Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Preview
By: Lucy Schaefer
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Fairland Dragons
The Dragons ended last season with a 9-2 record thanks to their quarterback Peyton Jackson. But he graduated, and Head Coach Mike Jackson will have to put a new quarterback at the helm. Replacing powerhouses like Brycen Hunt will be a challenge, but the Dragons are up for it. With Ironton out of the OVC, they assume the top spot heading into the 2024 season.
Gallia Academy Blue Devils
Gallia Academy is in a rebuilding stage after big names like Kenyon Franklin, Hunter Shamblin, Hudson Shamblin, and Cole Hines graduated. Along with a new team, the Blue Devils also welcomed a new head coach in Nathan Mettler. He has assistant coached at Zane Trace, Westfall and Fairfield Christian; he is making his head coaching debut this season.
“I’m hoping I can just build a great culture down here and continue the great tradition,” Mettler said.
Gallia’s defensive coordinator of two years, Tommy Saunders, said he’s noticed lots of young guys stepping up. He’s optimistic for the upcoming season.
Portsmouth Trojans
The Portsmouth Trojans ended last season on a high note. They knocked OVC opponent Fairland out of the playoffs with a powerful 50-38 win in the first round. Although their playoff run ended in the second round, there is hope for the Trojans in OVC play this season. They went 4-3 in-conference last season. If they can beat Fairland in the regular season, they could take one of the top two spots in the conference.
South Point Pointers
The Pointers are going to have a hard time this season without team leaders Blaine Freeman and Eli Wilburn. South Point’s strength last season was on the ground with these two athletes, and we’ll see how Coach Davis adjusts that based on what players fill those new roles. In-conference and out-of-conference, the Pointers are looking to polish their playstyle. Out of their last seven games, they only won one: at Chesapeake 24-7.
Coal Grove Hornets
Coal Grove’s goal last season was to recover from the loss of superstar Chase Hall. This is the second year without him and they’re still cleaning things up. Last year, they only beat one of the five OVC opponents that were ranked above them: Chesapeake by 14 points.
Rock Hill
Rock Hill struggled last season. They went to overtime with Portsmouth in week four but struggled with wins after that. The community is hoping new Head Coach Tony Love can turn things around.
Chesapeake Panthers
Chesapeake, similar to many of the teams in the OVC, lost an athlete that was the face of the program. Cameron Shockley was the spark this team needed to get moving. Without him, the Panthers will need to bring new faces into the light to fill his place. Even with Shockley, Chesapeake found little success last season but is hoping to clean it up this season.