total offense, including 186 yards on the ground, but simply couldn't find the end zone.
Collie rushed for 108 yards on 19 attempts and completed 6-of-18 pass attempts for 144 yards and the two scores to Davis.
Davis caught two passes for 92 yards, both of them were scores.
The Crusaders weren't the only team struggling to score last week, however.
Pocahantas County dropped a 28-6 decision to Tucker County. Running backs Kyler Doss and Devin Rose are expected to be the primary forces in the Pocahantas offense, and the Crusaders will be looking to do a better job of keeping the opponent in check after giving up 223 yards passing last week to Buffalo and 260 yards all told.
